Utica National Insurance Group has proudly called New York home for more than a century. We’re there for our customers when they need us most — helping them weather challenges, recover from setbacks and rebuild stronger. We serve businesses that power local economies and families who invest their savings here. We’re proud of that legacy, but we can’t sustain it alone. State lawmakers can make a difference by crafting smart policies that keep New York competitive and affordable for future generations.
It’s no secret that consumers and businesses across New York face serious economic headwinds. High operating costs, heavy regulation and rising cost-of-living expenses squeeze family budgets and put pressure on employers at every level.
New York’s aggressive liability environment fuels our affordability crisis
The state’s uniquely aggressive liability environment often flies under the radar, but it plays a major role in the affordability crisis confronting New Yorkers.
Businesses and families are working hard, paying their bills, investing in their futures, yet they’re burdened by a litigation system that too often benefits law firms while the rest of us are left with higher costs. Expansive liability makes life more expensive for everyone — leading to premiums that analysts find are, on average, 15% higher than those in the rest of the country.
The insurance industry is laser focused on access to affordable insurance coverage, but in a state often called the lawsuit capital of the world — a reputation shaped by litigation-friendly statutes and a growing element of criminal fraud — success in that effort demands a close partnership with government officials.
Unfortunately, legislation is moving in the wrong direction on this issue. Each year bills that expand liability pass both houses of the legislature. As liability grows, so do opportunities for profiteering and abuse. These problems destabilize our insurance safety net, and we need meaningful reforms to crack down on fraud or deter speculative lawsuits.
New York leads the nation in the number of new bills introduced, with more than 24,000 proposals filed each year— five times the national average and twice as many as the next-closest state, as the Public Policy Institute recently reported. Yet far too few of those bills address the root problems that drive up costs and make it harder to live, work, and grow in New York.
Albany must deliver civil liability reforms in 2026
As we head into the 2026 legislative session, we stand ready to support an affordability agenda that takes up targeted civil liability reforms. Lawmakers can align New York’s construction and joint and several liability laws with those of other states, impose felony penalties for deliberately caused accidents intended to commit insurance fraud, and allow the cancellation of policies obtained through identity theft. These steps would deter questionable lawsuits, dismantle organized fraud rings, and protect consumers from facing higher costs due to the bad behavior of others.
Greater transparency around third-party litigation financing is also essential. This unregulated practice lets hedge funds secretly bankroll lawsuits for a cut of the final settlement — a practice that subverts justice, inflates payouts and drives up costs for everyone.
For businesses, the state’s costly and unpredictable legal environment, combined with high operating expenses and a shrinking talent pool, make expansion here increasingly difficult. Utica National Insurance Group is proud of its deep roots in the Empire State, and we have long prioritized attracting talented professionals and promoting a vibrant culture at our home office. Unfortunately, that isn’t always enough. As we’ve looked to grow our business, we’ve needed to “follow the talent,” and expand our workforce where people are moving. That’s why we recently opened an office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Fiscal Policy Institute reports that families with young children are 40% more likely to leave New York because it’s simply too expensive. The same economic forces that drive families out of state make it harder for employers to hire, expand, and invest. A Cornell University study projects that New York could lose as many as 2.7 million residents by 2050 — a continuation of the outmigration already underway.
New Yorkers are resilient. We have endured blackouts, disasters, recessions and pandemics. But no amount of toughness can overcome a system that punishes success and rewards opportunism.
Reforming New York’s civil liability laws is a critical first step toward repairing the state’s business climate and making it more affordable, competitive and livable. It would also ensure that home-grown insurance companies like ours — which have served our communities for generations — can keep doing what they do best: protecting New Yorkers when life takes an unexpected turn.
Kristen H. Martin, J.D., is president and chief executive officer at Utica National Insurance Group. Utica Mutual Insurance Company, the Group’s principal company, was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in New Hartford, New York, with offices countrywide. She serves on the board of directors of the New York Insurance Association, the country’s oldest state insurance trade organization that has served the property and casualty insurance industry for more than 140 years.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: In Albany’s 2026 legislative session, lawsuit reform must take center stage | Opinion
Reporting by Kristen H. Martin / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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