By Susan Morée
A bill to prevent potential discriminatory car insurance rates passed by a 6-2 vote on Wednesday.
HB 80, Personal Insurance Credit Info Act Changes, sponsored by Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Albuquerque, would prohibit insurance companies from using credit scores as part of the algorithms they use to determine car insurance premiums. If enacted, insurance premiums would increase for individuals who have high credit scores and decrease for those with low scores.
Insurance companies are lobbying against the bill.
Superintendent of the Office of Insurance Alice Kane said her agency supports the bill and believes credit scores negatively and arbitrarily impact low-income drivers.
“It’s just a credit score,” Kane said. “It inadvertently discriminates.”
House Minority Whip Alan Martinez, R-Rio Rancho, hypothesized that the bill could result in him paying a higher insurance premium even though he pays his bills on time.
Thomson said poor credit does not equal responsibility.
“People who live in poverty are not ignoring paying their bills. They simply can’t afford it,” Thomson said.
Kane said New Mexico has a large number of uninsured motorists on the road and her agency believes more drivers would get insurance if they could afford it. She said the bill would, if enacted, help protect insured motorists who are involved in accidents with uninsured drivers.
The bill passed along party lines and heads next to House Commerce and Economic Development.
Another stupid bit of legislation put forward by stupid NM legislators. Pay your bills on time. handle your funds with care and don’t default on your bills and loan obligations and pay the same insurance rates as those who don’t do the above. What is the reward for living right? Nothing!
Ah, the zero-sum game, what a beauty.
This is quite literally punitive to those who do a good job of taking personal responsibility for their finances. It is par for the course, though, for our state. Those of us who are paying taxes get to walk by addicts and the mentally ill who are given reign to urinate, defecate, and camp wherever they please.
I also wholeheartedly disagree with the statement about credit scores. It’s a system that deliberately separates out consumers on their repayment behaviors. Obviously it’s not about compassion, it’s a dispassionate system that is meant to help avoid credit losses. If companies sustain greater credit losses, that’s not going to be good for the consumer either.
It’s fine to look out for those with lower incomes, etc., but just be aware that those who are contributors to our state are getting tired of the disdain for those contributions.