What changed in New York

Insurance law does not sit still, but most guides are written once and left alone. Repealed programs and retired forms keep circulating for years. This is what actually changed inNew York, when, and where to verify it.

1. May 26, 2026

   Fault system

   Pure comparative negligence no longer applies to car crash claims

   Part EE of the FY2027 budget bill (S.9008-C, signed as chapter 58 of 2026) added CPLR 1411(b): in a personal injury action subject to Insurance Law article 51 — New York's no-fault motor vehicle framework — a claimant whose culpable conduct is greater than the defendant's now recovers nothing. Pure comparative fault under CPLR 1411(a) survives for everything else. Guides that still describe New York as a flat pure comparative state are describing the law as it stood before May 26, 2026.

   N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1411 (NYS Open Legislation)

2. May 26, 2026

   Fault system

   The 90/180-day category was removed from the serious injury threshold

   The same Part EE narrowed the definition of "serious injury" in Insurance Law § 5102(d). The category covering a medically determined non-permanent injury that prevented usual daily activities for 90 of the 180 days after the crash is gone. What remains is death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement, fracture, loss of a fetus, permanent loss of use, permanent consequential limitation, and significant limitation of use.

   N.Y. Ins. Law § 5102(d) (NYS Open Legislation)

3. May 26, 2026

   Fault system

   Fault is decided first, and a $100,000 cap on pain and suffering was added

   Insurance Law § 5104(a) now directs that the trier of fact shall not decide whether an injury is a serious injury until it has determined who was at fault. New § 5104(d) caps recovery for non-economic loss at $100,000 where the injured person was operating an uninsured vehicle, was driving while impaired and convicted, or was operating the vehicle in the commission of a felony and convicted.

   N.Y. Ins. Law § 5104 (NYS Open Legislation)

4. February 1, 1957

   SR-22

   New York abolished proof-of-financial-responsibility filings — there is no SR-22

   Veh. & Traf. Law § 346 provides that on and after February 1, 1957 no person shall be required to file or maintain proof of financial responsibility under the Motor Vehicle Safety Responsibility Act. New York has never adopted the SR-22 in its place. Compliance is verified instead by the insurer, which files the policy and any notice of termination with DMV electronically under §§ 312-a and 313. Sites that list SR-22 filing periods or SR-22 filing fees for New York are wrong.

   N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 346 (NYS Open Legislation)