The female of the species is much more speedy than the male

Girls are not only the fairer sex, but also the faster sex – at least when they are behind the wheel of a rental auto.

A nationwide study of driving habits in rental automobiles has found that female customers exceed the speed limit 17.5% more often than men.

If that weren’t enough to destroy your gender stereotype, ladies are not only faster, they’re also safer – according to the statistics, anyway: males are 5 instances a lot more likely to trigger damage to a rental vehicle than female motorists.

Dented pride

In the study carried out by In-Car Cleverness, a organization that supplies telematics technology, 84% of the cars returned with dents, scratches and punctures had been rented by male motorists.

Honestly, males drivers! So careless!

Telematics, in case you’re asking yourself, is a massive deal in the insurance sector. It’s generally the tiny black box that utilizes satellite communications to record when, where and how you drive so that insurers can far more accurately set premiums, rewarding the protected and penalizing the reckless.

In-Car Cleverness monitored a lot more than 10,000 rental vehicles over a 6-month period to compile the stats, so it is surely thorough, even if it does disappoint some of the much more macho of the male population.

Gender equality?

It is not the only survey that casts doubt on the superiority of the male motorist. Claims information collected by insurers clearly shows that women make fewer and much less expensive claims then men.

Insurers are not, however, allowed to take gender into account when setting premiums.

The findings of the study are also backed up by statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2013, male drivers accounted for a lot more than 40,000 road casualties, compared with less than 35,000 for females drivers.

But let’s not rush to dismiss any link amongst speed and security. Males who returned autos with damage exceeded the speed limit 82 times on typical throughout the rental period. Female drivers who broken automobiles also sped a lot more typically, averaging 90 instances of speeding.

Harm report

Paul O’Dowd of In-Automobile Cleverness says: “While the quantity of vehicles broken by the opposite sexes varies, the behaviours that outcome in harm are regularly related.

“The statistics show a clear correlation in between automobile harm and situations of speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.”

What do you consider?

Attitudes to girls drivers are nevertheless, in a lot of instances, redolent of rubbish comedians playing operating men’s clubs in the 1970s. But the cold tough stats that insurance companies create (but can’t use when they set their prices!) demonstrate that girls are safer drivers.

So what do you feel? Are women really greater drivers than men? Or are men technically better drivers who are unwitting victims of their own testosterone-fuelled impulses?

Go on, get it off your chest in the box below…

The female of the species is much more speedy than the male

The female of the species is a lot more speedy than the male

Women are not only the fairer sex, but also the faster sex – at least when they are behind the wheel of a rental car.

A nationwide study of driving habits in rental cars has discovered that female customers exceed the speed limit 17.5% more often than men.

If that weren’t enough to destroy your gender stereotype, women are not only quicker, they’re also safer – according to the statistics, anyway: males are 5 times more likely to cause damage to a rental car than female motorists.

Dented pride

In the study carried out by In-Car Cleverness, a company that provides telematics technology, 84% of the cars returned with dents, scratches and punctures had been rented by male motorists.

Honestly, men drivers! So careless!

Telematics, in case you’re wondering, is a big deal in the insurance industry. It’s basically the little black box that uses satellite communications to record when, where and how you drive so that insurers can more accurately set premiums, rewarding the safe and penalizing the reckless.

In-Car Cleverness monitored more than 10,000 rental vehicles over a 6-month period to compile the stats, so it’s certainly thorough, even if it does disappoint some of the more macho of the male population.

Gender equality?

It’s not the only survey that casts doubt on the superiority of the male motorist. Claims data collected by insurers clearly shows that women make fewer and less costly claims then men.

Insurers are not, however, allowed to take gender into account when setting premiums.

The findings of the study are also backed up by statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2013, male drivers accounted for more than 40,000 road casualties, compared with less than 35,000 for women drivers.

But let’s not rush to dismiss any link between speed and safety. Men who returned vehicles with damage exceeded the speed limit 82 times on average during the rental period. Female drivers who damaged cars also sped more often, averaging 90 instances of speeding.

Damage report

Paul O’Dowd of In-Car Cleverness says: “While the number of cars damaged by the opposite sexes varies, the behaviours that result in damage are consistently similar.

“The statistics show a clear correlation between vehicle damage and instances of speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.”

What do you think?

Attitudes to women drivers are still, in many instances, redolent of rubbish comedians playing working men’s clubs in the 1970s. But the cold hard stats that insurance companies produce (but can’t use when they set their prices!) demonstrate that women are safer drivers.

So what do you think? Are women actually better drivers than men? Or are men technically better drivers who are unwitting victims of their own testosterone-fuelled impulses?

Go on, get it off your chest in the box below…

The female of the species is a lot more speedy than the male

The female of the species is far more speedy than the male

Ladies are not only the fairer sex, but also the more rapidly sex – at least when they are behind the wheel of a rental vehicle.

A nationwide study of driving habits in rental vehicles has discovered that female consumers exceed the speed limit 17.5% a lot more typically than males.

If that weren’t enough to destroy your gender stereotype, women are not only faster, they’re also safer – according to the statistics, anyway: males are 5 instances much more likely to trigger damage to a rental vehicle than female motorists.

Dented pride

In the study carried out by In-Vehicle Cleverness, a organization that provides telematics technology, 84% of the automobiles returned with dents, scratches and punctures had been rented by male motorists.

Honestly, guys drivers! So careless!

Telematics, in case you are asking yourself, is a big deal in the insurance industry. It is essentially the little black box that uses satellite communications to record when, exactly where and how you drive so that insurers can much more accurately set premiums, rewarding the safe and penalizing the reckless.

In-Car Cleverness monitored a lot more than 10,000 rental vehicles over a 6-month period to compile the stats, so it’s definitely thorough, even if it does disappoint some of the far more macho of the male population.

Gender equality?

It’s not the only survey that casts doubt on the superiority of the male motorist. Claims information collected by insurers clearly shows that ladies make fewer and significantly less costly claims then guys.

Insurers are not, however, permitted to take gender into account when setting premiums.

The findings of the study are also backed up by statistics from the Department for Transport. In 2013, male drivers accounted for a lot more than 40,000 road casualties, compared with significantly less than 35,000 for ladies drivers.

But let’s not rush to dismiss any link among speed and security. Men who returned autos with damage exceeded the speed limit 82 times on typical in the course of the rental period. Female drivers who broken automobiles also sped a lot more frequently, averaging 90 situations of speeding.

Damage report

Paul O’Dowd of In-Car Cleverness says: “While the number of cars damaged by the opposite sexes varies, the behaviours that result in damage are regularly comparable.

“The statistics show a clear correlation in between vehicle harm and instances of speeding, harsh braking and acceleration.”

What do you consider?

Attitudes to girls drivers are still, in many instances, redolent of rubbish comedians playing operating men’s clubs in the 1970s. But the cold challenging stats that insurance businesses create (but can not use when they set their prices!) demonstrate that women are safer drivers.

So what do you believe? Are ladies really far better drivers than guys? Or are men technically better drivers who are unwitting victims of their own testosterone-fuelled impulses?

Go on, get it off your chest in the box below…

The female of the species is far more speedy than the male

Is the ECJ Gender Directive failing male motorists?

It’s getting on for 2 years since the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Gender Directive kicked in.

This ruling, which took effect on December 21, 2012, bans insurers from charging men and women different prices purely on the basis of their gender.

But we’ve found that the ambition of creating a level playing field between male and female insurance buyers has not been fulfilled, at least as far as car insurance is concerned.

And it’s young male motorists who are still being hit hardest when it comes to premiums.

Pain in the pocket

The latest analysis from MoneySuperMarket’s number-crunchers has found male drivers aged 17 to 19 are paying 26% more for cover than their female contemporaries.

The figures reveal that, while female motorists in this age group pay an average of £893 a year for car insurance, male drivers in the same demographic pay £1,129 – that’s £236 more!

And although it’s young male motorists who are being hit hardest in the pocket hit, it seems this is part of an overall trend that sees men paying more for cover, no matter what their age.

Gender on the agenda

Women historically paid less for car insurance than men because, as a demographic, they made fewer claims – and those they made were generally of a lower value.

The gender ruling sought to put an end to insurers making gender-based assumptions on all kinds of insurance, including car, life and health insurance plans, as well as annuities.

You can see why this was controversial. The stats proved that women deserved to pay less. And there’s no evidence that anything has changed in recent months as far as women’s driving habits and capabilities are concerned. So they still deserve to pay less.

Shift to neutral?

Now we’ve found that, despite the introduction of gender-neutral price-setting, men are still paying 22% more for their car insurance than women, having seen premiums rise by 3.2% to an average of £439 over the last 12 months.

Women, on the other hand, have seen premiums rise by just 1.8% over the same period and now pay an average of £360 for a year’s cover.

Underwriting under scrutiny

But how can this be? Why isn’t the ECJ crashing down on motor insurers like a ton (sorry, tonne) of bricks in pursuit of its beloved level playing field?

That’s a tough one to answer. There’s no suggestion that insurers are sneakily using gender (they know if from the application form) to determine how much they’ll charge. And yet the price differentials are pretty much what you’d expect if they did.

Spooky, non?

Insurance underwriting – the process of determining how risky something is and charging a certain premium as a result – is a complex science. Motor insurance underwriters take all manner of things into account, including the type of car, the driver’s occupation, driving record, where s/he lives and his or her age.

So all we can assume is that insurers are relying on whatever information comes to hand about claims and charging more for the sorts of cars and drivers that are involved. And the net effect – you could even call it an unintended consequence – is that things have stayed pretty much as they were, at least as far as gender differentials are concerned.

All round bad news

That’s not to say car insurance premiums generally aren’t on the move. After a couple of years of falling premiums, the bad news for all motorists is that car insurance prices are up right across the board in recent weeks, with overall premiums rising to an average of £401 – the first price increase of 2014.

Although this is still considerably lower than this time 3 years ago, when annual premiums hit a high of £512, it highlights the need to shop around and compare quotes when renewal time rolls around.

Premium inflation

Kevin Pratt, Car Insurance Expert at MoneySuperMarket said: “Premium prices do fluctuate, and while we’ve been in a deflationary market for car cover for the last few years, costs are now creeping back up.

“What is surprising is that despite the fact that gender neutral pricing has been in place in the car insurance market for several years now, the battle of the sexes is still raging on. It seems men are still falling foul of car insurer’s risk profiling systems – but a raft of factors will influence this, including postcode, profession, make of vehicle and points on a licence.

“For car insurance, the bottom line is always to keep an eye on your renewal premium, to always shop around and therefore seek out the best possible deal for your circumstances – keep calm and compare.

“With premium prices currently trending upwards, it is even more important to make sure you aren’t paying over the odds on your renewal.”

Is the ECJ Gender Directive failing male motorists?