Cars & Auto Insurance
If you own a car in Maryland, you know that insurance is expensive!
In fact, Maryland has one of the highest average auto insurance rates in the country. It is illegal to drive without it, but the prohibitive cost of insuring a car can cause Marylanders struggling to pay their bills or go without coverage. That’s why Economic Action Maryland Fund fights to increase affordability, and fights to eliminate the use of discriminatory non-driving related factors from applications that disproportionately impact low-income drivers of color.
Advocacy
For many working families, access to a car can be the difference between reaching a family-sustaining job and remaining in poverty. The first challenge is finding a car that is affordable and avoiding costly financing products and add-ons that drive up prices. But the challenges of finding an affordable vehicle, paying to insure the car, and avoiding scams can make cars inaccessible to those who need them the most. Economic Action Maryland Fund works with partners to make the car buying and auto insurance industries fair and affordable for all Maryland consumers.
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RESEARCH
One reason auto insurance is so costly is the use of “non-driving related factors” by insurance companies. These factors (such as gender, zip code, credit score, marital status, etc.) have nothing to do with how you drive, but have a lot to do with how much your insurance costs. Cumulatively, these factors mean that low-income people, people-of-color, and women pay more than their wealthy, white, male counterparts. We’ve written reports on how insurance companies drive up the cost of insurance for women, how zip code acts as a racial proxy for insurance companies, and the overall discrimination the use of non-driving related factors creates in Maryland.
Car purchases are one of the most expensive purchases individuals make. While there are good car dealers, others use deceptive tricks and traps to increase the cost of owning a car. Read our report Risky Business-Buying a Car in Maryland: Auto Fraud and Policy Choices.
Additional Reports:
