Even those people who haven't the slightest bit of interest in personal finance trends could not have failed to notice that the past few years have seen the car insurance market flooded with female-only products.

As the annoying television adverts and glossy-magazine full-page spreads suggest, women can now benefit from significantly lower premiums than their male counterparts, with these discounts largely based on the premise that they are safer drivers.

Such claims, however, do have a basis in facts against which male drivers would find it hard to argue that all things should be equal.

Not for nothing do insurers roll out the 'boy racer' stereotypes when they unveil yet another rise in premiums for male drivers.

Indeed, recent research carried out by insurance firm Confused.com found that, over the course of 2007, some 2.3 million men were convicted for speeding offences in comparison to just 920,000 women.

Also, of the 17 to 18-year-olds questioned, 19 per cent admitted to having got behind the wheel while over the drink-drive limit, while seven per cent even revealed that they had driven after taking illegal drugs.

Debra Williams, managing director of Confused.com, explained: "Men's insurance, especially when they first pass their driving tests, has historically always been higher than that of their female counterparts – a fact which highlights the 'boy racer mentality which still exists in Britain.

"Although men’s premiums obviously decrease with age and experience, they always remain slightly higher than women’s which is unsurprising in the light of the recent research which found that men of all ages are two and a half times more likely to be convicted of a driving offence."

So, in the absence of a dedicated car insurance provider targeting its products at just young men, what can a sensible male driver do to benefit from lower premiums?

Of course, staying on the right side of the law and steering clear of trouble on the roads, and thereby notching up several year's worth of no-claims bonuses, is the best way to save a tidy sum.

However, even simpler steps can bring financial rewards.

For example, that 'boy racer' staple, the top-of-the-range stereo and speakers hardly serves to deter potential thieves, but rather puts a car at greater risk, against which insurers will price their policy.

Likewise, however flash a car is, it can be financially prudent to hide it away in a secure garage instead of keeping it out on the street at night.

The gender gap within the car insurance market may never be fully bridged, but , with a little common sense, men are easily able to move away from the lazy, if justified stereotypes, and enjoy sensible premiums.