Is this fair? So Geico actuarials are out there rating their customers based on level of education and job status. They feel that this correlates with some decreased level of auto accident risk if you have received a higher level education and hold a job. Is this wrong? Apparently, NJ Assemblyman Neil Cohen thinks so and to solve it, as is always the case in New Jersey, you introduce legislation to limit what businesses can do. Then they wonder why few large businesses and corporate headquarters stay in this state. As Mr. Hoy points out Geico is out to make money by limiting risk. Of course they could be wrong with these stats and lose money and have to raise rates, and then their customers would have the option to find another insurer. Their customers also have the right to go to another insurer if they feel that this rating system is unfair. I am sure they also rate people by how old they are, whether or not they are married, have children, the type of car they drive and any accidents or summonses they may have had in the past. Does that sound discriminatory? You see it is all about statistics, if people who drive Mustangs have more accidents than those who drive Civics, then the Mustang drivers have to pay more to balance the risk. If the statistics bear themselves out then why shouldn't Geico be aloud to do this or any car insurer for that matter?
My question is why can’t malpractice insures do similar by rating prior malpractice cases? If you are named in case, even before it is brought to court and a determination of guilt is made your malpractice premiums go up. If you are named in a case and the case is dropped, your premiums go up. It is ludicrous. Why can’t the actuarials rate the risk based on the merits of the case, if the case is dropped there is very little or no risk, if a physician loses a case then the risk would be higher, but even then the individual case risk should be weighted individually. I know I am living a pipe dream, perhaps I am even smoking the pipe, but it would be fair to the customer….the physicians.
Geico NJ Auto Insurance Medical Malpractice