As extreme weather worsens, Black and Hispanic homeowners are paying more for insurance

Filed 22h ago · Via Michigan Advance · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Canon in D Major

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Lawrence Jackson · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

A Consumer Federation of America report finds homeowners in predominantly Hispanic ZIP codes pay 30 percent more annually for identical policies than those in white communities, while Black ZIP codes pay 16 percent more, disparities that persist even after accounting for local risk factors.

Over a 30-year mortgage, the gap adds up to roughly $28,500 extra for Hispanic homeowners and $15,000 for Black homeowners, according to the report. Florida shows the starkest Hispanic disparity at 58 percent higher premiums, while Michigan leads for Black homeowners at 74 percent higher.

An insurance industry spokesman said premiums are based on risk, not race, and that using race as a rating factor is illegal and regulated against. The report notes past settlements, including one against Nationwide for allegedly redlining Black neighborhoods, and flags newer AI-driven pricing methods as raising similar concerns.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

An industry spokesman says the math is pure risk and totally colorblind, then the numbers show Michigan homeowners paying almost double based on their ZIP code. You don't need a statistics degree to notice when the same house costs more to insure depending on who lives in the neighborhood. Calling it actuarial doesn't make it accidental, it just makes it harder to sue over.

Source: Read the original at Michigan Advance → Scored: Canon in D Major · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

Read it scored.

Every story, every clown, every kazoo — in your pocket. Music plays automatically. Regret is optional.

GET IT ON iOS GET IT ON ANDROID