The Federal Insurance Office (FIO) announced in July 2021 plans to examine the impact of non-driving factors such as a consumer’s credit history, homeownership status and others in determining personal auto insurance rates. Officials will also be looking into the use of big data and technology in underwriting and pricing. This new study comes a few months after President Biden criticized disparities in personal auto insurance pricing in a February 2021 Town Hall meeting.
Intending to provide quantifiable information on auto insurance affordability, The FIO conducted a study in 2017 based on ZIP code-level data, finding that car insurance is generally unaffordable in 845 U.S. areas typically home to minorities and people with low-to-moderate incomes, affecting approximately 18.6 million individuals. In this study, “unaffordable” auto insurance costs were defined as anything more than 2% of median household income.
In the new study, officials plan to perform a holistic analysis of the domestic personal auto insurance business. The Treasury Department will focus on the affordability of coverage and premium pricing disparities as well as structural shifts like the use of big data and the impacts from COVID-19 in the conduct of business.
FIO will explore questions like:
- What role should non-driving related factors play in personal auto insurance underwriting and pricing, and how should these factors be assessed?
- What are both the risks and rewards of using big data for consumers and insurers?
- How can FIO evaluate the potential long-term or permanent effects of the pandemic on the industry?
- How has the shift in consumer preferences and impact of manufacturers entering the underwriting realm impacted the business?
- What are some other quantitative approaches FIO can take to effectively study auto insurance affordability?
This study was announced a week after Colorado announced that the state would limit the use of data in setting insurance rates. This new legislation not only requires insurance companies to demonstrate that its use of external data does not discriminate on the basis of certain classes, it also guarantees that citizens don’t overpay for coverage or be unfairly targeted. However, this specific bill does not prohibit the use of credit history. Other states that have made similar initiatives include:
- Washington state announced in March 2021 a ban on the use of credit in setting insurance rates for new and renewed auto, homeowners and renters insurance policies, as of June 20, 2021.
- California, Hawaii and Massachusetts don’t use credit scores to determine auto insurance premiums.
- New Jersey passed a bill in February 2021 that bars insurance companies from using credit scores, education levels and a host of non-driving related metrics when setting auto premiums.
- Nevada temporarily banned the use of credit history during the pandemic.
- Colorado passed a bill banning insurers from directly or indirectly using any external consumer data and scoring model that “unfairly” discriminates against an individual based on membership in a protected class.
- Maryland, West Virginia, Illinois, Oklahoma and Louisiana have recently seen legislative activity around the same restrictions.
With the legitimacy of using non-driving factors like credit scores being questioned (again) and a deep dive pending on the use of big data in the insurance industry, is this the soft push that usage-based insurance models need to become the new norm?