Car insurance - and women drivers

People like to make jokes about women drivers...but actually there are far more important issues to address when it comes to women behind the wheel.

I feel the time has come to speak out about one of them: it's something that is really important - and is likely to affect you. 

This December an EU "gender equality" ruling will prevent insurers from using gender to calculate insurance premiums. The Association of British Insurers is warning women to expect to pay up to 25% more for car insurance, an average of £360 each, while young men enjoy a 10% drop in rates and insurers pocket the extra premium they are allowed to charge us.

The equality logic is that premiums are based on gender equal discrimination. Yet insurance is a risk business based on statistical evidence not political correctness. And I believe that rather than eliminating discrimination this law positively discriminates against women despite insurers knowing we are the lesser gender risk and who typically

• drive fewer miles
• are more likely to transport children (known to influence driving behaviour) and
• cause fewer serious accidents (than young men in particular)

The real injustice will be felt by young women who will pay the same premiums as young men who (if under 22 years) are ten times more likely to have a serious crash, 25 times more likely to commit a driving offence and twice as likely to make an insurance claim. How can this be fair?

Clearly these insurance price rises aren't going to hurt the rich but they may prove to be the last financial straw for many women drivers who are already bearing the brunt of today's job losses and the increases in household bills. Moreover we can expect insurers to sell us "black box" technology as a remedy, expecting us to pay more for this technology so we can 'prove' we're safe drivers. But they know this already!

This is clearly madness with our names on it - and something needs to be done.

You can read more from Steph Savill on twitter - @foxytweets - and add your comments on this post here.

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