Legislation to prohibit insurance carriers from using gender as a factor when setting auto insurance rates advances from Senate Insurance. Bill author Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau says women are often charged a higher premium than men even if they have an identical driving record.
“The real question I think you have to ask yourself today when you’re deciding how you’re going to vote on this piece of legislation is do you want to level the playing field? Do you want to be fair with women to make sure they aren’t charged more?” Luneau asked.
The only female on the committee Monroe Senator Katrina Jackson says it’s a very simple gender shouldn’t be used to determine whether or not she’s an at-risk driver, especially when insurance companies have access to one’s driving record.
“And I think that in 2023 it’s appalling that we’re still discussing whether females can be discriminated against by insurance companies because that’s what it boils down to,” said Jackson.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says insurance carriers are not discriminating against females. He says companies refer to it as predictive modeling that differentiates between young women and men, and older women and men.
“In my opinion, if we pass this bill, overall, all women drivers in Louisiana totally, will pay more than all male drivers totally in the state of Louisiana,” said Donelon.
Chair of the Insurance Committee, Senator Kirk Talbot opposes the legislation for fear that it would cause insurance rates for male drivers to increase.
“I’m not going to vote for a bill that’s going to have women subsidize the bad driving habits of men, especially young men, and young women,” said Talbot.
The legislation narrowly passed on a five to four vote and moves to the Senate floor.
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