Our analysis shows that car insurance costs are shifting broadly for women in many states — but it’s unclear what’s causing this change.

If women’s car insurance costs are going up, it suggests insurance companies are finding that women are riskier to insure (they’re filing more claims — or those claims are more expensive). Yet, according to IIHS, “Men typically drive more miles than women and more often engage in risky driving practices including not using safety belts, driving while impaired by alcohol, and speeding. Crashes involving male drivers often are more severe than those involving female drivers.”

A closer look at the numbers shows:

• Men accounted for 71% of driver fatalities in crashes in 2017, according to IIHS.
• Men and women engage in distracted driving at the same rates, according to California’s Department of Insurance. Insurers in the state identified distracted driving as “one of the primary drivers of increased accident frequency and severity.”
• In 2017, alcohol-impaired drivers were involved in one-third of all fatal car crashes — and most of those drivers were men. According to NHTSA, there were four male alcohol-impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes for every female alcohol-impaired driver (8,022 versus 1,944).
• Speeding was a factor in 28% of male driver deaths and 18% of female driver deaths in 2017, according to IIHS.
• While most studies show men more often exhibit in risky driving behaviors, a 2011 study by the University of Michigan showed that women were more likely to be involved in certain types of crashes, especially when turning at intersections.