Can car insurers still discriminate against Detroit residents?

There have been some changes. Up until the new law, insurance companies were able to look at credit scores and ZIP codes to determine how much the insurance was going to cost. They could look at neighborhoods, credit scores, education levels, marital status, home ownership ─ all kinds of factors that have nothing to do with how big of a risk you are while driving. The new law took out some of those factors.

They cannot continue to evaluate, for example, by ZIP code. They can’t use your credit score anymore. They cannot consider if you’re married or if you own a home. So that is fundamentally different. However, they are allowed to consider where you live, the area, just not the ZIP code.

So the new law did not totally get rid of factors that allow discrimination to take place in pricing, which is what led to the premiums being sky high in Detroit. It is an improvement, but not anywhere near a complete solution.