Insurance and the Limits of Rational Discrimination
Martin Katz
Citation analytics
How this journal article sits in the citation network, derived from CiteLaw's graph of published opinions.
Most recently cited by1
- 2003Weiss v. Suisse S.D.N.Y.
Counts reflect decisions in the CiteLaw corpus and may lag very recent opinions.
Abstract
In recent years, the insurance industry has come under attack for engaging in "discriminatory" practices against minorities. Critics assert that black applicants for insurance are often charged higher rates than white applicants, or are even denied certain kinds of insurance altogether. In response, insurance companies offer the following defense: any difference in rates between racial groups simply reflects the underlying riskiness of the average white and black applicant in society. In other words, insurance companies suggest that they have a perfectly rational reason to discriminate against minorities.
On average, minorities are more expensive to insure.