Cost of coverage

Laranzo Dacres, Gleaner Writer

If you are a male driver, chances are you may be paying a higher insurance premium than your female counterpart.

On average, male drivers between the ages of 17 and 30 generally pay high insurance premiums, which tend to decrease after reaching 30.

"Insurance is based on the law of numbers," explained Samantha Samuda, assistant vice-president of marketing and distribution at Insurance Company of the West Indies (ICWI).

And the numbers are not in favour of male drivers.

According to statistics from the Road Safety Unit, male drivers are responsible for 80 per cent of road fatalities. In fact, "females are considered safer drivers," said psychologist Dr Veronica Salter.

"There is a higher number of accidents by young males on the roads. This is because of the high testosterone level among young males, which pushes them to drive fast and take risks. Women don't usually act that way ... although they still have accidents which are determined by other circumstances," she explained.

Indivdual underwriting

However, the ICWI executive said premiums are not usually determined by age alone. "There are many other factors that are taken into consideration and each policy is individually underwritten. So, there have been cases where the premium paid by a male driver is lower than a female's," Samuda explained.

In fact, Samuda said before the introduction of a policy by ICWI for female drivers over age 30, both males and females paid similar rates in keeping with the requirements of age and type of car being insured.

"This was done because, after a review of our portfolio, we realised that female drivers were, in fact, having fewer accidents than men ... and we decided to reward them with a special discount," she said.

Elizabeth Chung, assistant marketing manager at Jamaica International Insurance Company, said gender does not always influence the rates of insurance premiums offered by her organisation.

"The premium is not based on gender alone but rather driving experience and other variables," Chung said. "However, we can say that based on our portfolio, we settle fewer claims for female drivers than their male counterparts," she continued.

Public education programme

Against that background, however, Dr Salter believes a public education programme, particularly for male drivers, could assist in making them more adept at the use of the Road Code.

"Having a course in defensive driving could help in allowing drivers to learn how to access various vehicular movements on the roads, as well as learn more accurate estimation of on-coming vehicles, among other driving skills," the psychologist said.

Samuda said male drivers could benefit more from reduced car insurance premium rates, if they make the effort to prove their road worthiness.

"Male drivers would need to demonstrate over a period of time that their losses (gauged by loss ratio) improves, especially in comparison to their female counterparts. And, individually, each male needs to have a clean driving record for a period of time with full no-claim discount to have access to improved rates," she explained.

Chung, on the other hand, is advising male drivers to seek information from their insurance providers as to special benefits available, based on their individual lifestyle.