Battle of the sexes hots up behind the wheel

Are young women safer drivers than their male counterparts? It’s hardly an easy question to answer and the debate tends to get quite heated with both sides of the argument keen to demonstrate who is the safest. Unfortunately for the guys however, many of the big name insurers offer discounts on their premiums for female drivers under 25 and between 25 and 30.

This gender based bias is usually based on statistics that allude to young women being the safer of the two cohorts of young people on the road, often done by the insurers themselves. If the female drivers are responsible for fewer accidents with lower repair costs than the male drivers on their books then it follows that the insurer may offer cover at a discounted premium to their female customers.

In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia, a young female driver under 25 could save almost 20% on their premium with certain insurers. For those in the 25 – 29 age group the savings are not so dramatic but the potential still exists for women to pay almost 10% less than the men.

It certainly still pays to shop around, although young women may be paying a lot less than their brother or boyfriend with the same insurer, this is still no guarantee that they’re getting the best deal. An insurer who does not give discounts for young women may still offer a better value policy. Of course the opposite is also true; a young man who is paying the same as his female contemporary should still be shopping around to make sure he couldn’t do better somewhere else.

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RateCity is the best website to shop around on for car insurance and most other financial products. As well as comparing car insurance policies at RateCity, you can also get instant quotes from leading Australian car insurance brands.

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