Chau Lam from We The Commuters reports on the cost of (Black) insurance in NYC:

New York City drivers living in predominantly Black and low-income communities pay hundreds and thousands of dollars more for auto insurance than drivers living in predominantly white and wealthy neighborhoods, according to a new report from the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America.

The group’s analysis found that insurance companies offer the lowest prices to drivers living in five Manhattan ZIP codes along the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Midtown East, which are majority white areas that are home to residents who are high-income earners.

Meanwhile, drivers living in Brownsville, Canarsie, East Flatbush and Crown Heights, which are predominantly Black neighborhoods with low median incomes, paid the highest auto insurance premiums, according to the ZIP code analysis done by the Consumer Federation of America.

Consumer advocates and some New York state lawmakers are trying to stop auto insurance companies from using credit scores to set rates, arguing that the practice results in low-income drivers and people of color paying higher premiums even when their driving records are flawless.

About 95% of auto insurers in New York use credit scores to set prices, according to the CFA. But the group argues that drivers with low credit scores may have experienced a job loss or an unexpected medical bill, adding that insurance companies have not demonstrated how non-driving factors are connected to driving risks.

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