State Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Orange) announced legislation to combat automobile insurance rate evasion. The legislation, he is co-sponsoring, targets fraud costs New York taxpayers and ratepayers millions of dollars each year.  The three major components of the measure would give new authority to law enforcement personnel and change the current requirements for applying to register a vehicle and obtain New York drivers license.

“New Yorkers can no longer afford to be taken for granted by those that deliberately scam the auto insurance system, forcing the taxpayers of New York to subsidize the loss in revenue,” said Carlucci who spoke in West Haverstraw on Monday.  “This legislation is very simple – it will fix our broken system so that those who decide to operate a vehicle in New York State play by our rules and not their own.” 

The bill would put in place restrictions to prevent auto scams: 

• Give law enforcement access to the now-required physical street address of the driver’s residence and garage location. The driver is not currently required to do so.
• Require that individuals who file an application to register a vehicle and driver’s license in New York provide a location of residence or street address alongside any P.O. Box listed. This would improve application transparency.
• Expand the power for state Insurance Department personnel to allow cross-referencing of a driver’s insurance information with where they report their primary physical address. 

Automobile insurance rate evasion occurs when a resident of one state illegally registers and insures their vehicle in another state to avoid paying higher premiums.

"Rate evasion is a serious insurance fraud problem in New York,” said Jack Houston, chairman of The New York Alliance Against Insurance Fraud. “The legislation announced today is vital to help crack down on this practice and help put everyone on equal footing."

Auto insurance fraud deprives local governments of revenue and increases premiums for the average ratepayers who register their vehicle legally and properly.