Does Danica Patrick Have to Pay More for Insurance because She’s a Woman in NASCAR?

It’s the ongoing question: “Which sex is better at driving?”

Women have long been associated—typically by men—with being worse drivers than men. Considering this bit of “common knowledge” and the fact that Danica Patrick makes a living speeding behind the wheel of a stock car, many would believe that she would pay more than a male counterpart for vehicle coverage. But this may not necessarily be the case.

From a statistical standpoint, a woman with the same characteristics as a man will often pay less for auto insurance.

How often do they pay less for auto insurance? An OnlineAutoInsurance.com analysis of nearly 2,500 male/female quote pairs made available by insurance regulators in seven states (California, West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma) showed the following:

• Women paid less than men about 62 percent of the time.
• Men paid less than women roughly 11 percent of the time.
• Gender had no effect on price about 27 percent of the time.

However, every person’s situation is unique, so let’s see if the Go Daddy driver would pay more for car insurance than a man with the same driver profile.

For this quote comparison, we’ll assume that Danica’s driving record does not contain tickets or accidents—although her track record may show otherwise—and we’ll use a man with similar age, driving experience (aside from being a professional race car driver), car, and place of residence.

In the following examples, the quotes were gathered from two major carriers with the default coverage options offered through their online quote generators. The following characteristics were used for each gender:

• Age of applicants – 30
• Location – Phoenix, AZ 85004
• Driving record – Clean, no tickets or accidents
• Driver’s licensing status – Current, licensed since the age of 16
• Vehicle – 2008 Mercedes-Benz GL550 SUV

Results

Male, Company A:

6-Month Policy

Coverage type Coverage levels Premium Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident
• $50,000 property damage

$581 Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$53 Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$28 Comprehensive $500 deductible $124 Collision $500 deductible $203 Rental Car Reimbursement $30 per day ($900 maximum) $18 Roadside Standard $5 Total premium $1,012

Female, Company A:

6-Month Policy

Coverage type Coverage levels Premium Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident
• $50,000 property damage

$590 Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$79 Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$42 Comprehensive $500 deductible $119 Collision $500 deductible $182 Rental Car Reimbursement $30 per day ($900 maximum) $18 Roadside Standard $5 Total premium $1,035

Male, Company B:

6-Month Policy

Coverage type Coverage levels Premium Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident
• $50,000 property damage

$587 Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$54 Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$22 Comprehensive $500 deductible $126 Collision $500 deductible $196 Rental Car Reimbursement $30 per day ($900 maximum) $20 Roadside Standard $5 Total premium $1,010

Female, Company B:

6-Month Policy

Coverage type Coverage levels Premium Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident
• $50,000 property damage

$522 Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$34 Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury

• $100,000 per person
• $300,000 per accident

$19 Comprehensive $500 deductible $102 Collision $500 deductible $141 Rental Car Reimbursement $30 per day ($900 maximum) $15 Roadside Standard $5 Total premium $838

According to the quote comparison conducted between the two companies, based on Danica’s profile, she would pay more for car insurance than a man with Company A and less with Company B.

However, the gender-based premium differences between companies vary significantly. With Company A, she would be paying $20 more for vehicle coverage over the course of six months, about $3.33 per month.

With Company B, she would pay $172 less than a male would with the same profile, or about $28.66 less per month.

Both drivers would save by choosing Company B, but Danica would end up paying roughly 17% less than the male.

In either case, if you break down the premiums for both companies by the types of coverages, males pay more for comprehensive and collision coverage in both instances, which is probably the result of insurers having to pay out more money on these types of claims for men in Phoenix as opposed to women in Phoenix.

At the national level, women have better crash statistics than men. According to data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2010, males were involved in nearly 5.4 million crashes, while women were involved in only around 4.1 million. There were also approximately 1.36 million more licensed women than men that year, which means men were involved in crashes at a higher rate.

On the other hand, Company A seems to see women as more of a risk—according to the premium—of filing a claim under liability, uninsured, and underinsured motorist coverages. Why is this? Though national crash statistics don’t necessarily support this trend, Company A’s internal claims data might.

The data from the NHTSA shows that females’ involvement rate in injury crashes in 2012 was 1,195 per 100,000 licensed drivers compared with males’ 1,451 per 100,000 licensed drivers. Males’ involvement rate in property-damage only crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers was higher as well at 3,687 compared with females’ 2,705.

So, does Danica Patrick pay more for auto insurance than compared with, for example, other NASCAR drivers?

If they have the same driver profiles with the only difference being that Danica’s a woman, chances are she’ll pay less for coverage. But, as our example quotes showed, this isn’t always the case.

Whatever the case may be, men and women alike should shop around for coverage. Whether you’re a public figure like Danica Patrick or like to stay low-key, you’re likely to save on auto insurance by comparing the rates of various carriers.

(Image Credit: David Shankbone)