Car Insurance - What a Caveman Needs to Know
When it comes to car insurance, it is definitely better to be a cave woman than a caveman. It's an established fact that all things being equal, you will pay more for auto insurance if you happened to born with the XY chromosome.The reasoning behind this is that since men have the testosterone thing going on, they are more likely to drive fast and reckless and therefore are a higher risk than the fairer sex. Having many years of experience behind the wheel, I would have to add that it's not so much whether or not you are a caveman or woman that matters, but whether or not you are a 'young' cave person. I could not begin to tell you how many times I have seen young Cro-Magnon women driving up on another cars bumper at 70 miles an hour. While this gender discrimination may seem a little Neanderthal to many of us, nobody said that life was fair; even for a caveman.
It also matters where you cave is located. When I was living out in Washington State, I paid less than half for car insurance than what I pay here in Maryland. In Baltimore, you can even pay higher rates just by living in the wrong zip code. I have a brother who lives just two miles from where I reside yet his auto insurance is much cheaper because he lives in a different zip code. You can be the safest driver on the roads but if you happen to live in the wrong area, you might just get penalized for it. Like real estate, when it comes to car insurance, location matters.
Lastly, the type of vehicle that you're insuring also plays a large part in how much you pay for auto insurance. For instance, certain vehicles are more popular with car thieves than others. According to the 'National Insurance Crime Bureau(NICB), the Honda Civic and Accord were among the most reported stolen vehicles in 2006'. 'The report also mentioned that thieves tend to target the most popular vehicles because they offer the best market for stolen vehicle parts and illegal export to other countries'. Insurance companies are aware of this as well, and most will charge a premium for the privilege of owning one of these thief happy cars.
While it may be true that you can save some money by insuring your auto with an insurance company that has a caveman as a spokesperson, the truth is that what you pay for insurance is based on numerous factors such as driving history, age, sex and location. Slick advertising aside, that should be so obvious that even a cave man can see it.