Key Takeaways
Shopping for car insurance is already complex, and it can be even more challenging for nonbinary and transgender drivers.
Car insurance providers often require information about gender during the application process, which can make the experience fraught for nonbinary and trans drivers. Plus, if you don’t see your identity accurately represented, how do you know whether you got the right rate?
Here are some strategies nonbinary and transgender drivers can use to navigate finding car insurance with greater confidence.
Why Insurers Ask About Gender
Traditional car insurance models consider gender because insurers claim it helps them predict risk more accurately.
Some research suggests young men are a higher-risk group of drivers and that men overall account for a more significant percentage of car accident deaths and risky driving behaviors.1 Opponents of this approach argue that individual behavior is a better metric.2
Seven states (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) prohibit insurers from basing premiums on gender, and some states require gender-neutral pricing options.3 In many states, however, car insurance companies can and do base car insurance premiums on gender.
How Gender Complicates the Insurance Process
Adding to the confusion is that insurers ask for information about gender in many different ways. Although car insurance providers must follow state guidelines for collecting information about gender, application language varies widely, even between insurers operating in the same state.
Some car insurance applications treat sex and gender interchangeably, adding to the potential confusion. Sex is assigned at birth based on anatomy, while gender refers to socially created and self-representing roles and behaviors.4
A nonbinary person may not identify as male or female, and a trans person’s identity differs from their assigned sex. As a result, documents an insurer might ask for—like driver’s licenses—may contain inaccurate information.
Some car insurance companies require information about the sex you were assigned at birth. Some require that your gender matches what’s on your driver’s license, while others offer a more expansive list. Evaluating multiple providers can help you find an inclusive application.
Actionable Steps for Nonbinary and Transgender Drivers
Finding car insurance may be complicated, but it’s not impossible! Here are a few tips.
Shop around and evaluate various providers—every insurer values factors like gender differently. Look for car insurance companies whose applications are inclusive and get a few quotes so you can compare rates.
Research providers’ LGBTQ+ related policies as part of your insurance search. Companies with inclusive policies may be more likely to offer inclusive language.
Finally, talk to your insurance agent about whether gender will affect your rate. Find out what documentation your insurance provider needs on the application or to change the information they have on file.
Prepared by a third-party.
1. Rosanes, M. (2022, August 29). Gender disparity in car insurance premiums – who pays more?. Insurance Business America. https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/guides/gender-disparity-in-car-insurance-premiums--who-pays-more-418489.aspx
2. Fontinelle, A. (2022, July 25). Gender and insurance costs. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/gender-and-insurance-costs-5114126
3. ibid
4. Mazure, C. M. (2021, September 19). What do we mean by sex and gender?. Yale School of Medicine. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/what-do-we-mean-by-sex-and-gender/