Illinois: Auto Insurance Rate Legislation Introduced

Rep. Thaddeus Jones filed House Bill 4611 on Jan. 29, which would amend the Illinois insurance code to prohibit “unfair” discrimination based on age, race, color, national or ethnic origin, immigration or citizen status, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity. The bill prohibits an insurer from canceling, refusing to renew, or increasing the premium for any policy of automobile insurance solely because an insured person has reached the age of 65 years if the insured has a valid Illinois driver’s license.

The bill is similar to the previous Colorado bill, SB 21-169 and corresponding regulations, as it introduces a new definition of “unfair discrimination” and prohibits such unfair discrimination in insurance practices where insurers use external consumer data and information sources or any algorithms or models that use ECDIS.

As session is just beginning to ramp up, the bill likely will not get a hearing until sometime in March, but NAMIC will work to build a coalition of business and insurance industry allies, similar to the effort on the underwriting factors prohibition and rate regulation bill from 2023.