Auto insurance companies in New York can no longer ask about education and occupation as factors for setting premiums, the state's Department of Financial Services said Wednesday.
|Unfair rates?
Following a multiyear investigation, DFS Superintendent Maria Vullo issued regulations that are aimed at deterring discriminatory auto insurance rates. Under the new regulations, insurers are prohibited from asking an individual's occupation or educational level as a factor for setting rates, unless the insurer demonstrates that such questions don't result in rates that are "unfairly discriminatory."
In a statement, Vullo said New York drivers who don't have college degrees or high-paying jobs shouldn't be penalized with higher auto insurance rates. The investigation by the department found that some insurance companies use an individual's education level to establish a tier placement "without a clear demonstration of the required relationship between these factors and driving ability."
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Josefa Velasquez
Josefa Velasquez is a regulatory and Court of Appeals reporter for the New York Law Journal based in Albany, N.Y. Contact Josefa Velasquez at [email protected]. Twitter: @j__velasquez
