A new Uber-led coalition is launching a multi-million ad campaign to urge Albany and the City Council to lower drivers’ insurance costs, The Post has learned.
Citizens for Affordable Rates is particularly supporting city legislation that would reduce the minimum liability coverage taxi and ride-share drivers are required to carry from a whopping $200,000 to $50,000.
The measure is sponsored by Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa, whose northern Manhattan district that includes Washington Heights and Inwood has a large constituency of for-hire drivers.
She has raised the insolvency of American Transit, the largest insurer of yellow taxis, livery cabs and other ride-sharing and for-hire vehicles.
Ride-share app Uber is bankrolling the group’s first ads on TV/cable, digital/social media channels plus all the major streaming services (Amazon Prime, Tubi, Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Sling, Paramount+ HBO Max Pluto TV) in the New York City and Albany regions.
The group noted that auto insurance costs in New York are nearly 40% higher than the national average, with premiums exceeding $1,700 annually.
The effort aims to counter the trial lawyers’ and insurance industries that benefit from the status quo, a source said.
The group cited fraudulent claims and excessive litigation — such as those stemming from staged car crashes — that account for up to 10% of total insurance payouts in New York.
But Citizens for Affordable Rates will also zero in on rising property and business insurance premiums.
Low-income families are disproportionately burdened by higher insurance premiums, the group said.
“Rising costs are strangling the finances of families and small business owners in the Bangladeshi-American community. We hear about this every day,” said Herb Regnier, executive director of Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services
“CAR’s mission to tackle this affordability crisis from all sides gives us hope that New York will once again be a place where families can thrive and build a better future.”
Another member of the group, Nader Khader, director of the progressive WESPAC Foundation in Westchester County, said, “Addressing the root causes of exorbitant insurance rates and consumer costs gives our communities a much-needed voice. It’s time to stand up to Albany special interests, and the forces of greed and abuse to ensure no family is priced out of the metro area anymore.”