California joined about a half-dozen states this month in banning the use of a person’s gender when assessing risk factors for car insurance, a change that could potentially alter rates for scores of drivers across the state.
The state, which is the country’s most populous, requires insurers to prioritize criteria like drivers’ safety records and years of experience behind the wheel when setting auto rates, but it also allows them to weigh other factors, like marital status. Gender had been among the optional criteria until the beginning of this year, when a new regulation went into effect prohibiting the practice.
In announcing the change, the departing state insurance commissioner, Dave Jones, said the new regulations “ensure that auto insurance rates are based on factors within a driver’s control, rather than personal characteristics over which drivers have no control.”
Mr. Jones’s term as commissioner ended in early January, and the new regulation was one of his final acts. The state’s Insurance Department, in explaining its reasoning for the change, noted that the industry had inconsistently — and perhaps unfairly — applied gender weighting in pricing.
Some insurers found that female drivers were a higher risk while others claimed the inverse, the department concluded, and the factoring of gender on rates varied widely by location.
“Gender’s relationship to risk of loss no longer appears to be substantial,” the department noted, saying the rationale for using it was “suspect.”
“Charging drivers different rates by their gender might have seemed like a good idea decades ago,” Ricardo Lara, the new state insurance commissioner, said in an emailed statement. “Gender, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation are beyond your control, and it is not a fair or even an effective way to predict risk.”
The specific impact on someone’s insurance rates in California remains uncertain. Insurers have until at least July to submit gender-neutral auto rating plans to the Insurance Department for review.
Removing the gender factor could in effect equalize rates for inexperienced drivers: Younger men, who have typically paid higher rates, on average might see declines, while younger women could see increases. In an economic analysis of the change, the Insurance Department estimated that female drivers with three or fewer years of driving experience were expected to see the biggest impact, with rates going up 6 percent on average. Male drivers with similar driving experience could have a corresponding decrease of about 5 percent.
The department’s analysis, based on 17 companies that make up about two-thirds of the state’s consumer car insurance market, estimated scant effect on rates over all.
The impact for any given driver, however, could “vary considerably” by the individual, by the insurer and by the type of coverage chosen, the state noted.
Janet Ruiz, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group, said she didn’t expect California drivers over all to see a big impact on premiums, because gender wasn’t one of the top factors used in setting rates anyway.
Other states that ban the use of gender in setting rates include Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, according to the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit advocacy group. Most other states allow the practice, and insurers have long argued that the use of gender in setting premiums is sound actuarial practice.
The rule change in California followed the advent of a state law aimed at accommodating the concerns of transgender people when using identity documents. The Gender Recognition Act of 2017 in part allows Californians to choose, in addition to “male” or “female,” a third category of “nonbinary” on their state driver’s licenses. The law describes nonbinary as an umbrella term for people whose gender identities “fall somewhere outside of the traditional conceptions of strictly either female or male.” The option became available Jan. 1.
In Oregon, where drivers may select “not specified” as a third gender category on their licenses, insurers may continue to use gender as a factor in setting rates. However, insurers must submit documentation justifying how they rate those drivers.
Here are some questions and answers about auto insurance premiums:
What factors do insurers consider when setting auto insurance rates?
The rules vary by state, and some exclude or restrict certain criteria. Typical factors used by insurers to assess a driver’s risk and set premiums, in addition to your driving record and claims history, might include where you live, your age, education, occupation, marital status, credit history and the type of car you drive, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
What can I do if I think my auto premium is too high?
Industry representatives and consumer advocates alike advise people to seek quotes periodically from competing insurers. Contact us at Ample Insurance Services for free quotes from over 8+ auto insurance companies.We do the work for you, free of charge.
What else can I do to keep my auto rates affordable?
Consider raising your deductible, the amount subtracted from your check when an insurer pays a claim under your policy. Going from $500 to $1,000 can save between 10 and 15 percent annually on premiums. Also, make sure you don’t let your policy lapse; if you go without coverage even for a day, you’ll likely see your rates rise. And, she said, bundling your coverage for renter’s or homeowner’s insurance with your auto policy with the same insurer can save an average of 8 percent annually.
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