A new study on auto insurance rates across the country finds that there is a very real gender gap in Florida, with women motorists paying more than $307 annually than men in their auto premiums. That’s the second biggest gender disparity gap in the nation, according to a report from Quote Wizard by Lending Tree, LLC.
The only state with a greater disparity gap is Alaska, where women pay on average $378 more than men.
The study says that on average, a 30-year-old woman in Florida pays $3,543 annually for auto insurance. A 30-year-old man pays $3,236, a $307 discrepancy.
There are 31 states when women pay more than men, 15 where men pay more than women, and four where men and women pay around the same rate, the study says.
Why the huge discrepancy? The authors don’t have a definitive answer, writing that “there doesn’t seem to be a clear and constant risk factor in women drivers’ histories to reveal a reason for the cost difference.”
The Phoenix reported last fall that Floridians pay some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country.
This isn’t the first report to show that women drivers pay considerably higher premiums than men in the U.S.
A 2017 report by the Consumer Federation of America found that female motorists with perfect driving records often pay “significantly more for auto insurance than male drivers with identical driving records and other characteristics” that insurers use to price auto insurance. That study tested premiums in 10 U.S. cities, including Tampa. The comparison revealed that 40-year-old women were the most likely to be charged more than men, and 60-year-old women were also penalized more often and faced higher premiums.
At least six states currently ban considering gender when pricing personal auto insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
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