How Insurance Companies Determine Cheaper Car Insurance for Women
By: David Schneider, Car Insurance Expert
So as a woman, you know that you get cheaper car insurance for women than men do. Your husband may be just as good a driver as you, but he’ll still probably pay more for the same coverage. Why is that? In fact, you might be the one to speed or get aggressive while driving, but that’s not the case for most women.
What Insurance Companies Look For
A lot of research is conducted by organizations specializing in driving and risk analysis. Insurance companies take this info and use it to determine how much to charge for the average policyholder.
According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, there were 3.91 deaths per 100 million trips caused by 16 to 20-year old male drivers compared with 1.99 killed per 100 million miles driven for the same aged females. Males are twice as likely to get killed in a car accident than females.
In looking at this data, car insurance companies can clearly see that males are riskier drivers than females. With less risk, insurance companies can offer cheaper car insurance for women.
How Men Drive
While it’s not true for each and every guy, in general men tend to:
- Drive aggressively
- Tailgate
- Speed
- Change lanes quickly
- Cause accidents
Because of this risk, the insurance company charges more for men to have car insurance. That way, if they do cause accidents, the expenses are covered by the premium they have already paid for coverage.
It also seems that when women do get into accidents, the damage they cause to vehicles is less severe than that of men. Repairing a scratch versus a major wreck costs less, the insurance companies know.
Why Women Are Better Drivers
We won’t go into the psychology of women versus men, and there are still plenty of bad women drivers out there, but here are a few reasons we suspect women may do better on the road in general, and why they get cheaper car insurance for women.
- They’re more likely to be carrying children in the car, which would make them more cautious while driving.
- Women tend to drive smaller cars, which may be easier to navigate.
- Because they have children with them, mothers are more likely to make sure their safety equipment is up to par. This can also get them a discount with their car insurance companies.
Some of the distractions that cause accidents for males
The same distractions for females
How to Beat the Odds
If you are jealous of cheaper car insurance for women, as a man there are a few ways to save money. First and foremost, be a better driver. Prove the statistics wrong. If every male were more cautious on the road, the tables might turn, and men might be the less risky drivers! Not only would it put you in the running for lower rates on car insurance, but driving better keeps you and others on the roads safer and prevents accidents.
Be present when you drive. Don’t text or talk on the phone (a habit that is quickly becoming illegal in many states). Keep the music low enough that you can concentrate over it. Try not to drive too many people around, as the more people you carry the more distracting it is.
If it’s been a while since you took a driver’s education course, you could probably stand to take another. You just might learn something!
And finally, try getting a car insurance quote right here on our site. You can find big savings!
Posted: January 13, 2010
