Gender and age affects driver insurance cost [La Prensa (San Antonio, TX)]

If you're a guy and you think you're being charged more for car insurance ... you're probably right.

A new study from OnlineAutoInsurance.com (OAI) shows men in Texas pay more than women for coverage nearly two-thirds of the time. And the average surcharge is not just a little hike in the premium - being male adds about 14 percent to the insurance premium which translates into hundreds of dollars more per year for the same coverage.

The analysis, based on 276 sample Texas auto insurance quotes made available by state regulators through Helplnsure. com, studied how premiums fluctuate in price according to age and gender. OAI collected and analyzed premium data for a single Houston driver with good credit and 50/100/50 liability limits. For each insurer, two quotes were collected: one for the male version of this profile and one for the female version.

OAI manager Cesar Diaz explains that these results aren't arbitrary - guys end up paying more because statistically, chances are higher they will end up in an accident that will cost insurers money.

"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," Diaz said. "According to federal crash data, in 2010 the average male driver had a l-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."

Not all 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 seems to have a large effect on sex-based pricing trends as well.

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 were between two and 61 percent more than quotes for under-25 females.

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

To get all the information from the study, including data from Texas and six other states, visit www . onlineautoinsurance . com/ research/sex-based-premiumdifferences.By Angela Covo

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