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First State seniors see decrease in car insurance rates

Delaware Public Media

State lawmakers passed legislation last year prohibiting auto insurance companies from raising rates for individuals based solely on a driver turning 75 years or older. The law went into effect last month, and the Department of Insurance reports Delawareans over that age are seeing their rates drop an average of about $117 a year.

Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro says last year’s legislation has not resulted in a car insurance rate increase for any other drivers.

“There has been no language in any rate filing that rates have gone up specifically because of HB 80. So that’s how I know with certainty that it has not happened,” said Navarro.

The law also prohibits insurance companies from raising rates because of the death of a spouse, and it limits the use of credit information in rating personal insurance.

Navarro says the bill saw pushback from insurance companies, but none have left the Delaware market in the wake of its passage.

“We knew there would be a pushback so what we did was an all-encompassing bill that addressed all those factors that we believe were unfairly discriminatory and we were able to come up with a compromise which, I believe, was much better than asking for each rating factor individually,” said Navarro.

The DOI reports Delaware consumers with policies through one insurer have seen an average decrease of $252.

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