Can insurers consider your job when calculating auto premiums?

Sat May 14th, 2016 on     Insurance Claims,    

Every six months, most of us are faced with the loathsome task of either logging into our bank accounts or retrieving our checkbooks so that we can cover the cost of our auto insurance premium. Indeed, part of this loathing comes from the fact that this is seldom a cheap proposition here in Florida, something we discussed in our previous post.

As pricy as our auto insurance premiums are, we could perhaps take some measure of comfort from the fact that we aren’t in it alone, meaning that for the most part, people in similar situations are paying the same rates. As it turns out, however, this isn’t always the case.

Consider that a group of investigators from a local television station recently conducted an experiment in which they sought online auto insurance quotes from two of the larger insurance companies in the nation.

Here, they input identical information for two hypothetical men who were the same age, lived at the same address, drove the same type of car, had the same driving record and claim history, and were the same in all other respects except one.

The profession of one man was listed as a surgeon while the other was listed as a custodian.

While you would be tempted to think that the two would pay the same rate or that the physician might be charged a bit more owing to his higher salary, neither of these proved to be the case.

In fact, the insurance companies offered the custodian quotes for a six-month premium that were 23 percent higher and 37 percent higher than those offered to the surgeon.

We’ll continue examining this fascinating story in our next post, including whether this practice is even permitted under Florida law.

Consider speaking with an experienced legal professional who can hold your insurance company accountable if it is resorting to objectionable and illegal tactics in relation to an auto accident claim.

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