California Car Insurance is Just The Tip

​Recently, an appeals court in California rejected a lawsuit that sought to eliminate the right of auto insurers to charge single people more because of their higher chances of getting into crashes.  Insurers have been engaging in this type of price structure for a long time.  This is known as singlism, discrimination against people who are single or otherwise non-partnered.
 
I’m happy to learn the plaintiffs, eleven non-married drivers (I prefer this term to “unmarried,” as the prefix “un” implies lack), plan to appeal.  I’ll assume both judges who ruled in favor of Ricardo Lara are married, which could inform their bias.  And I have my doubts about whether the next judge will rule in favor of the plaintiffs.  However, I believe this lawsuit is a prophecy of things to come.
 
When I conducted research for my book, How to be a Happy Bachelor, I called up GEICO and I grilled the poor customer service representative about why singles are charged more for insurance. He was sympathetic, but his response was the analytics showed that married people got in less accidents than singles.  I won’t argue with numbers, but I’ll posit that singles may get in higher wrecks due to their age; statistically, they tend to be younger, before the prefrontal cortex is developed.  I can only speak for myself, but I’ve gotten more meticulous behind the wheel as I’ve gotten older (save for the occasional speeding ticket and an accident several years ago that has me wanting to take public transit more often).
 
As a Board Member of Singles Equality (SE), I assisted in the creation of the Singles Bill of Rights (SBR), a manifesto designed to awareness of discrimination against singles.  Our mission is to continue to do just that.  I suspect the plaintiffs in this lawsuit may have that goal. Marital rates are declining, and are projected to continue to do so.  Whether one thinks that a good thing, bad thing, or somewhere in between, it is the reality.  While most people still want a romantic partner, less people have that desire than in years past.

The result will be a sizable group of people advocating for their single lives and to be treated with equity and dignity.  This will lead to more lawsuits and advocacy measures, not necessarily related to car insurance rates.  But there are the couples discounts, various tax breaks for married folks, and let’s not forget the daily microaggressions like “When are you getting married?”  The latter can take a toll on one’s well-being, which could lead to factors like road rage.  If our society acted equitably and fairly toward singles, this may not be an issue.
 
Let’s keep the fight going!