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How gender affects your car insurance rates

Most car insurance companies take into account a driver's gender in determining car insurance premiums, especially if you are in the late teens to mid twenties. Women in this group should have lower insurance rates than a male of the same age, because insurers understand women are lower risk. Younger female drivers cost the insurance carrier less money than their male counterparts and have fewer moving violations. Women prefer their male counterparts to drive they ride as passengers According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), more men than women die each year in motor vehicle crashes because men more often (than women):

• Drive recklessly and have more expensive crashes
• Drive more miles than women
• Forego using a seat belt
• Speed
• Drive while intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs
• Exhibit road rage and otherwise feel immortal
• Violate driving laws
• Drive further distances for work

There has been a rise in female deaths in car crashes because women:

• Are obtaining driver's licenses than in the past (because of the changing job market)
• Are driving more miles than they did many years ago
• Are driving more aggressively

After age 25, most insurance carriers will have comparable rates between men and women. Men are also rewarded with lower insurance rates if they marry a woman. For motorists over the age of 75, men are regarded as a better risk and generally benefit from cheaper insurance.

Conclusion: Between the ages of 18-25, as long as you keep your driving record clean (assuming you are female), you will enjoy slightly lower rates than a male of your age since insurance company losses are lower for your class.

Written by Craig J. Casey

Financial Writer helping people with their insurance problems on the net since 1998.

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