Rep. Jay Luneau (D) Alexandria
Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau is once again looking to pass legislation to prohibit auto insurance companies from using gender as a factor in setting rates. Luneau says over the years they’ve found some providers charge females more than they do male drivers.
“And there are no competent studies that indicate females are worse drivers, in fact, there are many studies that show females get less speeding tickets, they’re involved in less fatal accidents, they get less DWIs, and a lot of factors indicate they are probably better drivers than males,” said Luneau.
Last time the bill failed to make it out of committee. Luneau said some members opposed the legislation believing it would cause insurance rates for men to increase.
“Which I didn’t think was very good opposition but apparently some members of the committee thought that was a good argument because they voted that way,” said Luneau.
The Alexandria Democrat said a few years ago an insurance actuary priced insurance for fictitious persons by the name of Chris. Same address, and the same kind of car, the female Chris paid more than the male Chris. Even when it was added that the male Chris had a DUI, his rate was still less than the females.
Luneau said it’s really hard to get some legislators to consider the cost involved in paying for coverage and that it could be a product of the insurance company as well as any other factor.
“It’s an unfair disadvantage to females and so I’ve brought that bill again and we’re going try to see if we can’t convince some folks that it’s a good idea and pass it through and try to lower some automobile insurance rates,” said Luneau.
The regular legislative session begins on April 10th.
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