youth, gender, fast driving, and texting

A little surprise from Joseph White and Anjali Athavaley in the WSJ...

Some big auto insurers are raising the rates they charge to cover teenage girls, reflecting the crumbling of conventional wisdom that young women are more responsible behind the wheel.

In a survey of teenage drivers, Allstate Insurance Co. found that 48% of girls said they are likely to drive 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. By comparison, 36% of the boys admitted to speeding. Of the girls, 16% characterized their own driving as aggressive, up from 9% in 2005. And just over half of the girls said they are likely to drive while talking on a phone or texting, compared to 38% of the boys...

It could be what they're doing vs. what they're admitting, but...

For highlights of the study, click here.

Still, teenage girls continue to be a better risk than boys, according to Allstate's claims data, he says. State Farm, the nation's largest insurance company, says that currently its auto coverage premiums for teenage boys are about 40% higher than for girls. In 1985, that gap was about 61%, says Vicki Harper, a spokeswoman for State Farm...

Indeed, a search for a quote Tuesday on Progressive Direct Insurance Co.'s website for two hypothetical 19-year-old drivers (one male and one female) whose choice of car, personal details (including a speeding ticket within the past three years) and coverage limits were the same, yielded prices that were very close: The girl was quoted $2,627 for six months of coverage. The boy would have paid $2,938 for six months....