For decades, single, divorced and many widowed drivers have paid more for auto insurance in California than those who are unmarried.
That could soon change.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in a surprising decision announced Wednesday he is barring auto insurers from considering marital status in setting premiums.
While the insurance department has previously defended the regulation as valid because unmarried drivers are more prone to get into accidents than married ones, it cast doubt on that position in a regulatory filing last week.
The department said that while there is a correlation between marital status and accident rates, it said that correlation could be driven by secondary factors, such as income, educational attainment and employment.
“In light of evolving societal norms, the Commissioner deems there is insufficient justification for the continued use of marital status in automobile insurance rating,” the filing stated.
Unmarried drivers will see discounts in the future when insurers seek approval for new rate plans from the department. The department will no longer allow martial status to be used for any rate plan filed after Oct 25.
The regulatory change was included in a legal brief filed by the department in a lawsuit brought by 11 unmarried drivers in 2022 seeking to overturn the policy. A state appeals court decision upholding the marital status policy is being appealed to the state Supreme Court.
A test conducted by the Consumer Federation of America, cited in a legal brief in support of the litigation, found that unmarried drivers pay more. Single, divorced and widowed drivers got quotes in April 2025 that were up to $108 higher for six months of premiums from four out of five California carriers.
“For 30 years, insurers have been allowed to use marital status when setting rates,” Lara said in his announcement Wednesday. “Today, we are taking action to end that outdated practice and reinforce a simple principle: insurance rates should be grounded in actual driving risk, not personal circumstances that have nothing to do with how someone behaves behind the wheel.”
Christian Schreiber, an attorney representing the 11 drivers in the lawsuit and plaintiffs in several related class actions, called the decision a “brazen attempt” to make “moot” a lawsuit before a possible Supreme Court review. The lawsuit also seeks to clarify the commissioner’s authority on such issues.
“We were certainly surprised, given we’ve been advocating for this for several years,” he said, adding it is uncertain what affect Lara’s decision could have on the proposed class actions filed against 12 insurers.
The regulatory change must first go through a review to ensure it adheres to state law before it can take effect.
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