Sheila’s Wheels

Women get lower car insurance premiums ergo women must be better [safer?] drivers than men, so my feminist friends tell me. WRONG! Yet another case of not understanding what the evidence is telling us, or seeing what you want to see.
Women get lower premiums because they make fewer insurance claims, which is not necessarily the same thing. Let’s examine this.

Not all claims are the result of Road Traffic Accidents [RTAs]. A considerable portion are the result of theft of, or theft from, a vehicle and damage [vandalism] to the vehicle while it is unattended.

Now, assuming it is young men who are doing the thieving what sort of gadgets, gizmos and cars are going to attract them? - Blokes cars.

Now parking. No, not women’s ability to park in a tight spot [they are actually quite good at that – take a look around your local school at in and out times]. Is there a difference in behaviour about where men and women park? Men think nothing of parking in a dark alley, in unlit streets where the thieves can work unseen by passers-by or CCTV cameras. Women on the other hand are [or should be] much more careful for obvious reasons of personal safety. They are much more likely to park in the full glow of street lighting and the prying eye of big-brother.

So, I would expect, but I don’t know because the Insurance companies don’t tell us, that women make considerably fewer claims for theft or unattended damage.

But do they also make fewer claims for RTAs? Again we don’t know, that information is not disclosed. Neither is the statistic RTAs per mile driven a known factor. Could it be that women present a lower risk simply because they spend less time behind the wheel?

Most feminists will tell you that there is a long way to go. Chivalry, the notion that the man should escort [or drive] the woman is still with us. It may be less of a factor than it once was, but it is still a factor.

Yes, young men do tend to take risks [I was once one of them you know!] and they are undoubtedly the cause of much carnage on the roads, but mostly they do grow out of it. Their Premiums are also adjusted accordingly.

To sum up – Inconclusive, until the Insurance companies release the data.