Insurance companies use a range of rating factors to determine how much you’ll pay for a car insuranceꦡ policy. In many states, 🌳insurers have the option to use gender as a rating factor. Inequalities often exist in the rates that male and female drivers pay for auto insurance. 

Available data does not clearly define ꦍhow one’s gender plays a role in gender-based insurance rating for transgender and nonbinary drivers. However, certain critical factors, such as a driver’s claims record, can play a major role in their insurance premium, regardless of gender.

How Gender Affects Car Insurance Rates

Gender is just one way that some insurers determine your car insurance rates. Drivers who are cisg🅰ender—people who identify as the sex listed on their birth certificates—often pay rates based on statisti🅰cal data that correspond with their gender. However, the same rating process may not apply to transgender and nonbinary auto insurance policyholders.

Cisgender Policyholders

It is a widely held belief that American women often pay less than men for auto insurance because, statistically, female drivers have fewer automobile accidents than male motorists. However, recent state-level studies conducted by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) dispute that belief.

“We found that, contrary to the po꧟pular stereotype, women are charged more than men. It wasn’t uniform among states or from insurance company to insurance company,” Michael DeLong, CFA research and advocacy associate, told Investopedia. “We found that women got charged more based on their gender, sometimes substantially more, and it didn’t seem to be connected to any good risk that w💞e could find. For example, in Arkansas we found that men, on average, got charged about $529 for auto insurance, but women got charged $537 for auto insurance.”

However, rates can vary widely among carriers and sta♕tes. “We found that in some states, some insurance companies charge men and women equall♛y,” DeLong said. “There are some insurers who charge men higher auto insurance premiums than women, and there are some auto insurance companies that charge women higher insurance premiums than men.”

According to the CFA reporting, price variations are quite high in some instances. For example, CFA’s 2022 Delaware gender-based car insurance analysis found that one major insurer charged 35-year-old women 21% higher rates than men of the same age. In Louisiana, on average, the same carrier charged female drivers 17% higher premiums than their male counterparts.

Transgender and Nonbinary Policyholders

Currently, little data exists to conclude 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:how insurers determine rates for transgender and nonbinary polic𒀰yholders. 

“In our Delaware report, we found that some folks transitioned, then their auto insurance rate went up,” DeLong said. “We got quotes from 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Progressive for nonbinary drivers in Colorado and found that they got 🌞charged an intermediate amount. For instance, male drivers, on average, were quoted a rate of $53 per month. For a nonbinary driver, their quote was $55 per month; for a woman, they quoted $57 per month.”

Other Rating Factors

Often, a driver’s gender has little impact on their 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:car insurance premium, but other rating factors can impact how muc🐬h they’ll pay.

“I have not seen a gender discrepancy,” Fritz Oviedo, an insurance agent with Affluence Insurance Services in Dallas, Texas, told Investopedia. Affluence sells policies for about 30 insurance companies. “Age can be a factor if you’re over 70 or so, but usually your record is a bigger factor, if you have speeding tickets or claims. Location is also a big factor. For example, [with] inner city versus secure gated community, the rates are going to be different.”

Gender on Car Insurance Applications

Some states do not allow gender-based auto insurance rating: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, and Pဣennsylvania.

Some insurers no longer include gender as a rating fac🔜t🎉or. “State Farm is one of the biggest companies that does not use it,” DeLong said. “Shelter Insurance also does not seem to use gender as a rating factor; neither does Auto-Owners.”

Some insurers now offer additional 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:gender options on car insurance applications, according to Oviedo. Investopedia evaluated the online quote process of several major car insurance companies, using a Texas ZIP code. We found that some providers only give you the opti🥀on to select male or female gend𝓡er markers, while one has eliminated the gender question altogether.

How t🍬o Get Car Insurance as a Transgender or Nonꦰbinary Person

Transgender and nonbinary motorists can buy auto insurance from the same ins🎃urers that offer policies for cisgender drivers. While the buying process is essentially the same for everyone, transgender and nonbinary people may find it beneficial to seek out insurance agents and companies that understand their unique needs and challenges.

Shop Around for Quotes

Obtain quotes from several insurers. Most major carriers offer free online quotes. Print each quote to compare it with those of other insurance companies. When evaluating 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:car insurance quotes, compare rates, coverages, optionalꦍ coverage🌃s, and discounts.

Talk to an Agent

When speaking with insurance agents, ask them if their company uses gender as a rating factor. The agent will ask you questions about your driving record and claims history and will need information about the vehicle you want to insure. Always answer all questions truthfully and completely.

Find an Insurer with LGBTQ-Inclusive Policies

Also, look for insurance providers that rank highly as an LGBTQ employer. Each year, the Human Rights Campaign publishes its Corporate Equality Index, which lists hundreds of companies with the best LGBTQ-inclusive workplace policies, benefits, and practices.

States That Provide a Nonbinary Optio🌜n for a♏ Driver’s License

According to the Movement Advancement ﷽Project, 22 states and the District of Columbia currently allow drivers to 💛choose male, female, or nonbinary gender markers on their driver’s licenses:

• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Hawaii
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington

♛ Car Insurance Rates for Transgender and Nonbinary People

Seven states—California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—ban insurance companies from engaging in gender-based auto insurance rating, according to the CFA. Where allowed, many carriers use an applicant or policyholder’s gender when determining their insurance premium.

Bear in𒆙 mind that genꦐder is only one factor that insurers may use to determine the amount you’ll pay for car insurance. Generally, factors such as your claims and driving records have more of an impact on your insurance premium.

Currently, we do not have sufficient data to determine how auto insurance rates for transgender and nonbinary drivers stack up against th♛e rates of cisgender policyholders.

The Bottom Line

The role that gender plays in setting auto insurance rates is c🦩hanging. A few states have banned gender-based premium rating, citing gender-based discrimination, and some insurers h𓄧ave discontinued the practice.

Car insurance rates can vary widely by insurer and state. While gender may plওay a role in a carrier’s underwriting guidelines, factors such as your driving and claims records typically have th♐e greatest impact on your insurance premium.