Gender-neutral automobile-insurance rates: have they made a difference? Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • The authors' objective was to assess the impact of gender-neutral automobile-insurance laws in four states, and to ask whether these laws have increased prices, increased market concentration, discouraged driving, or encouraged greater risk taking? A pooled time-series analysis for 21 years in four states was used to test the relationship between adopting a gender-neutral insurance law and risk-adjusted prices, industry concentration, numbers of licensed drivers, and traffic fatalities. The authors find that gender-neutral automobile-insurance laws have no impact on the risk-adjusted price of insurance, the market share held by direct writers, the number of licensed drivers, or the rate of traffic fatalities. Gender-neutral laws were associated with a larger market share being controlled by the three largest firms. The authors conclude that because gender-neutral insurance laws have no impacts which are detrimental to consumers, they could be adopted by all states with few negative consequences.

published proceedings

  • ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING C-GOVERNMENT AND POLICY

author list (cited authors)

  • Stanislawski, A. J., & Meier, K.

citation count

  • 1

complete list of authors

  • Stanislawski, AJ||Meier, K

publication date

  • October 1998