Study: Male Texans Charged More for Auto Insurance 64% of the Time

HOUSTON, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study from OnlineAutoInsurance.com (OAI) showing how car insurance prices fluctuate based on gender shows that men in Texas pay more than women for coverage nearly two-thirds of the time and that the average surcharge for being male is around 14 percent.

The analysis was based on 276 sample Texas auto insurance quotes made available by state regulators through HelpInsure.com, an online portal that allows Texas drivers to get premium estimates from top insurers in the state based on generic driver profiles. OAI collected and analyzed premium data for a single Houston driver with good credit and 50/100/50 liability limits. For each insurer, one quote was collected for the male version of this profile, and one was collected for the female version.

"The Texas results are another example of a nationwide trend of insurers charging higher prices to men because of their increased risk of filing a claim," said OAI manager Cesar Diaz. "According to federal crash data, in 2010 the average male driver had a 1-in-19 chance of getting into an accident, while the average woman's chances were only 1-in-25.5. With those numbers it's hard to expect them to do differently."

(To see the full study that includes data from Texas and six other states, read Quantifying the Sex-Based Pricing Gap in Car Insurance.)

Not all of the 46 Texas car insurers included in the study charged men more for coverage. While men were charged more about 64 percent of the time, there was no difference 23 percent of the time, and in 12 percent of the cases women were actually charged more for coverage.

Age also had a large effect on sex-based pricing trends.

When the sample driver profile was under 25 years old, all but one insurer gave a rate increase for being male. Quotes for under-25 males ended up coming in between 2 percent and 61 percent more than the quotes for under-25 females.

For the 25- to 65-year-old age bracket, the results were much different. In that bracket, men and women were most frequently charged the same price for insurance, which happened 48 percent of the time. 

Check out the full report for analysis of why insurers charge men more for coverage and the results in other states.

SOURCE Online Auto, LLC