Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced a decision Wednesday to bar auto insurers from considering marital status when setting premiums for drivers.
This move reverses a long-standing practice in California, where single, divorced, and many widowed drivers historically paid more for auto insurance than their married counterparts. For decades, the insurance department had defended this regulation, citing a correlation between unmarried drivers and higher accident rates. An appeals court had also upheld a California regulation that permitted insurers to charge unmarried drivers more for auto insurance.
However, in a regulatory filing last week, the department cast doubt on its previous stance. While acknowledging a correlation between marital status and accident rates, the department suggested that this link could be influenced by secondary factors such as income, educational attainment, and employment. The filing explicitly stated that, in light of "evolving societal norms," the Commissioner finds "insufficient justification for the continued use of marital status" in automobile insurance rating.
The practical effect of this decision is that unmarried drivers are anticipated to see discounts in the future. The department will no longer permit marital status to be used for any rate plan filed after October 25.
The regulatory change was included in a legal brief filed by the department in connection with a lawsuit brought in 2022 by 11 unmarried drivers seeking to overturn the existing policy. A state appeals court decision upholding the marital status policy is currently being appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Evidence cited in a legal brief supporting the litigation, from a test conducted by the Consumer Federation of America, indicated that unmarried drivers did indeed pay more. This test, which provided quotes in April 2025, found that single, divorced, and widowed drivers received premiums up to $108 higher for six months from four out of five California carriers.
Commissioner Lara, in his announcement, noted that insurers had been allowed to use marital status for 30 years. He stated that the department is taking action to end this "outdated practice," asserting that insurance rates should be grounded in actual driving risk, rather than personal circumstances unrelated to a driver's behavior behind the wheel.
This regulatory shift occurs as auto insurance rates across the state have surged, attributed to high inflation and soaring vehicle repair costs in what is often called the car capital of the country.
Christian Schreiber, an attorney representing the 11 drivers in the lawsuit and plaintiffs in several related class actions, characterized the decision as an attempt to make their lawsuit irrelevant before a potential Supreme Court review. Schreiber expressed surprise at the announcement, given his multi-year advocacy for such a change, and noted the uncertainty surrounding the decision's effect on proposed class actions filed against 12 insurers.
Before the regulatory change can take effect, it must first undergo a review to ensure its adherence to state law.
