New York could ban credit scores, zip codes, and income as auto insurance rating factors under a bill introduced on March 6, 2026.
Assembly Bill A. 10524, introduced by Assembly Member Lunsford and referred to the Committee on Insurance, proposes repealing and replacing Section 2331 of New York's insurance law. The bill, titled "Motor Vehicle Insurance Fairness," would prohibit insurers from using a long list of factors that have long been staples of auto insurance underwriting and rating, including consumer credit scores, education level, the level of income or wealth, home ownership, property value, employment or occupation (with limited exceptions for business use), the absence of prior insurance, and the amount or provider of prior insurance coverage.
The bill would also restrict the use of zip codes and any territorial designation geographically smaller than a zip code in rating, unless tied specifically to auto-related crime rates or accident rates. Even where territorial factors are allowed for rating purposes, the bill caps their impact at no more than twenty-five percent of the premium that would otherwise be charged. For underwriting decisions, such as whether to sell, refuse to sell, cancel, or non-renew a policy, territory and geography would be off the table entirely.
Perhaps most notably for insurers navigating the growing role of technology in their operations, the bill would require every insurer issuing or delivering a motor vehicle liability and collision insurance policy in New York to demonstrate that its marketing, underwriting, rating, claims handling, fraud investigations, and any algorithm or model used in those business practices do not disparately impact any group of customers based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, or gender expression.
The legislation also introduces a prior approval system for rate changes. Insurers would need to file a complete rate application with the superintendent, bear the burden of proving that any proposed change is justified, and wait for public notice and a sixty-day review window. Rate adjustments exceeding seven percent for personal auto or fifteen percent for commercial auto would trigger a mandatory hearing upon a timely request. The superintendent would also be required to consider whether a rate mathematically reflects the insurance company's investment income, and would not be permitted to consider the degree of competition in determining whether a rate is excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory.
Transparency is a running theme throughout the bill. All information provided to the superintendent under this section would be made available for public inspection on the department's website, free of charge and without requiring login credentials. A centralized online database would allow the public to search for specific rate increase applications, view public comments, and submit their own feedback. Any person could also request permission to intervene in rate proceedings.
On the regulatory side, the department would have ninety days from the effective date to adopt rules governing rate filings and approvals. Until those rules are in place, no insurer would be allowed to file for a change in any rate, rule, or form that would result in a rate increase. An insurer that asserts it cannot earn a reasonable rate of return without an increase during that interim period could request a hearing, but would only be allowed the minimum increase required to earn a reasonable rate of return. Within one hundred eighty days, the department would also be required to adopt rules for testing insurer business practices for compliance.
To fund the implementation of these new requirements, the bill would impose an annual fee on all motor vehicle liability and collision insurers equal to five hundredths of one percent of their total earned premiums from the prior calendar year, payable to the department no later than July 1 of each calendar year.
If enacted, the law would take effect on the ninetieth day after it becomes law. As of now, the bill remains in committee and has not advanced to a vote.
