Scootinger’s Blog

Many people know that male drivers (especially teens) have to pay more for car insurance in the US than females, in some cases nearly twice is much! This is because of statistics that say that male drivers are more likely to get into crashes than females.

I’ve begun to wonder - why is this legal? Per federal law, it is illegal to discriminate based on gender, race, religion, as well as several other categories. Why is car insurance an exception, simply because of statistics and stereotypes?

What genetalia you have does not decide if you are a good or a bad driver. Just because some males have a tendency to do stupid things does not mean that the rest of us are this way as well. I’m a younger male that has been driving for about 2 years, and I have managed to only get myself into one tiny accident in which I didn’t even need to use my insurance, and no tickets either. But I know girls that have gotten into several major accidents. Just because I have a penis does not mean that I am going to be a crappy driver!

In the same way, why don’t the insurance companies give discounts to certain race groups? Why don’t they do some research on it, if there isn’t any out there already? I don’t intend to be racist or offend anyone, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s certain races that have a higher rate of vehicle thefts and maybe even accidents than others. Since they use gender-based stereotypes already, why don’t they use race-based stereotypes to increase prices for their higher-risk customers and lower prices for their lower-risk customers, and maybe make themselves some profit in the process? Does that sound right to you?

Simply put they should base car insurance rates off of factors such as the type of car that you own, driving experience, and number of crashes/tickets. Some of you may say that I am suggesting discrimination based on age, however I am suggesting that they set rates based on experience, not age. For instance, assuming that all other factors were the same, a 16-year-old new driver and a 30-year-old new driver should get the same insurance rates, since experience definitely does affect your ability to drive and your likelihood of having to make an insurance claim.