It’s no secret that car insurance is expensive, but how far would you go to save a buck? Would you lower your coverage, change providers or…
Or would you change your sex, even if it was merely on paper? As preposterous as it may sound, that’s exactly what one Canadian man did when he was in the market for a new car.
As The Truth About Cars discovered, the 23 year old man become a woman to save on insurance when he wanted to get a new Chevrolet Cruze.
The man didn’t want to be identified, but he told the CBC his bizarre story for saving $1,100 CAD ($841 USD) annually. Things started when the Alberta resident was in the market for a Chevy Cruze and contacted his insurance agent to figure out how much insurance would cost.
Since he had an accident and a “ticket or two” on his record, the agent told him insurance would be around $4,500 CAD ($3,441 USD) annually. Out of curiosity, he then asked how much it would cost if he was a woman.
This sparked an odd series of events as the agent told the man insurance would only be around $3,400 CAD ($2,600 USD) if he was a woman. Upset about the backwards pink tax, the man said “I was pretty angry” and “didn’t feel like getting screwed over any more.” He then asked his insurance company to change his gender to female, but the agent refused.
Undeterred, the man researched how to become a woman – on paper – and discovered all he needed was a note from a doctor saying he identifies as a woman instead of a man. He then contacted his doctor, who complied with his request to write a note.
While getting the doctor’s note was “pretty simple,” the man then had to have his gender changed on his birth certificate and driver’s license. Once this was completed, he was able to have his insurance company recognize he was a woman.
The whole thing worked and the man is now saving around $91 CAD ($69 USD) a month on insurance. Interestingly, the CBC notes the process has become even easier as the province of Alberta no longer requires a doctor’s note to change genders.
