Why women pay less for their insurance

The myth put about by men is that they are the superior gender when it comes to driving. Every comedian peddles the same jokes like the woman who backed her car out of the garage one morning completely forgetting shed backed it in the night before. Its the usual sexism with men trying to cover up their own inadequacies. Although, truth be told, men may have better spacial awareness so they may have a slight edge when it comes to keeping the vehicle going in a straight line. But, looking at the international statistics, men are three times more likely to die in traffic accidents than women. Why is this? Well, lets start with the general statistics supplied by

police forces. Women are more law-abiding. When it comes to speeding, reckless driving and driving while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, theres no competition. Men are in a class of their own. Spatial awareness or not, men drive faster and take less care. Perhaps they do have better control over the cars they drive, but they have less control over themselves. Women are more cautious, driving more slowly and with a greater sense that, with one mistake, they could die.

So, even if we start off with the assumption that men and women will have the same number of accidents, men are more at risk because they drive faster. Particularly when young, men collide with other vehicles and drive into walls, trees and anything else that jumps out in front of them. Their speed means they do more damage to the vehicles, the people in the vehicles and whatever else they hit. Women traveling at slower speeds are less likely to injure themselves or others. So, crash for crash, women cost insurance companies less. Now add in two other factors. Men like to drive the faster, sporty cars. Women buy cheaper, more conservative cars that are less expensive to repair. Finally, women do not drive the same mileage. Men will think nothing of jumping in the car and driving across the state. Driving is enjoyable. Women tend to stay local or use public transport over distances. The more miles a year someone drives, the greater the chances of an accident.

Put all this together and an interesting fact emerges. When the auto insurance company assesses risk, women have less chance of being in an accident. If they are in an accident, its likely to cost the company less money. So, because the cost of all the losses is averaged between everyone in the same class, women pay a lower premium than men. It may not be fair but, with men being far more dangerous, its only fair they should pay more. Men might ask what they can do about this. The answer could not be more simple. From the very first day they start to drive, they have to drive like women. If, over the years, they build up a record with no traffic citations for speeding, driving only when necessary in less powerful cars, their premiums will fall. It may be less fun but the premiums for the auto insurance will grow ever smaller.