The Rhode Island General Assembly has passed a new law that will prevent car insurers from charging higher rates to policyholders who have been widowed.
The law was approved by a wide margin in both the House and Senate and signed into law by Governor Daniel McKee on May 31.
The law prohibits auto insurers from treating widows or widowers any differently than married people in terms of classification or rates. Starting with policies issued after Jan. 1, 2025, insurers will be prohibited from increasing premiums based only on a policyholder’s marital status.
“Marital status is one of many, many factors insurance companies weigh when they decide what their risk is to insure a driver. But a person doesn’t become a bigger risk as a result of losing their spouse,” said Representative Arthur Handy, (D-Dist. 18, Cranston), who sponsored the bill in the House.
Handy said he became aware of the issue after his wife, Tish DiPrete, died in 2021.
Senator Valarie Lawson, (D-Dist. 14, East Providence), who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said, “Everyone who has experienced loss knows how devastating it is to deal with the practical matters and expenses and the uncertainly of a major life change on top of the heavy emotional toll of the grieving process. Adding an additional expense to the lives of those mourning a loved one is unnecessary and unfair.”
The local insurance industry also supported the passage of the new law. They said that it would not lead to any significant changes in the premiums charged to policyholders.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.