Insurance rates and gender
Gender as a rating factor in car insurance has a long and varied history. Many people don't even realize that gender plays a role in how much they pay for car insurance at all.
Historically, the difference in pay between men and women is a fairly small percentage of the total, so it often goes unremarked. For example, the current averages are $2,184 for men and $2,151 for the annual premium. That works out to men paying only $33 more for the year or about 1.5% more.
That said, the difference varies significantly based on where you live, and it also changes: Back in 2018, when we looked at the data, we found that women paid more than men in half of U.S. states. The number of states where women paid more has doubled since 2016. Now, we seem to be seeing the reverse.
Government regulators have generally accepted gender-based pricing because insurers have been able to show risk correlated with gender. For example, male teen drivers are statistically far more likely to crash and file claims than female teens, so they should have to pay more for insurance. That said, considering gender as a rating factor is outlawed in seven states: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Let's dive into how gender as a rating factor varies across the country and some of the things that impact it.