Cheap car insurance for women was
traditionally easier to find than it was for men – find out why and how it all
changed. Traditionally, finding women’s car insurance at a low cost was a lot
easier than it was for men. This is down to the fact that women drivers have
statistically fewer accidents and make fewer claims, enabling insurers to
reward them with lower premiums. However, a ruling made by the European Court
of Justice (ECJ) now means that insurers cannot take gender into account when
calculating the cost of insurance. The new law, which came into place on 21
December 2012, is bad news for women drivers, who will almost certainly see
increases to the cost of their car insurance.
What the ruling means for women’s
car insurance
According to the AA, young female
drivers used to pay premiums up to 50% cheaper than their male peers. However,
the ECJ ruling means that in order to ‘even out’ insurance rates, women will
see a sharp rise in their insurance costs. This is partly down to the fact that
women – especially female drivers under the age of 25 – will effectively have
to pay premiums that reflect the risk of their male counterparts, with young
male drivers statistically more likely to be involved in accidents.
Recent stats from the AA showed
that a female driver aged between 17 and 22 pays a typical premium of £2,057,
compared with more than £3,000 for men in the same age bracket.The insurance industry predicts
that prices for young women will rise by an average of 25% during 2013, adding
£531 to a policy for a woman aged between 17 and 22. The insurance industry
appears unconvinced about the new law.Maggie Craig of the Association
of British Insurers, which represents the majority of insurance providers,
feels that the ruling “… ignores the fact that taking a person’s gender into
account, where relevant to the risk, enables men and women alike to get a more
accurate price for their insurance.”
