OAI Study Shows Men Quoted Higher Prices for Car Insurance 62% of the Time

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., Dec. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- While men may be just fine with promoting the popular belief that they're better at driving, a new analysis of insurance quotes from Onlineautoinsurance.com (OAI) shows insurers aren't buying that idea. As a result, men's auto insurance quotes come out about 23 percent higher than women's on average, the study showed.

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The analysis was based on nearly 5,000 quotes collected from regulatory agencies in seven states.

The data showed that if a man and a woman with the exact same driver profile (except for their sex) got quotes for the exact same coverage, the man's quote would be higher 62 percent of the time.

Young men included in the analysis ended up seeing the biggest sex-based price discrepancies. For drivers under 25, the average sex-based price gap was $676 a year.

"It's important that consumers understand the things that determine how much they pay for insurance, and gender is one of the least understood of those factors," says OAI manager Cesar Diaz. "With European insurers having to exclude sex-based pricing from their business plans starting December 21st, we wanted to spread some awareness of the issue here in the states."

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America spoke to OAI about the EU ruling, saying similar efforts would be unlikely to catch on at a national level here in the states. (Read the full report on the EU ruling with PCI's comments here.)

It's important to note that men weren't always quoted higher prices for coverage. Men and women in the study were quoted the same price for coverage 27 percent of the time, while women were quoted higher prices 11 percent of the time.

Age also plays a factor when it comes to sex-based pricing. The results showed insurers varied quotes based on the sex of the driver 96 percent of the time when the drivers were under 25, 56 percent of the time when they were 25-65 and 66 percent of the time when they were 65 and over.

For the full results and analysis on why men tend to pay more for coverage, check out the full study: Quantifying the Sex-Based Pricing Gap in Car Insurance.

Also, check out OAI's infographic on the ongoing debate over whether men or women are better behind the wheel here.

SOURCE Online Auto, LLC