Consumer Groups Call on FIO to Dig Deep into “Unfairness” in Auto Market
A group of consumer organizations urged the Department of Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office (FIO) to update a 2017 study on the affordability of auto insurance in historically underserved communities and to conduct a “deep and thorough investigation of unfair discrimination in auto insurance markets”. While state laws in all states but New Hampshire require drivers to purchase auto insurance, the group holds that it is often unaffordable for lower-income drivers and that industry pricing practices that rely on non-driving, socio-economic characteristics of customers disproportionately penalize people of color with higher premiums and fewer choices in the market.