A picture of why young men are more likely to have bad accidents than females of the same age emerges from analysis of almost 450 million miles of driving by customers of insurethebox. The research also shows how telematics will make it possible for women to benefit from lower insurance rates even when it becomes illegal for insurers to discriminate by sex.
The Gender Directive, which comes into force on December 21, will require insurers to ignore the fact that young women are a much lower risk. insurethebox estimates that this change will cost them £500 p.a. on average.
The company has pioneered pay-as-you-go insurance by using a black box inserted under the dashboard to record driving behaviour and encourage safer motoring.
Customers who drive well receive Bonus Miles and big price reductions on renewal.
According to insurethebox statistics, young male drivers are nearly twice as likely to lose bonus miles for speeding than women of the same age. They trigger a box alert 60% more often – something that is normally the result of sudden breaking or an incident such as making contact with an object. And they are more likely to drive for extended periods without taking a break.
Young women receive over 50% more bonus miles for safe driving and substantial reductions on renewal, as well as starting with lower premiums in the first place.
“Of course there are exceptions, but the typical boy driver goes faster and has more incidents than the typical girl driver. And, when he does have an accident, it is more likely to be at high speed and to involve injury. It is hardly surprising that his insurance will cost around 40% more. When the Gender Directive comes into force young female drivers will be subsidising males,” says Charlotte Halkett, Group Marketing Actuary at insurethebox.
“There is a solution, however. Even with the Gender Directive telematics makes it possible to reward good drivers. Motorists who drive in a less aggressive way – of both sexes – will see their premiums come tumbling down. Telematics boxes are a great way for girls to beat the Gender Directive.”
Recent statistics show that 95% of insurethebox customers get reductions on renewal averaging 34% based on their driving experience. However, with the Gender Directive set to raise women’s rates to artificial levels, there will be even great scope for them to earn reductions based on their driving.
Launched in June 2010, insurethebox specialises in telematics Motor insurance, and has sold around 125,000 policies. Its service centre is in Newcastle. Analysis shows that its incentives for safe driving have reduced accidents among 17-21 year olds by 35-40%.
Kaynak : 