Could Marital Status Be The Next Insurance Rating Factor To Fall?

The California Department of Insurance has proposed eliminating marital status as an auto insurance rating factor, putting renewed focus on a pricing practice that remains permitted in many states.

The department recently proposed regulations that would prohibit insurers from using marital status when setting private-passenger auto insurance rates.

The proposal would eliminate an optional rating factor that has been permitted in California since 1996.

Under Proposition 103, California insurers must primarily rely on driving safety record, annual mileage and years of driving experience when developing rates.

Regulators may also approve additional factors if they are substantially related to risk. Marital status has been one of those factors for roughly 30 years.

"The price of your auto insurance should be based on how you drive, not whether you're married," Ricardo Lara said when announcing the proposal.

Lara said the department's action is intended to ensure insurance rates are based on driving risk rather than personal circumstances unrelated to behavior behind the wheel.

The proposal has exposed a broader debate over how insurers evaluate risk.

Supporters of the change argue rates should be based primarily on driving behavior, while insurers maintain that marital status remains an actuarially supported rating factor tied to claims experience.

Why insurers use marital status

Marital status is one of several non-driving factors insurers may use when developing rates.

According to rate analysis published by The Zebra, married drivers generally pay lower premiums than single, divorced and widowed motorists.

The analysis found average six-month premiums of about $1,051 for married drivers, compared with roughly $1,148 for single and divorced drivers and $1,084 for widowed drivers.

The findings are consistent with insurance industry research that has long linked marriage to lower claim frequency and fewer accidents. Insurers have historically cited those patterns when supporting the use of marital status in pricing models.

Mark Friedlander, senior director of media relations for the Insurance Information Institute, which is supported and funded by insurance industry members and corporate partners, said insurers consider marital status an actuarially supported rating factor based on decades of claims experience showing married drivers generally file fewer claims and cause fewer accidents than unmarried motorists.

Friedlander described marital status as one of numerous factors insurers may consider when developing rates and said it has long been a standard part of underwriting models.

Separate state-rating-factor research from The Zebra found that rules governing those factors vary significantly by state, with some jurisdictions permitting their use and others restricting or prohibiting them altogether.

What state records show

State-rating-factor summaries published by The Zebra and other insurance-reference sources commonly identify Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan as states that prohibit or significantly restrict the use of marital status in auto insurance pricing.

Some references also identify restrictions in Maryland related to surviving-spouse protections rather than a full prohibition on the factor.

Michael DeLong, research and advocacy associate at the Consumer Federation of America, or CFA, said most states continue to allow insurers to use marital status when setting rates, while a relatively small number have adopted restrictions.

He also pointed to Pennsylvania as a state with limitations involving marital status in insurance pricing.

Publicly available state-rating-factor summaries indicate marital status remains permissible in most states unless specifically prohibited by statute or regulation.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC, maintains state insurance law resources, although publicly available references do not provide a single nationwide database dedicated specifically to marital-status rating factors.

Friedlander said California's proposal could have a greater impact than similar actions elsewhere because the state already restricts some rating factors and underwriting tools available to insurers in other markets.

As a result, insurers operating nationally must comply with different rating-factor requirements depending on the jurisdiction.

Why the factor is facing renewed scrutiny

In 2025, CFA tested premiums from five California insurers and reported that four charged higher rates to unmarried drivers than to married drivers with otherwise similar characteristics.

According to DeLong, CFA's research identified premium differences at insurers including Allstate, GEICO, Mercury and Progressive.

CFA has argued that consumers with comparable driving records should not receive different premiums because of marital status alone.

DeLong said many consumers are unaware the factor is even used.

"Most people don't know that marital status is used to charge people higher premiums at all," DeLong said. "The average person doesn't think too much about auto insurance."

The issue also became part of litigation involving California's treatment of marital status as an optional rating factor.

According to filings cited by Consumer Watchdog, unmarried motorists paid roughly $56 to $100 more than married drivers for comparable coverage. Consumer Watchdog also cited examples showing larger premium differences depending on the insurer and driver profile.

DeLong said single drivers are generally the consumers most affected by marital-status pricing. He added that younger consumers may be disproportionately affected because they are less likely to be married.

DeLong said growing scrutiny of rating factors, consumer advocacy efforts and rising insurance costs have helped bring greater attention to the issue.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by DeLong, auto insurance costs rose 55% between 2020 and 2025.

Friedlander said the discussion extends beyond marital status and reflects a broader debate over the types of information insurers should be allowed to use when assessing risk.

While defending marital status as an actuarially supported factor, he said it is becoming less significant nationally as insurers gain access to more sophisticated underwriting tools and driving-related data.

The California Department of Insurance's proposal would require insurers using marital status in California to revise their rating plans through the state's regulatory review process.

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