Consumer Advocates Urge Louisiana Legislature to Ban Credit Scores and ZIP Codes in Auto Insurance

In a letter to the Louisiana Senate Insurance Committee, the Consumer Federation of America and Real Reform Louisiana urged the Committee to support SB 267, which would ban credit scores and ZIP codes in auto insurance underwriting or rating.

Insurers' use of these two factors in auto insurance forces many Louisiana consumers to pay higher premiums for their coverage, even if they have a history of safe driving. Prohibiting insurers from considering these factors in underwriting decisions and setting consumer premiums will increase access to auto insurance for financially vulnerable residents and make pricing fairer for all drivers.

The consumer groups also urged that the proposed legislation be amended to prevent insurers from ending the use of ZIP code pricing and, instead, using even smaller territories, further exacerbating the unfair pricing problem.