Private members' bills aim to end auto insurance postal code 'discrimination'

A pair of private member's bills set to be introduced today aim to stop auto insurance companies from using a person's postal code or phone number to set premiums.

Legislators from both the Progressive Conservative government and the NDP say they will introduce their own pieces of legislation today to stop the practice that they called discriminatory.

Parm Gill, a Tory legislator from Milton, says the practice means drivers from the suburbs around Toronto pay higher rates than people in other areas of Ontario.

Gill says his bill would ensure drivers are evaluated based on their driving record and not where they live.

NDP legislator Gurratan Singh says his bill, if passed, would require the Financial Services Commission of Ontario to refuse to approve risk classification systems that don't consider the Greater Toronto Area as a single geographic region.

Singh says his bill would result in lower insurance rates for GTA drivers.