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Alberta Man Changes Gender on Government IDs for Cheaper Car Insurance
CBC News ^ | Reid Southwick

Posted on 02/22/2022 11:22:37 AM PST by nickcarraway

He says he saved almost $1,100

He wanted a brand new car — a Chevrolet Cruze with all the trimmings.

As a man in his early 20s, he knew his insurance costs would be high.

So he became a woman, though only on paper.

"I have taken advantage of a loophole," said the man — we're calling him David — who spoke on the condition that his identity be kept confidential because of the potential repercussions.

'Getting screwed' David, who lives in Alberta, says he identifies as a male. But his government-issued identification tells a different story.

It started when an insurance company gave David a quote — roughly $4,500 a year, if he bought the Chevy. He had a collision and a ticket or two on his record, which helped boost the premium.

Then, he had an idea. He asked the insurer what his costs would be if he were a woman. He was told his annual bill would sink to roughly $3,400 — a $1,100 difference.

"I was pretty angry about that. And I didn't feel like getting screwed over any more," he said.

"So I asked them to change my gender on my auto policy, and she's like, we can't do that."

Young men generally pay more According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, men under 25 are generally at higher risk of collision than women of the same age, which means their premiums are often higher.

David, who was 23 at the time, says he learned he first had to change his gender on his birth certificate and driver's licence before he could have it reflected on his insurance policy, to get the cheaper rate.

After doing some research, he realized he needed a doctor's note to show the government he identifies as a woman, even though he doesn't.

"It was pretty simple," he said. "I just basically asked for it and told them that I identify as a woman, or I'd like to identify as a woman, and he wrote me the letter I wanted."

Under the rules in place at the time, Albertans needed to produce a doctor's note to switch the gender marker on their personal documents. In June, the government scrapped the doctor's note requirement for adults, allowing them to declare their marker as M, F or X, for those who don't fit into a strictly male or female binary.

'I felt like I won' David shipped the note and other paperwork off to the provincial government. And, a few weeks later, he received a new birth certificate in the mail indicating he was a woman.

"I was quite shocked, but I was also relieved," he said. "I felt like I beat the system. I felt like I won."

With the new birth certificate in hand, he changed his driver's licence and insurance policy.

All to save about $91 a month.

"I'm a man, 100 per cent. Legally, I'm a woman," he said.

"I did it for cheaper car insurance."

David says he's aware the methods he used to become a woman on paper are designed for Albertans who need to correct the gender marker on their identification to reflect who they really are. But he says his target was the insurance industry, not the gender diverse community.

"I didn't do it to point out how easy it is to change genders," he said. "I didn't do it to criticize or ridicule transgender or LGBT rights."

Banned in EU'

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, gender is just one factor that insurers consider, along with the driver's age, vehicle, driving record and location.

In 2011, the European Union's highest court ruled the insurance industry's long-standing practice of charging different rates for men and women "constitutes discrimination." The European Court of Justice ordered the industry to remove gender consideration from auto, life and medical insurance plans, among others.

Steve Kee, spokesman for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, says he's heard anecdotal reports of people changing their gender for cheaper insurance, though he doesn't know how often it happens.

"If you're going to declare on any document, you need to be truthful," he said. "If not, you're making a fraudulent claim. This could impact you for any future insurance application that you make, or any other aspect of your life."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Local News; Society
KEYWORDS: autoinsurance; gender; transgender


Man ‘Becomes’ Woman to Exploit Pension Loophole in Lucerne, Switzerland

This article is a few years old, but worth reading, because it seems like it will happen more and more.

1 posted on 02/22/2022 11:22:37 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
seems like it will happen more and more

It's always about the money. LGBT marriages were about tax free life insurance etc.

2 posted on 02/22/2022 11:23:49 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: 1Old Pro

Am I wrong, that there are ways to arrange that without marriage?


3 posted on 02/22/2022 11:25:28 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: Scarlett156

Ping


4 posted on 02/22/2022 11:29:15 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

I saved 15% on car insurance by “Switching to Ho...”


5 posted on 02/22/2022 11:31:37 AM PST by HombreSecreto (The life of a repo man is always intense)
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To: nickcarraway

Then he ends up in hospital and gets a hysterectomy


6 posted on 02/22/2022 11:36:07 AM PST by butlerweave
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To: nickcarraway

Do an Osiris and save!


7 posted on 02/22/2022 11:37:08 AM PST by faithhopecharity (“Politicians are not born. They’re excreted.” Marcus Tillius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: nickcarraway

I think this could mess with crime solving.


8 posted on 02/22/2022 11:50:19 AM PST by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: nickcarraway

It’s still a fraud....


9 posted on 02/22/2022 12:03:50 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: Paladin2

Obvious fraud ... unless he can no longer back a car. LOL


10 posted on 02/22/2022 12:16:11 PM PST by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Paladin2

“It’s still a fraud....”

Well, it could be “fraud”... just as soon as the Canadian government can define what the word “female” means.


11 posted on 02/22/2022 12:55:35 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: nickcarraway

And no cover charge/free drinks on lady’s night…


12 posted on 02/22/2022 1:20:42 PM PST by Hypo2
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To: Tell It Right

“Perspective “ is an issue as well...


13 posted on 02/22/2022 2:01:02 PM PST by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: nickcarraway

Would marking 0 be cheaper? What if he demanded rates for broccoli?


14 posted on 02/22/2022 2:41:15 PM PST by bgill (Which came first, the vax or the virus?)
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