The Poor Pay More for Car Insurance

"In its new study of car insurance rates, the Consumer Federation of America reports that lower-income people pay higher premiums, even if their driving is better than that of their rich neighbors.*

People with lower incomes pay more for auto insurance, even if they're better drivers. How do insurance companies get away with this without getting discrimination charges? Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

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[Xenite]

It's just like how some employers run credit checks on new employees. Someone did a study that said poor people are more likely to steal from the company, so they won't hire people with poor credit scores.

[AMagicalUsername]

Lower socioeconomic classes drive half as much but pay more in premiums?
Proof that consumer protection has broken down in America.

[bobpeters]

I have an 11 year old small car with only liability insurance. Last year, I moved from a trailer park in an "inner city" neighborhood to a hotel in a more affluent suburb. The distance I drive to work was more than tripled by the move, yet my insurance went down.

[therealjammit]

It's easier to beat someone while they're still down.

[shinra]

I pay $40 for car insurance (full coverage). It gets that low when you are 26 or over and without having tickets or wrecks.

[TheUCAPhantom]

Honestly, I don't think that companies care about race, they care about making as much money as possible.

[MoltenMetal]

The problem is not the tax brackets but the tax loopholes. Warren Buffet himself admitted that tax loopholes meant that he only had to pay some 17.4% of his income in taxes.

[Primalxbeast]

I live in my car, and there's no way in hell that I'm telling my insurance company that. I just give them my ex's address. I don't get tickets or get in accidents, and that's all that should matter to them. They shouldn't charge you based on where you live if you just have liability and damage to your own car isn't covered.

[dangerouslytalented]

I think I know why: People who are poor are more likely to have their car stolen. Cheap and old cars are far, far easier to steal.

[BlackMambakins]

"Conservatives say if you don't give the rich more money, they will lose their incentive to invest. As for the poor, they tell us they've lost all incentive because we've given them too much money." ~George Carlin~

[TubaBuddha]

I am so glad things are about to fundamentally change on this planet. All this kind of crap will be swept away.

[AvatarOfGames]

i remember when i was younger i was trying to get my car insured. they wanted me to pay over 500$/ month. meanwhile i'm trying to pay for college at the same time. i had never been fined or charged or given any kind of ticket. also never been in any kind of accident. the biggest factors were apparently that i was male and under the age of 25. how's that for discrimination?

[collegeman]

Also, people without health insurance who end up in the hospital and incur huge bills that they cannot pay back ends up affecting their credit rating, which causes their auto insurance to go way up. This happened to a friend of my sister's.

[MWhaleK]

Yup, "A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet." from the book Men at Arms.

[SquirrelGott]

I had rich friends who would crash their BMWs one after the other. The idea that poor people get in more accidents is utter bullshit.

[ralphinator]

More than 99% of drivers will never cause an accident that has any injuries. And more than 99% of accidents are preventable by careful driving.

[shalcall]

You should read the study. They took 2 women with the same exact car, living in similar neighborhoods, but one was well off and had been in an accident that was her fault and the other was working poor but had a completely clean driving record. The poor person got the higher premium.

[dangerouslytalented]

joyriders, people who want to get home, people who want to strip it for parts, old cars are often worth far more on the resale market for parts.

[wanful]

Some of the older people called it a poor man tax. the poor pays more if they are dingle female, widowed female, car insurance, credit, and they make less to pay all of the extra.

[ralphinator]

I looked closely at the insurance industry, and at the likelihood of ever having to file a claim, and said goodbye to the whole racket. It is cheaper to pay a fine if I get caught than it is to obey the law.