Insurance rates are based on the average experience of a group of persons with similar characteristics (classification). Young drivers historically have had poorer loss experience (both in the frequency of accidents and the cost of those accidents) than older drivers. By charging young drivers higher rates, those drivers pay their fair share of insurance costs and older drivers are not asked to subsidize them. In addition, rates are generally higher for males because, consistently, female drivers incur fewer and/or less severe claims than males.