Risk Classification Standards

The escalating inflation of the past decade spawned complaints about more than just overall insurance rate increases. Unlike most other products, insurance costs depend upon buyer characteristics, so questions of fairness have naturally arisen as some insureds were confronted with four digit auto insurance prices along with double digit inflation. "Affordability", "availability", and "social acceptability" all became buzz-words of the late seventies. In particular, regulators, legislators, and other consumer advocates have focused increasing concern on the third requisite of virtually every state's mandate on insurance rates, that they "not be unfairly discriminatory".