{"id":737,"date":"2026-06-09T19:09:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=737"},"modified":"2026-06-09T19:09:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:09:40","slug":"critics-say-bias-is-behind-n-j-car-insurance-rates-urge-lawmakers-to-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=737","title":{"rendered":"Critics say bias is behind N.J. car insurance rates, urge lawmakers to act"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For almost a decade, consumer and civil rights advocates have urged New Jersey lawmakers to bar companies from basing car insurance rates on socioeconomic factors they deem discriminatory and that have nothing to do with driving \u2014 things like credit history, marital status, education level, occupation, and zip code.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=735\">He called himself \u2018the Beast,\u2019 and he killed six people in six months. A jury has convicted him of all crimes.<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>They renewed their plea Monday, when the Senate\u2019s commerce committee called up a long-stalled bill for consideration \u2014 its third committee hearing since it was first introduced in 2018. The bill\u2019s supporters expressed frustration with the legislative inaction, with Danielle Combs of the NAACP\u2019s New Jersey state conference calling insurers\u2019 practice \u201cthinly veiled discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis proposed law is about more than car insurance rates. It\u2019s about justice. It\u2019s about dismantling systems that quietly but powerfully keep our communities at a disadvantage,\u201d Combs said. \u201cWhen a single mother in Newark, Trenton, or Camden has to pay double what someone in a wealthier suburb pays for the same coverage and the same driving record, that is not fair, that is not equal, and that is not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The latest hearing comes seven months after the NAACP, Latino Action Network, and the Latino Coalition of New Jersey sued the state to compel change. A judge agreed in April to stay the case until October so the state Department of Banking and Insurance can review the issues. It also comes as car insurance premiums in New Jersey have soared since the pandemic, a trend critics say has fueled a spike in uninsured motorists amid broader affordability concerns.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But while the Senate panel\u2019s chair, Sen. Joseph Lagana (D-Bergen), conceded that using socioeconomic factors to set insurance rates could have \u201ca discriminatory impact,\u201d the committee did not act on the bill.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Four insurance industry insiders testified against the bill, and several other business groups also registered their opposition. Lagana pointed to their objections as evidence the legislation needs more work before seeing a vote.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe have to figure out how to balance the two and what should be the policy, to make sure that people are not disproportionately impacted by something that may be a legitimate rating tool,\u201d Lagana said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a very fine needle to thread.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Industry lobbyists insisted socioeconomic factors predict risk, are not discriminatory, and are an \u201cactuarially justifiable\u201d variable upon which they can set premiums predictive of loss.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe bill before you today does not ban discrimination. New Jersey law already does that. The bill before you today bans accuracy,\u201d said George McNab of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Gary La Spisa of the Insurance Council of New Jersey defended the industry\u2019s use of socioeconomic factors in setting rates, saying they\u2019re overseen by the Department of Banking and Insurance and every premium increase must be justified to get approval.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Barring any consideration of socioeconomic factors would force insurers to assume that drivers with different levels of risk represent the same risk, McNab added.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=733\">Where to watch the World Cup around Philly, from bars open to 4 a.m. to beer gardens in the suburbs<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe inevitable result is a one-size-fits-all pricing that is neither scientifically sound nor fair to New Jersey consumers,\u201d he said. \u201cRiskier drivers would become harder to identify and would pay less than they should, while many responsible drivers will be asked to subsidize those higher risks.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>But Javier Robles, president of Latino Action Network, pushed back on that argument. He reminded the panel that about a quarter of New Jersey\u2019s labor force is Latino, and half of those workers hold blue-collar jobs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWhen New Jersey allows insurance to charge higher rates based on education or job title, it punishes the very people who make New Jersey work. A home health aide shouldn\u2019t pay more than a health care executive with the same driving record. That\u2019s not risk-based pricing. That\u2019s bias, plain and simple,\u201d Robles said.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Basing rates on socioeconomic factors has unintended consequences, Consumer Reports\u2019 Chuck Bell noted, saying Garden State drivers with poor credit face higher surcharges than people convicted of drunk driving.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cSomebody who does one of the most dangerous things you can do on the road is charged less than somebody with poor credit,\u201d Bell told the panel. \u201cPeople who live in lower-income neighborhoods are getting multiple gut punches because of the use of these factors, education, occupation, and credit history, and it\u2019s really time to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>That\u2019s especially true because a person\u2019s credit score could dip because of things outside their control, such as a layoff or medical emergency, added John Harmon of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The bill\u2019s supporters noted that other states including New York have banned socioeconomic factors in premium determinations and yet \u201cthe auto insurers continue to do business,\u201d as Beverly Brown Ruggia of New Jersey Citizen Action put it.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Lagana assured supporters and critics alike that bill sponsor Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) would use their testimony to tweak the bill. Ruiz did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The bill passed the full Senate in 2019 and 2021 but didn\u2019t advance at all in the last two legislative sessions and has never moved in the Assembly.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=731\">Jackie Love, former Deptford Township deputy mayor and longtime champion of disability services, has died at 83<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><i>This story originally appeared on <\/i><i>New Jersey Monitor<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The state Senate\u2019s commerce committee on Monday called up a long-stalled bill that would bar companies from basing car insurance rates on socioeconomic factors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-jersey","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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