California May Ban Auto Insurers From Using Marital Status in Rate Setting
Proposed regulations would rely solely on driving record, mileage, and experience.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is proposing new regulations that would prohibit auto insurers from using marital status as an optional rating factor. If adopted, these changes would mean that car insurance rates would be determined by only three primary factors: a driver's safety record, the number of miles driven annually, and years of driving experience.
Currently, marital status is an optional factor that insurers can use when setting rates under Proposition 103. Reports indicate that unmarried drivers, including those who are single, divorced, or widowed, have been charged up to $100 more for the same coverage compared to married drivers. Lara's proposed regulations aim to eliminate this disparity.
The state's formal public notice and review process for the proposed changes is expected to occur soon. Following this, insurance companies would be required to submit revised rating plans to the California Department of Insurance for approval to ensure compliance with the new rules. It remains unclear how insurers might adjust their overall base-rate structures if marital status is no longer a consideration.
Proposition 103, approved by voters in 1988, established mandatory and optional factors that could be used in determining auto insurance rates. The Department of Insurance approved marital status as an optional rating factor in 1996. However, a July 16, 2026, ruling in “Ison v. Lara” by the First District Court of Appeal upheld the insurance commissioner's authority over such optional factors. Presiding Justice Alison M. Tucher dissented, arguing that using marital status as a rating factor conflicts with state civil rights protections.
Lara has stated his intention to use the ruling as a basis for formally introducing regulations to remove marital status as a rate-setting factor. "The price of your auto insurance should be based on how you drive, not whether you’re married," Lara said in a statement.
Several state lawmakers have voiced support for the proposed change. Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee, stated, "There is no circumstance where it is acceptable for an unmarried driver to pay more for auto insurance for the sole reason of being unmarried." State Sen. Steve Padilla, chair of the Senate Insurance Committee, echoed this sentiment, calling marital status a "data shortcut, not a direct, demonstrable fact about how someone drives" and asserting that Lara's action corrects a "30-year failure and putting fairness back into what Californians pay."