Born to File Claims: Driving Behavior is Written in the Stars

Many people turn to the stars for direction in matters of money, love and happiness. Now, according to a survey conducted by Prudential Car Insurance in the United Kingdom, it appears that the zodiac may also play a role in driving behaviors.

The survey revealed that drivers’ skills on the road and propensities toward filing insurance claims seemed to be related to their astrological identity. Around 2,000 drivers were surveyed and people under the same star-sign reported similar claims experiences.

Astrological ideology suggests those born under the sign of Cancer tend to be shy, sensitive and demure. Apparently they come out of their shells to make car insurance claims. A third of Cancers surveyed made a claim–the highest of all the signs.

High-risk Cancers and Leos
Cancers made the most overall claims and Leo drivers reported the highest number of claims for accidental damage, which paralleled the Lions’ self-confessed, fast driving style. Cancers and Leos were found to be twice as likely to make a claim than their Gemini, Sagittarius or Pisces counterparts.

Gemini drivers reported the lowest level of claims, followed closely by Sagittarius and Pisces. However, despite good driving records, Gemini drivers appeared to be the least security-conscious reporting the most number of theft claims. Drivers with the sign of Aries had the lowest number of claims for theft. Virgos were a bit of a worry, with 25 percent admitting to being hesitant and easily distracted when driving.

Skeptical actuaries
While survey is fun, it may not be exactly represent smart business. Mark Allaben, fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, acknowledges that insurers are always looking for ways to predict behavior thinks they are unlikely to rush out anytime soon to create a zodiac scoring system.

“We are always looking for relationships in private passenger auto we can measure for insight into predictors of driving behavior.” He added though, “I would say at this time [the zodiac] would have as much value as correlating driving exposure to what baseball team you like.”

Loretta Waters of the Insurance Information Institute agreed that there is little practical value in this discovery at this time. “Two thousand is not a representative sample,” she said. Though she did find it interesting and wanted to know where her sign placed on the list.