A recent study by Carnegie-Mellon revealed that male drivers are more than twice as likely to be involved in car accidents that are fatal than women are. Insurance companies have also stated that men are ten percent more likely to have multiple violations than women are.
Shocker? New news? Not really, considering that premiums for women drivers have been cheaper than men’s premiums for years. While other classifications of people, such as college students who are looking for auto insurance, are likely to share higher premiums as a whole, the great divide begins to get a bit bigger as drivers increase in age.
The fact that women historically pay less in auto insurance premium may not seem right to some: there are probably plenty of men reviewing mental pictures of women applying mascara, talking on the phone, singing a song, and drying a pedicure with one foot out of the window while driving, but women all over the world would quickly disrupt that mental picture by pointing out the commonly held belief that is learned as a child: “girls mature faster than boys.”
So Women Don’t Have To Worry About Being A Good Driver?
It seems that governing authorities and insurance companies tend to agree with the saying that ‘girls mature faster than boys’:
in the state of Virginia, for example, women are considered youthful drivers only until the age of 25 or until married, while men are considered youthful drivers until the age of 30 or until married. While it’s possible that the risk becomes absorbed by all since it may even out (such as a 29 year old man marrying a 24 year old woman), the fact is, women typically pay less than men do for auto insurance. Auto insurance companies seem happier to offer cheaper rates to women drivers than they do men based on numbers, and typically, numbers don’t lie. Studies have shown that women don’t engage in risk-taking behavior as much as men do, tend to drive less often after dark, and the types of accidents they have are typically less fatal. Since women also tend to buy used vehicles 53% of the time, and also look for ‘reliability’ since 62% of women worry
about being broken down, they’re likely to buy vehicles that are cheaper to repair if something were to happen, all
leading to a lower premium.
That doesn’t mean that women enjoy their auto insurance premiums more than men do, nor does it mean that a woman’s auto insurance premium is going to be cheaper than a man’s every single time. It simply means that most of the time, a woman has a greater chance at getting a lower premium, but they can change this very easily with just a few factors. Man or woman, if you start having a bad driving record or buy a Porsche, you’re going to face a higher insurance premium.
Pass On The Porsche
Remember the movie “Pretty Woman,” when Julia Roberts’ character hopped into the sports car and said that sports cars were made for women since the pedals were closer together and thus easier for women to drive since they have smaller feet? Well, it may be a fact that those little sports cars are comfortable for women to drive, but that doesn’t mean you have to drive one, and it also doesn’t mean that just because women typically have lower insurance premiums that they should buy these cars. While it’s true that a woman’s insurance policy for a Porsche may be slightly less expensive than her male counterpart, the bottom line is that any insured, male or female, is going to pay a lot in premium for exotic, fast cars. While many women tend to pass on larger engine vehicles anyway, this usually isn’t a problem, but if you drive a vehicle with a high risk of crashing and that will cost a lot to replace or fix, the insurance company is going to get their money’s worth: regardless of who is driving it.
Don’t Show Off Multi-Tasking Skills By Driving, Putting On Mascara, and Wrecking
There’s a theory that women have lower insurance premiums because science has proven that they can multi-task better thanks to biology. Regardless, it doesn’t matter who is doing the multi-tasking if that multi-tasking involves another vehicle, a tree, or the sound of a crash or siren. Insurance companies reward men and women alike for being a good driver, giving incentives for not having accidents, violations, and claims. Take advantage of things like ‘diminishing deductibles’ to keep rewarding yourself, so if one day you do happen to poorly multi-task, you won’t have to pay such a large price. Just remember that these kinds of rewards usually start all over again once you use them.
So How Much Money Do Women Drivers Really Save?
While this is a fair question, it doesn’t really have a specific answer. Although numbers typically don’t lie, and although insurance companies have numbers to refer to when trying to calculate what the risk is for a 25 year old single woman, it doesn’t mean that the premium will always be lower. The only way to truly keep a premium low without relying on these kinds of statistics is to be a good driver, drive a car that’s reasonable to insure, and stay on top of the other things that can affect insurance rates, such as maintaining continuous insurance coverage and keeping good credit. On average, women typically save about 15 percent more than their male counterparts, but individual factors play an even larger role in determining premium. Maybe you just wanna try our premium estimation engine to find out more about your individual situation and don’t let the average statistics drive your car into an insurance premium nightmare.
