In a study conducted by insurance comparison site The Zebra, it was found out that women pay more when it comes to auto insurance in almost 25 states in the US.
Based on the analysis of 60 million car insurance rates, female drivers pay $121 more annually compared to male drivers, particularly in Nevada state.
In the report, there was a shift when men actually paid more in 33 states compared to female back in 2016.
The Zebra Director of Market Insights Alyssa Connolly said, “This shift in costs is surprising because historically, men have paid more than women for car insurance and most studies point to men as the more dangerous drivers.”
Connolly added, “Why are women paying more now? Do they exhibit especially risky driving behavior or file more claims? We’re keeping an eye on this issue as consumers, regulators and insurance companies re-examine whether gender can or should be used in pricing insurance.”
Earlier this year, California state became the seventh state to ban auto insurers from using gender as a factor in calculating the cost of the insurance. This only means that the rate for car insurance must be equal to men and women drivers.
Lawmakers and regulators are suggesting that behavior on the road and risk factor must be the criteria for the insurance cost and not gender. Subsequently, insurers can use tools to determine whether a certain driver has records of violating road policies and rules.
Aside from California, six other states completely banned gender as a factor on insurance premiums: Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
In addition to gender, there are also US states that banned other individual factors such as educational attainment, marital status and credit scores in determining the insurance cost
