By Staff Writers, BEST’S REVIEW

February 1, 2019

Auto Insurance: California has issued new rules, which ban automobile insurers from using a driver’s gender when setting rates. The new regulations went into effect Jan. 1. The rules bring private auto insurance prices into line with the provisions of voter-approved Proposition 103, which prohibits unfair and discriminatory pricing, said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, a California advocacy group.

Gender had previously been approved as an optional rating factor, Balber said. Testing by the Consumer Federation of America has shown, in some markets, one insurer would grant a price break for female drivers while another insurer in the same market would surcharge those same drivers.