California no Longer Allowed to Gender Discriminate When Setting Rates for Auto Insurance

March 11, 2019 In one of his last moves as California Insurance Commissioner on January 1st 2019, Dave Jones banned the use of gender in determining and setting insurance rates for private passenger cars. As California is the third largest state by area in the U.S., this move is a check for the insurance industry, letting insurers know that they might not be able to use this and similar discriminatory practices in determining rates in the future.

Jones noted that it is important that auto insurance rates are based on factors that fall within the control of a driver, rather than personal characteristics that the drivers have no control over. Some other states that prohibit gender discrimination in rating auto insurance include Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. At least 40 states still use gender as a rating factor. California’s ban though, is different, as Jones also prohibited the acceptance, rejection, or raise of car insurance rates based on a driver’s educational status, job, or credit score.