[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/blog/new-york-car-insurance-prior-approval-2026":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"category":202,"ctaLabel":203,"dateModified":204,"datePublished":204,"description":205,"draft":206,"extension":207,"featured":206,"image":203,"meta":208,"navigation":209,"path":210,"readingTime":211,"seo":212,"stem":213,"tags":214,"__hash__":221},"blog/blog/new-york-car-insurance-prior-approval-2026.md","New York Car Insurance Rate Hikes Need Approval","Premier Auto Savings",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":194},"minimark",[10,14,17,22,25,28,51,54,58,72,75,79,82,118,121,129,133,185,188],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Starting November 27, 2026, a New York auto insurer that wants to raise private passenger rates has to get the Department of Financial Services to sign off first — every time, for any amount. Today a carrier can take up to two overall rate increases without asking, as long as together they come to no more than 5%. That lane closes on November 27 under the state's 2026–27 budget, which Governor Kathy Hochul signed in late May, and DFS proposed the regulation that puts it into practice on September 9.",[11,15,16],{},"It's the most visible piece of New York's 2026 auto insurance overhaul, and the least likely, on its own, to lower anyone's premium. Here's what changes, what doesn't, and what to check at your next renewal.",[18,19,21],"h2",{"id":20},"what-changes-on-november-27","What Changes on November 27",[11,23,24],{},"New York's flex-rating law, Insurance Law § 2350, has let insurers skip the approval queue for small increases: no more than two overall average rate increases, with a combined effect of 5% or less, could take effect without DFS approving them first. Anything bigger already needed prior approval. Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026 removes the increase side of that exemption. From November 27, every upward change in private passenger auto rates needs DFS's express approval before it reaches a bill.",[11,26,27],{},"Three details matter for timing:",[29,30,31,39,45],"ul",{},[32,33,34,38],"li",{},[35,36,37],"strong",{},"Filings submitted before November 27 stay under the old rules."," An increase filed under flex rating before then can still take effect the old way.",[32,40,41,44],{},[35,42,43],{},"Decreases keep the fast lane."," Insurers can still cut rates by up to 5% without prior approval. Under the proposed regulation, when a cut comes from the budget reforms, the insurer has to tell policyholders and explain why.",[32,46,47,50],{},[35,48,49],{},"Flex rating ends entirely in 2030."," Section 2350 is repealed on May 27, 2030. After that, every personal auto rate filing in New York, up or down, needs prior approval.",[11,52,53],{},"The regulation's 60-day public comment period opened September 9. The law and the regulation both take effect November 27.",[18,55,57],{"id":56},"what-it-doesnt-do","What It Doesn't Do",[11,59,60,61,66,67,71],{},"Prior approval is a review, not a freeze. Insurers can still raise rates in New York; they now have to justify each increase to DFS before charging it. California has required prior approval since Proposition 103 passed in 1988, and our ",[62,63,65],"a",{"href":64},"/cheap-car-insurance-california-2026","California guide"," covers how that market prices today. Illinois passed its own ",[62,68,70],{"href":69},"/blog/illinois-car-insurance-rate-regulation-2027","rate-regulation law"," this year, effective July 2027.",[11,73,74],{},"It also doesn't lower premiums by itself. New York drivers pay about $2,651 a year for full coverage on average, and carriers have kept filing for increases through 2026 to cover litigation, repair and parts costs. Prior approval changes how those increases arrive. Whether rates actually fall depends on the rest of the package.",[18,76,78],{"id":77},"the-part-meant-to-lower-rates","The Part Meant to Lower Rates",[11,80,81],{},"Most of the budget's auto changes are already in force, for lawsuits filed on or after May 26, 2026:",[29,83,84,90,96,112],{},[32,85,86,89],{},[35,87,88],{},"A higher bar for pain-and-suffering claims."," The no-fault law's definition of \"serious injury\" no longer includes the category for non-permanent injuries that kept someone from their usual activities for 90 of the 180 days after a crash. A court also has to settle fault and serious injury before it gets to non-economic damages.",[32,91,92,95],{},[35,93,94],{},"Modified comparative negligence."," An injured person whose share of fault is greater than that of the people they sue can't recover, the rule most states already use.",[32,97,98,101,102,106,107,111],{},[35,99,100],{},"A $100,000 cap on non-economic damages for some at-fault drivers:"," those driving an uninsured car they were responsible for insuring (a lapse of under 30 days doesn't count), those convicted of driving while impaired, and those convicted of a felony they were committing at the time. The cap doesn't apply when the crash causes a death. Our ",[62,103,105],{"href":104},"/blog/car-insurance-after-coverage-lapse","coverage-lapse guide"," covers why even a short gap costs you, and our ",[62,108,110],{"href":109},"/guide/dui-bad-record","DUI and bad-record guide"," covers the rest of what an impaired-driving conviction does.",[32,113,114,117],{},[35,115,116],{},"Wider fraud liability."," Anyone who hires or organizes someone to stage a crash can now be charged, not only the driver.",[11,119,120],{},"DFS's July 1 circular letter told insurers to build the expected savings into every pending and future rate filing, using a new exhibit that shows the percentage decrease and the math behind it; filings already pending had to be amended by August 31. The Citizens Budget Commission estimated the package could cut premiums by about 10%, or at least $200 per vehicle a year, and Hochul has said it could take one to two years to show up on bills.",[11,122,123,124,128],{},"The governor's office says the budget also bars insurers from setting rates based on homeownership, occupation, education level or ZIP code, and sets an excess-profit threshold with savings returned to policyholders. Early readings of how far the ZIP-code language reaches differ, so we're not predicting what it does to the gap between the Bronx and Troy, the widest in any state we cover. Our ",[62,125,127],{"href":126},"/cheap-car-insurance-new-york-2026","New York guide"," has the city-by-city numbers as they stand.",[18,130,132],{"id":131},"what-to-do-before-your-next-renewal","What to Do Before Your Next Renewal",[134,135,136,147,153,159,165],"ol",{},[32,137,138,141,142,146],{},[35,139,140],{},"Renewing before November 27?"," An increase filed under the old rules can still land. Compare quotes a month out and ",[62,143,145],{"href":144},"/","see where your own profile prices"," before you accept the notice.",[32,148,149,152],{},[35,150,151],{},"Renewing after?"," Any increase on the notice will have been through DFS review. That doesn't make it your best price: the same New York liability profile runs from $63 a month at Erie to $263 at Bristol West in our New York guide.",[32,154,155,158],{},[35,156,157],{},"Watch for a decrease notice."," If your insurer cuts rates and credits the reforms, the regulation requires it to say why. Compare anyway; a cut at one carrier doesn't change who's cheapest.",[32,160,161,164],{},[35,162,163],{},"Take the PIRP course."," New York's Point and Insurance Reduction Program is still the one discount the state writes into law: 10% off the base rate of your liability, no-fault and collision premiums for three years.",[32,166,167,170,171,175,176,180,181,184],{},[35,168,169],{},"Shop the carrier, not the headline."," Our ",[62,172,174],{"href":173},"/guide/comparison-shopping","comparison-shopping guide"," covers comparing quotes like for like, and our ",[62,177,179],{"href":178},"/blog/car-insurance-rates-rising-again-2026","2026 rates explainer"," covers why rates turned up again nationally. When you're ready, ",[62,182,183],{"href":144},"compare quotes for your ZIP code",".",[186,187],"hr",{},[11,189,190],{},[191,192,193],"em",{},"Sources: Governor Kathy Hochul's office (releases of May 27 and September 9, 2026); the New York Department of Financial Services (July 1, 2026 release and Insurance Circular Letter No. 3 (2026), \"Motor Vehicle Insurance Reforms\") for Chapters 55 and 58 of the Laws of 2026, their effective dates, the flex-rating change and the new filing exhibit; the Citizens Budget Commission estimate as reported by Insurance Journal (May 28, 2026) and Spectrum News (May 27, 2026); the timing remark as reported by Repairer Driven News (June 1, 2026), citing the New York Post. New York rate levels and carrier figures from our New York guide (Insurify data current as of August 31, 2026); PIRP terms per the New York DMV. This post explains the rules as published and isn't legal advice.",{"title":195,"searchDepth":196,"depth":196,"links":197},"",2,[198,199,200,201],{"id":20,"depth":196,"text":21},{"id":56,"depth":196,"text":57},{"id":77,"depth":196,"text":78},{"id":131,"depth":196,"text":132},"news",null,"2026-10-07","From Nov. 27, New York insurers need state approval before any auto rate increase. What changes, what doesn't, and what to check at your next renewal.",false,"md",{},true,"/blog/new-york-car-insurance-prior-approval-2026","6",{"title":5,"description":205},"blog/new-york-car-insurance-prior-approval-2026",[215,216,217,218,219,220],"new york","rate regulation","prior approval","car insurance news","dfs","2026 rates","9fctHxZl3RkMPgD1IgwbsqH6rXVcqXm8VGKjjeduVzE"]