Thursday Headlines: Big Insurance Beware Edition

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie wants his pound of flesh from the insurance companies once state budget negotiations are done and dusted.

Heastie told reporters yesterday that as negotiations progress on car insurance, he wants to see safeguards in place that limit how insurers set premiums, curb their ability to raise rates among all their policyholders and make sure that all Gov. Hochul’s promises of savings for New Yorkers are more than just words.

“We want to see a transparent way for people to get rebates. … Redlining was a concern that it’s now been brought into this package that, you know, ZIP code, employment, education, like those things won’t be factored in,” he said. “Your ZIP code. You know, that’s a big deal for me, because, as a representative of the Bronx, we kind of jockey back and forth with Brooklyn, which is the county with the highest insurance rates in the state.”

Hochul’s plan to reduce rates at the cost of crash victims’ legal rights has drawn pushback on two fronts: Savings and humanity. Debates over changes to insurance law yielded Hochul’s first concession in budget negotiations, as she was willing to drop a proposal that would have made it impossible for a defendant less than 50 percent liable for a crash to pay more than their share of an award from the budget. The trade-off was the state Legislature waving through the rest of her insurance proposal.

When it came to delivering savings, things have been murkier. There are doubts that the “Excess Profit Law,” which lets the state force insurance companies to return excess profits beyond 21 percent to the public, is the silver bullet Hochul says it is. And lawmakers have the “flex rating” law, insurers’ ability to raise rates up to 5 percent without seeking permission from the state Department of Financial Services, in their crosshairs.

But at the end of the day, no one is sure how these big companies that cry poverty in New York but are making record profits across the country actually set their prices. It’s likely wishful thinking, but at the same time, Heastie, and much of the state Legislature pay insurance bills in some form, and have the same questions as a lot of New Yorkers.

“We’re trying to get transparency to this entire process,” he said.

Other news:

• LIRR unions and the MTA are holding last-gasp bargaining sessions as the prospect of a May work stoppage looms. (News 12 Long Island)
• The Hochul campaign’s shame tour against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman came to Mineola. (Newsday)
• A state lawmaker wants her and her colleagues to get a break on their utility bills while their paychecks are held because of the late budget. (The New York Post)
• Jack Schlossberg is pitching himself as a fresh face, but he’s relying on Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) for support in a new campaign ad. (The New York Times)
• MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber is defending his new European-style fare enforcement. (amNY)
• Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-Rockland) attempt to kick a Democratic opponent from the ballot fell short. (The Journal News)
• Ulster County officials hope that school bus cameras can keep students safe on their way to and from school. (Mid Hudson News)
• Blake Gendebien is going to have some Democratic company in his quest to flip outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-North Country) blue. (WAMC)
• The Supreme Court diluted the Voting Rights Act in a blow to minority districts around the country. (The AP)
• State lawmakers passed their 8th budget extender to keep the state government running, so the purge is delayed. (State of Politics)
• Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan wants to make downtown more vibey. Nothing walkable neighborhoods and Labatt can’t fix. (The Buffalo News)
• A work zone driving infraction crackdown on the state Thruway resulted in 747 tickets. (Finger Lakes Daily News)
• A disagreement over levels of collusion with border patrol nixed an immigration deal in New York. (City & State)
• The Times jumped onto WPIX’s coverage the other day with an important public safety request: Don’t walk to the World Cup!
• Tunnel schism for LIRR. (NY Post)