Car

Women have always known it: Men buy faster cars to extend parts of their anatomy only the most drastic and painful surgery could hope to ameliorate. They boast about being better drivers in order to make up for a prowess that, in so many cases, is miserably lacking in the baby-making department.

The truth hurts - they're a danger to themselves and others. However, as true as it may be that some men should be fined severely for being pompous, preening, pretentious prats (no, not you Clarkson, trot on), and as satisfying as it may seem to see these peacocks of the road having to bust their piggy-banks to pay outrageously high premiums because of a failure in the one remaining bastion of male competence, change is afoot and women must watch their rear-view mirrors.

The same old statistics that the boys wheel out don't tell us anything. Yes, women need as much as 14 hours more tuition on average to pass their driving test and have a test pass rate of just 40 per cent, six per cent behind men's. Yes, women take an average of 2.12 tests to pass, men need 1.87.

On average, men do seem to pick up the basics more quickly, but this is blasted out of the water by the view that men become blinded by their confidence, and that they don't learn thoroughly or in a way that properly prepares them for the realities of the road. Women have been statistically proven to be safer drivers and submit fewer, less expensive claims than men, and are therefore benefiting from lower insurance premiums.

However, new research shows women are becoming as aggressive as men, threatening the economic advantage of femininity on the freeway. The main reason why women's car insurance tends to be cheaper is the fact that their claims tend to cost less than the car insurance claims of men. Admittedly women do tend to have more accidents, but they're generally fairly minor affairs. Yet, a study on the verge of publication suggests that not only are women driving faster, but also they are actually breaking the law more, collecting more tickets for speeding and dangerous driving. Women are becoming more impatient and taking their anger out on fellow drivers.

According to Home Office figures, there has been up to a 50 per cent jump in the number of women getting traffic convictions in the last eight years. The gap between men and women is narrowing, and this will have financial implications as insurance companies revise their female-friendly policies. Having worked in the insurance arena throughout her career, Lisa McPherson knows what she's talking about. She wanted to create her own insurance service company in a market place dominated by men and controlled by large direct insurance companies. Whether or not women are the final victors in the end, there are plenty of companies willing to take advantage of the prevailing view.

Lisa's company Ladybird Insurance has ridden the wave: "In the last three years the company has gone from strength to strength and we now have a market leading female brand that has helped us achieve two top industry awards". There is the potential for companies to reach a niche market, which is steadily growing and at a faster rate thanks to the existing bias. Companies can afford to tailor themselves to women's needs and maximise the mutual benefits of women's perceived caution. "My goal with Ladybird has always been to provide more than just an insurance product", explains Lisa, "I wanted to be able to offer a solution to the female driver, a peace of mind package that enabled women drivers to feel at ease that they were covered by quality insurance, good breakdown cover and legal protection as well as other more subtle products such accident packs and loss of key protection.

Today we are able to offer women exactly this type of lifestyle product." The real key to capitalising in the market is to watch that speeding. Research by insurers has shown that a speeding conviction can on average add up to £1 96 to the premium. A second fine will increase the premium by almost 30 per cent (£254) and a third can cause premiums to rise by a further 60 per cent (£406). This is the area in which women have historically beaten men hands down. It is by speeding that women risk losing the much-contested financial and moral advantage. So if you want to keep the money in your pocket, keep your foot on the brake.

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