Several large U.S. auto insurance companies use education levelsand occupation to set rates, effectively pricing some low- andmoderate-income earners out of the market, according to a report bythe Consumer Federation of America.

The report, released on Monday, looked at premiums set by the 10largest auto insurance companies in 10 urban areas across theUnited States.

The CFA plugged information about a fictional person into eachcompany's website to get a quote, changing only education level andoccupation to see the effect on rates. Five of the insurancecompanies were found to collect such information.

In some cases, premiums for minimum-liability coverage exceeded$2000 and in one instance, in Baltimore, it was more than $4000,from Travelers Insurance.

"The quoted prices, especially the nine exceeding $2000, showthat insurers either are overcharging lower-income consumers or arenot interested in serving them," Bob Hunter, the CFA's director ofinsurance, said in a statement.

Officials at Travelers were not immediately available tocomment.

The report found that Geico, part of the Berkshire Hathawaygroup of companies, charges more in six of the analyzed markets fora factory worker with a high school diploma than for a factorysupervisor with a college degree. The rate could be as much as 45percent more in Seattle or as low as 20 percent more inBaltimore.

Progressive Corp., which had the second-highest difference inpremiums, was found to charge the factory worker 33 percent more inBaltimore and 8 percent more in Oakland,California.

Since education and occupation have been found to correlate withrace, the CFA said the practice of using such factors isdiscriminatory.

However, Robert Hartwig, an economist and president oftheInsurance Information Institute, an industry group representinginsurance companies, said dozens of factors go into determininginsurance rates, each correlating with risk.

"Why would an insurer collect data that is not useful?" Hartwigasked. "These factors are used for one reason and one reason only,and that's to ascertain risk."

Common practices that the CFA agreed should be used for settingrates include a person's past driving record and miles driven.Location and type of car are also often used because they canincrease the cost of a claim.

Factors such as age, gender and credit ratings are also usedbecause they have been found to correlate with the frequency orsize of claims, according to the III's website.

But the CFA said that while such factors may indicate correlation, they do not necessarily indicate causation.

Hartwig defended the use of correlation, saying it was whatinsurers and actuaries typically use because causation might neverbe known.

Hartwig also said the use of so many different models was a signof a competitive market. A market in which all companies used thesame variables would result in uniform pricing, he said.

Using a survey conducted by market research firm ORCInternational, the CFA said about two-thirds of Americans think theuse of education and occupation to set insurance rates isunfair.

The organization said the Federal Insurance Office, an agencyborn out of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform law,might be able to change how insurers determine rates.

Insurance regulation is usually at the state level. ButStephenBrobeck, executive director at the CFA, suggested it is not a bigenough concern for state officials and said he hoped attention from consumer advocacy groups would change that.

"Many of the insurance commissioners and the departments are notsensitive enough to the needs of the insured, particularly for low-and moderate-income drivers in their states," Brobeck said on aconference call.

He added that the CFA also opposes the use of credit ratingsbecause it discriminates against low-income earners.

Auto insurance is required to own and operate a vehicle in allU.S. states except New Hampshire.