Should Women Pay Less?

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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One of the standard truths about insurance is that it's all about estimating the risk. We are told this is a scientific process. Actuaries work away to crunch the statistics and emerge into the daylight, blinking owlishly and holding precise calculations showing exactly when you will have your next (sorry, your first) accident. Except it's not quite like this. There are teams of people who collect every last detail about every accident that's reported anywhere within the US. These same people talk to the police and hospitals to get all the possible "facts". Then, of course, we put pen to paper and write everything down to make our claims. It's all grist for the mill. Better still, this mountain of information goes way back into the last century. Ever since Henry Ford let loose his Model T, there have been people who wanted insurance. So, if ever you want to know about the patterns of accidents depending on the make and model of vehicle, the time of day, the weather, or any other variable, it's only a click of the mouse away. Except there's a problem of policy.

The insurance industry tries to second-guess human behavior. ...
... This is not the easiest of games to pay. We have never been the most predictable species on the planet. So the insurers shade the odds in their favor with a little behavior modification. The question you have to ask is whether you are sensitive to price. Look around. The cost of gas is inching up again. If it gets to $4 a gallon, will you cut back on the number of miles you drive? Now ask yourself about insurance. If the premium rates keep going up, how do you react? It's always possible you decide to join the growing band of uninsured illegals on the road. You risk the fine to keep the deficit in your family budget within reasonable limits. But the response that keeps you legal is to look for ways of earning a price reduction. And, guess what. The drivers who have the lowest number of claims and never pick up a ticket always get the lowest rates. So if you modify your behavior to become a safer driver, you save money. Insurance uses the premium rates to nudge people in the right direction.

Going back to the statistics, women consistently drive more safely than men so, traditionally, women are offered lower premiums. If this was just because of their gender, men might successfully argue a case of discrimination. Fortunately, the statistics show the truth of the matter. When it comes to those all-important auto insurance quotes, the lowest go to the drivers with the best safety records. The fact this happens more often when women are driving is just a quirk in the statistics. All men have to do to get the same lower auto insurance quotes is to modify their behavior and learn to drive like women. This is all about choices and dealing with things under your direct control. All the insurance industry does is encourage you in the safest direction.