Men seem to be involved in more driving accidents than women on average – costing insurance companies more money in claim pay-outs.
While men traditionally pride themselves on being better drivers, a new study suggests quite the opposite.
Research by Confused.com has analyzed all things such as insurance claims and court proceedings for speeding and found that women drivers are less likely to commit an offense and less likely to make a claim.
The statistics show that men have paid an average of £3,327 more for their car insurance for the past ten years.
And while the gap is closing following a 2012 EU gender directive prohibiting insurers from rating on a driver’s sex, a difference can still be seen – with the current general premium for females standing at £701 a year, while males pay around £793.
Official figures reveal that a number of 585,000 drivers English drivers were taken to court in 2017 for motoring offenses – with under 80 percent of those being men.
Male drivers also appear to get involved in more accidents than females – costing insurance companies more when it comes down to claim payouts – the study revealed.
In 2017, two out of three insurance payouts were being claimed by men, of which 17 percent were fault claims.
The research suggests that females are less likely to have bad driving habits – with 23 percent of male motorists admitting to not letting other drivers know when they’re about to switch lanes in comparison to 17 percent of women.
“As a female racing driver, I know women can hold their own when it comes to driving, and data suggests that they are in fact safer on the roads,” said Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com.
“This is reflected in the fact that they are paying almost £100 less for their premiums.
“It could also be down to the fact that more men committed more motoring offences in comparison to women.”
However, while the study suggests that women may be better drivers, this could be due to them having had more practice, as it took them longer to get their license.
In 2018 more women took a driving test than men, but fewer passed.
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