Please lend your voice to this initiative by asking your NYS representative to pass this bill by name.

A.5718 Kelles/S.5959 Webb-Brouk

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the insurance law, in relation to automobile liability
insurance purchased from a Risk Retention Group.

Ithaca Carshare, Mobility Development Operations (MDO), New York Public Transit Association, and the New
York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) strongly supports A.5718/S.5959, which will make it clear that duly
registered Risk Retention Groups (RRGs) in New York may provide commercial auto insurance for 501(c)(3)
nonprofits in our state.

Nonprofit carshares are community-focused, membership-based services that provide access to cars for local
trips to people who can’t or choose not to buy their own vehicle. Carsharing provides many social and
environmental benefits, such as access to private mobility options for people in low-income neighborhoods,
while reducing traffic and carbon emissions.

While there are a few carshares in NYS right now, Ithaca Carshare is currently the only nonprofit. There is a
nonprofit carshare in development in Buffalo, and the carshares in Rochester and the Capital Region plan to
move to a nonprofit model. All of the carshares in NYS have or will receive funding from NYSERDA, and the
opportunity exists to significantly expand these services rapidly as part of the State’s efforts to equitably tackle
climate change and make electric vehicles accessible to all New Yorkers.

However, due to an interpretation of insurance and traffic laws and regulations by New York insurance
regulators, the state’s only nonprofit carshare will soon be unable to secure required automobile insurance and
will be forced to close its operations. This is because the two private insurers who have been offering coverage
for nonprofit carshares are leaving the market in May, 2023, and the only insurer ready to write such coverage
in NYS — a RRG not domiciled here — is prevented from doing so by New York State insurance regulators.
This situation is unique to New York State, as federal law allows RRGs domiciled in one state to write
automobile insurance in other states.

We support this bill because it would not only help carshares across the state, but all 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organizations, who often struggle to secure auto insurance due to their unique risk. This bill will help nonprofit
programs that rely on volunteer drivers — and/or serve the elderly, disabled, and children — to secure
insurance via a registered and qualified Risk Retention Group.

For more information, please see:
https://www.ithacacarshare.org/nonprofit-carshare-insurance-faqs/
https://www.ithacacarshare.org/insurance-updates/
Last updated Thursday, May 25, 2023

Additional Signers
New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) — Albany, NY
New York Public Transit Association (NYPTA) — Albany, NY
Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) — Albany, NY
Environmental Advocates NY — Albany, NY
Mobility Development Operations — helping carshares in Buffalo, Rochester, and the Capital Region
Reconnected Rochester — Rochester, NY
Shared Mobility, Inc. — Buffalo, NY
GoBike Buffalo — Buffalo, NY
Reddy Bikeshare — Buffalo, NY
The Dorothy and Marshall M. Reisman Foundation — Onondaga County, NY — Robert R. Falter, Trustee
BluePrint — Geneva, NY — Dr. Jacqueline Augustine, Executive Director
Hanford Mills Museum — East Meredith, NY
Ossining Arts Council — Maryknoll, NY
Govinda Goshala Cow Haven — Belfast, NY
MODArts Dance Collective (MADC) — Harlem, NY
WESPAC Foundation, Inc — White Plains, NY
The Water Mill Center — Water Mill, NY
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, Inc. — Ithaca, NY
GO ITHACA — Ithaca, NY
Cornell University Transportation and Delivery Services — Ithaca, NY
Ithaca Health Alliance — Ithaca, NY
Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative — Ithaca, NY
Finger Lakes Wealth Management — Ithaca, NY
Home Green Home — Ithaca, NY
White Hawk Ecovillage — Danby, NY
Shared Use Mobility Center — headquartered in Chicago, IL with offices in Los Angeles, CA