STUDY: Why Do Gay Men Pay So Much More For Car Insurance?

A new survey suggests that gay men are as bad drivers as women are—but pay disproportionately higher insurance premiums for it.

The admittedly unscientific-sounding 4autoinsurancequote.org reports on some findings from the University of London

In the cases of spatial awareness and navigation, gay male brains seem to be wired like female brains. Studies have shown that both women and gays score poorly on tasks that require navigation or spatial awareness. Both groups rely heavily on local landmarks to navigate, which means they tend to become lost easier than heterosexual men.

Women and gay men also have similarly bad senses of spatial awareness, which is a key factor in safe driving. These groups are more likely to cause minor accidents than straight males, because they experience difficulty visualizing the space around themselves. This flaw comes into play during tasks like parallel parking, as gays are much more likely to cause minor fender benders than straight males.

So how much more do gay dudes pay for auto insurance? 4AutoInsuranceQuote.org recently surveyed 500 men in New York City about their premiums:  The 300 straight guys they spoke to averaged $2,154 a year, while the 200 homo drivers paid $2,571.

Because they get into more high-speed and fatal accidents, straight men pay a higher premium than women.  But since insurance companies can’t inquire about sexual orientation, gay drivers—who are statistically less likely to cause such fatal accidents—have to pay the same higher rates as their breeder brothers.

“Gay male drivers bear the brunt of the burden of paying male auto insurance rates even though that while on the road, they tend to think more like females,” says 4AutoInsuranceQuote.org CEO James Shaffer, “Yes, they certainly cause a lot of accidents, just like any other group out there. But the amount the pay for car insurance is quite unfair.”

And because gay men can’t get married in most states, a majority of them can’t take advantage of the lower rates straight men get when they wed. (“Statistics show that married people are safer drivers than unwed individuals,” reports the blog.)

So to review:

* Similar to women, gay men have poor spacial and navigation skills. This leads them to get into more fender-benders than straight men, which in turn raises their insurance rates

* Though they don’t take risks like straight -male drivers, homosexual men are penalized the same because insurance companies don’t categorize by orientation.

* Most gay men cannot get legally wed and therefore can’t take advantage of marriage discounts offered by insurers

Ugh, that’s it—we’re taking a cab.

Photo: Honda USA