Alberta man changes gender on government IDs for cheaper car insurance - CBC

He says he saved almost $1,100

He wanted a brand new car ... 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 .. 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." ...

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. ...

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. ...

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." ...

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