Why Do Men Pay More for Car Insurance?

A battle of the sexes, but car insurance is priced differently for men and women. (wikinut.com)

Sometimes, life is presented to us as nothing more than a battle of the sexes. But the human condition transcends the differences in gender more often than not.

That doesn’t mean all things are equal, because they’re not. Women are still paid less for the same work than male counterparts. And women also buy more new cars than males do, too.

There are plenty of other examples of differences between the two sexes we could toss out, especially when it comes to automobiles. Consider racing and other forms of motorsport. Men are much more involved in motorsport, although we’re happy to see more women getting behind the wheels of high performance machines.

And of course, there’s car insurance.

And the biggest difference between men and women when it comes to insuring their automobiles is the price each gender can expect to pay.

As a general rule, women will pay less than men for car insurance. Or men pay more for their policies than women, depending upon your personal preference.

Are the pricing differences a form of inequality, or is there more to the story?

Why Do Men Pay More?

Anytime the subject of gender comes up, the old tale and myth of women being worse drivers than men raises its head. If women were worse drivers than men, that would be reflected in policy premiums, since risks are what matter.

The short answer to why men pay more for car insurance is because they’re a greater risk on the road than women are. Crash statistics show that not only do more men than women die in auto accidents each year in the United States, but that males also are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. They also receive more speeding tickets and other moving violations.

Part of this relates back to simple numbers. There are more men on the road than women, which will result, naturally, in more men being involved in accidents.

But it’s more than just a greater number of male drivers compared to female drivers. We mentioned males are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, including: failing to wearing their seat belts, driving at excess speeds and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Men are twice as likely to get a DUI conviction, and are 2.5 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash.

In Some Places, Gender Isn’t a Valid Rating Factor

While gender is considered a valid rating factor in the United States and Canada, that’s not the case everywhere. Take Europe, for example. Insurance companies in the United Kingdom (UK) were recently ordered by an European Union (EU) court to start following the gender-neutral law in place in the EU. This means that insurance companies will no longer be able to use gender as a determining factor for premiums.

This is known as gender-neutral pricing. Gender-neutral in the insurance industry means that an insurer cannot charge a different price for insurance based on a person’s gender. Males and females will pay the same averaged rate. Which means females will soon be paying more for insurance in the UK.

The German Insurance Association commissioned a study that has determined the impact this ruling will have on women’s insurance rates. The study found that women were likely to see an increase of 11 percent in their car insurance premiums when the law is enforced.

Compared to potential increases in other types of insurance, this isn’t that bad. For example, term life insurance costs are estimated to increase by 30 percent for women.

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