Women's car insurance has been popping up all over the net and our TV screens lately. There's a whole new class of insurers like Sheila's Wheels and Cover Girl who offer car insurance for ladies only. They promise lower premiums for women drivers because, they claim, it's cheaper for them to insure women. Women are better drivers so a lower risk, they say. They have fewer accidents, fewer driving convictions and when they do have an accident, the repairs are usually cheaper. So, is it really true, or is it just another marketing gimmick?

The answer to the question is both yes and no. Women only insurance companies are marketing to a specific niche - women drivers. Of course it's a gimmick, but like the best marketing gimmicks, it is based in truth. Here are the facts about women drivers and insurance:

• 92% of driving convictions are handed out to men.
  Those figures are changing, though, as women become more aggressive drivers. According to statistics gathered by the car insurance comparison site confused.com, 16.8% of male drivers have convictions on their driving record, compared to 9.8% of female drivers. That number is up from 4.8% of female drivers just three years ago.
• Men drive differently than women.
  A whopping 98% of dangerous driving convictions were handed out to male drivers last year. According to all the research, men tend to be more aggressive and competitive behind the wheel than women, and that naturally leads to more accidents. Women tend to drive more slowly - generally within the speed limits - and to drive shorter distances. All of those facts add up to fewer accidents that involve women. (So much for all those jokes about lousy women drivers. The statistics say otherwise.)
• Insurance companies pay out less in damages for policies taken out by women.
  When women do get into an accident, they tend to be of the fender-bender scrape variety. Overall, insurance companies have always known that female drivers cost them less in payouts.

However, that doesn't necessarily translate to the lowest premiums from companies that only insure women. In fact, many of them offer actual quotes that are higher than the rate you'd be quoted from a more generic motor insurance company. The truth is that despite the widespread sentiment that women drivers underwrite their more expensive male counterparts by paying higher insurance, most insurance companies offer lower insurance rates to female drivers as a customary part of doing business.

That's not to say that you won't get the best price from an insurer who only insures women's cars. The bottom line is the same as it is with any other auto insurance decision. Shop around. Get insurance rate quotes from a number of different companies before you decide on the policy that's best for you. Keep in mind when you're comparing policies that you should always compare like with like. Decide on the specific cover that you want before you start requesting quotes, and make sure that the rate you're quoted includes all the cover you need. It's really the only way to be absolutely certain you're getting the best cover for your money.