Average Car Insurance Premiums for Women

Many people don’t realize that female drivers often enjoy lower car insurance premiums than male drivers. As with all things insurance related, it’s based on the cold hard facts. Women are viewed to be safer behind the wheel than their male counterparts. But like all things, there’s a catch: age. It’s often said that to ask a woman her age is to show disrespect, but insurance agencies don’t by society’s etiquette rules. Take a look at the different car insurance rates for teenage girls as they turn into mature women.

Teenagers

It should come as no surprise that inexperienced drivers pay higher insurance premiums. During a woman’s lifetime, her years as a teenager will be her highest monthly insurance premiums. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), car insurance premiums for female motorists are highest when they are between the ages of 16-24. Statistically speaking, both male and female drivers are considered major hazards in that age bracket. Small mercies, indeed.

Managing the Costs

Don’t lose hope, though. There are plenty of other ways you can manage those price-gouging rates. Here’s how:

Get good grades. Auto insurance companies tend to regard good grades as an indication that the driver would also be more careful on the road. So if you’ve already got good grades, then you’re good to go.

Have an exemplary driving record. Being accident-free for years will give you a massive advantage, not just during your teen driving years—lower premiums, hello there—but when you finally join the middle-aged group bracket. However, don’t let that make a difference in your driving habits. Stay careful and safe on the road.

Take advantage of discounts. This applies to you if you’ve got outstanding grades. Some companies offer discounts to students with exemplary records so make sure you look out for these.

Participate in a driver improvement course. Insurance rates tend to drop when you successfully complete an approved course.

Middle-aged Adults If you’re married, one way to get those costs to go down is to declare your marital status on record. Statistically, married drivers incur less risk on the road so they qualify for lower premium rates. Again, this is lower for female than male drivers, though the discrepancy isn’t as blatant as it for teenage drivers of either gender. However, older female drivers tend to pay slightly higher premiums than older male drivers, says Moneycrashers, mostly because older women seem to have more minor driving accidents compared to older men.

Senior Citizens.  However, in some parts of the world, laws are being revised to abolish gender-pricing schemes. The European Court of Justice has passed on a ruling that rates should stop being based on gender. However, some feel that this move toward a fairer pricing scheme will have a negative impact on female drivers, especially for those under the age of 25, where astronomical insurance costs for male teen drivers are lower for female drivers. In some locations in the U.S., though, this law is already in effect. In Hawaii, for instance, the state outlaws using pricing schemes based on age and gender so insurance costs only rise by 17 percent when parents add their teen drivers to their auto insurance policies. That’s a long drop from the 111 percent surcharge parents in New Hampshire will see in their premiums.

Conclusion

On average, female drivers under the age of 25 tend to pay the most in premiums, middle-aged drivers enjoy the lowest rates, and mature female drivers have slightly higher insurance premiums than mature males.

Equal Rates. Expect rates to soar again once you hit your golden years. Statistical data demonstrates that men and women this age have higher chances of getting into a driving accident. So when women hit the ages of 65 to 75, insurance rates will likely show an increase of 18 percent. A quick search on comparison shopping sites like CoverHound provide a quick list of insurance agencies least likely to discriminate based on age through a couple screens of question prompts.

Cost-Saving Measure

The average auto insurance rates by age for women between the ages of 25 and 55 show a marked decrease in their auto insurance costs. One likely possibility is that women around this age tend to have children. With kids in the car, female drivers tend to take even greater care on the road. Out of all the fixed age brackets, female drivers in this bracket enjoy lower car insurance rates, with women around 55 years of age, paying the least amount of insurance costs.

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