Guys, think your driving skills are exceptionally better then your female counterparts? Think again! According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2004 Early Edition Report, male drivers were involved in 27,000 more fatal accidents, 432,000 more injury crashes and 1,369,000 more property-damaged incidents than female drivers - which inevitably equated to 1,828,000 more insurance claims in a single a year. Sorry guys, the ladies win.
And it's not just male drivers between the ages of 18-24 that are making these insurance claims - it's men of all ages.
"By nature, men are generally more aggressive and tend to engage in riskier driving practices, such as not wearing their seat belt, speeding and driving under the influence," says Ohio insurance agent, Brad Vermillion. "Men also typically drive more miles than women do over the course of their lifetime, which increases their risk of being involved in an accident and the amount of auto insurance claims they could potentially file.
But do insurance companies really pay attention to reports like the NHTSA? "Insurance companies are well aware of these statistics and price their auto insurance rates accordingly," noted Vermillion. "Even if men have a perfect driving record, outstanding credit score and live in a low risk area, they're still likely to pay a higher insurance premium over women."
But don't give up hope just yet. The gap between the male and female driver is starting to narrow. "Over the past couple of years we have seen an increase in females driving more often and for longer periods of time. This is mainly because women are faced with juggling a full-time job, taking their children to and from extracurricular activities, caring for aging parents and running errands for their family," commented Dave Roush, CEO of Insurance.com. "All of these activities increase their time in the car and elevate their stress levels- which can carry into aggressive behavior on the road." Roush went on to say that, "time will only tell how this new trend will affect the price gap between men and women, but for now men are still in the lead."
And it's not just male drivers between the ages of 18-24 that are making these insurance claims - it's men of all ages.
"By nature, men are generally more aggressive and tend to engage in riskier driving practices, such as not wearing their seat belt, speeding and driving under the influence," says Ohio insurance agent, Brad Vermillion. "Men also typically drive more miles than women do over the course of their lifetime, which increases their risk of being involved in an accident and the amount of auto insurance claims they could potentially file.
But do insurance companies really pay attention to reports like the NHTSA? "Insurance companies are well aware of these statistics and price their auto insurance rates accordingly," noted Vermillion. "Even if men have a perfect driving record, outstanding credit score and live in a low risk area, they're still likely to pay a higher insurance premium over women."
But don't give up hope just yet. The gap between the male and female driver is starting to narrow. "Over the past couple of years we have seen an increase in females driving more often and for longer periods of time. This is mainly because women are faced with juggling a full-time job, taking their children to and from extracurricular activities, caring for aging parents and running errands for their family," commented Dave Roush, CEO of Insurance.com. "All of these activities increase their time in the car and elevate their stress levels- which can carry into aggressive behavior on the road." Roush went on to say that, "time will only tell how this new trend will affect the price gap between men and women, but for now men are still in the lead."
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