davieG Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 From the BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12600284 Young women could face big increases in the cost of car insurance, if insurers are told that they have to stop quoting different prices for men and women.The European Court of Justice will decide whether it is a form of sex discrimination which should be banned. If so, some women drivers in the UK could eventually face 50% rises in the cost of insuring their cars. The ruling could affect the cost of pension annuities, life assurance and health cover as well. The gulf between men's and women's motor cover is particularly wide for drivers who have recently passed their tests. Nick and Emma Lane, a brother and sister from Bishop's Stortford, feel the difference more acutely than most. 'Ridiculous'Nick and Emma are twins. They are 18 years old, so they suffer from the highest insurance rates. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote The facts show young male drivers are most at risk of accidents on the road” Nick StarlingABIMore than that, they each had three attempts at the driving test before passing. And they succeeded within weeks of each other. They are as similar as drivers can be, apart from the difference in sex. Yet when they fed their details into an online price comparison site, Nick's motor insurance quote was twice as high. "I don't like it all," Nick says. "I think it's ridiculous that I have to pay double the amount she does when we're not actually that far apart in terms of driving ability." Lower premiumThe Association of British Insurers (ABI) argues that people get a deal which accurately reflects their situation. "The facts show young male drivers are most at risk of accidents on the road, so young women currently pay a lower premium for their car insurance," explains the ABI's Nick Starling. The quotes that Emma and Nick received were for a 1.2 litre Vauxhall Corsa from 2003. They reflect the 58% increase in rates suffered by the 17-22 age group over the past year. But while Emma's best quote was an uncomfortable £1,700, Nick's was an eye-watering £3,400. "It does seem a bit unfair," says Emma. "But it's all right for me because I have to pay less." Of course, if the ruling goes against her then, eventually, she would have to pay a great deal more. Wishful thinkingThe ABI suggests that young women could face an average increase of 25%, rising to 50% for the least experienced. Research published by the insurers at the end of last year estimated that men under 25 could expect a 10% fall in premiums on average. That is wishful thinking, according to many in the insurance industry. "It's entirely certain that women's premiums will go up. I don't think there's any chance whatsoever that men's premiums will come down," says a leading insurance broker, Mike Williams. "And the reason for that is that men have more accidents and when they have accidents they're more expensive." And Nick Lane has this confession to make: "I did nearly kill a cat in one of the driving tests I failed. But I'm really not that bad a driver." Should women be treated differently when it comes to insurance? Are you likely to be affected by whatever decision the European court makes? Send us your comments. Thoughts? Should anyone be treated differently, should age/experience? One things for sure the insurance companies will end up making more money as a result of the chaos this will inevitably create just like most of their attempts at 'improving' customer choice/treatment by the EC.
FoxyPV Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 I'm all up for breaking down barriers but this appears to be a red herring. I wonder who brought the case to the Court. The conspiracist in me thinks the insurance companies pushed this case forward so they can rip everyone off.
cambridgefox Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 i assume it makes too much sense to put womens insurance up a little and mens insurance down a little and meet in the middle!
davieG Posted 1 March 2011 Author Posted 1 March 2011 i assume it makes too much sense to put womens insurance up a little and mens insurance down a little and meet in the middle! I'm assuming from their perspective they would lose money doing that if the amounts were equal because the reduction in the men's would result in higher costs for them as there would still be the same number of claims and this would not be covered by the raise in the women's rates. Insurance is based on risk and that's why the men's is higher, provided they can justify that rate then they should be allowed to charge it. If young men want lower premiums they should all learn to drive with more care.
danny. Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 If this goes through then will older people have to pay the same as 18 year olds on the grounds of age discrimination?
breadandcheese Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 I do worry that when politicians in Europe or here in Westminster forumulate legislation, they never seem to consider the unintended consequences. As much as it annoys me that I have to pay more for my car insurance than a woman, it is perfectly understandable if all the data from car accidents show that male drivers are more of a risk than female drivers. The higher the risk, the higher the premium. As the insurer is the one taking on the risk and relieving me of it, they're entitled to price it according to their risk profiles. So as long as risk profiles are based on accurate statistical data, then it is acceptable. As others have pointed out, the next step is age discrimination. Why is it that older drivers with more time to build up a no-claims bonus are entitled to cheaper car insurance than those younger drivers who have not had the same opportunity. Eventually, the result is that we, the consumer are worse off, as insurers are unable to discriminate so apply a blanket approach to minimise their risk, which punishes everybody. I would add that there seems to be this preoccupation with equality of everything. Unfortunately, it doesn't work and we'd be better off accepting difference and then using data to target and achieve the outcomes that we want as a society.
Zingari Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 what will happen to sheila's wheels ? there are always victims
Bellend Sebastian Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 I'm a bit confused by this as gender issues usually revolve around a party being discriminated against for no good reason, i.e. a man and a woman doing the same job to the same standard but the bloke getting paid more being the classic example, but in this case the differentiation (sp?) between the two is clear - blokes present a higher risk to insurers. If you're in the business of managing risk, why shouldn't you be able to discriminate? I suppose you could argue that there's plenty of differentiation within each gender (we all know both men and women that drive like loonies I'm sure) but until you have some sort of history, what can an insurer go on other than their actuarial assumptions?
Bellend Sebastian Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 what will happen to sheila's wheels ? there are always victims Those three ladies are going to be taken to a field and shot. They should have been when they made that record, in fairness
Trav Le Bleu Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 If this goes through then will older people have to pay the same as 18 year olds on the grounds of age discrimination? Or black people pay the same as white people? Joking aside tyhe whole concept of insurance is discriminatory. Who you are, where you live, what you use something for. This is just ridiculous.
breadandcheese Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Or black people pay the same as white people? Joking aside tyhe whole concept of insurance is discriminatory. Who you are, where you live, what you use something for. This is just ridiculous. Is it ridiculous? You are paying a company to take on your risk. They will price this risk accordingly, not on an evil basis of prejudice, but on the basis of statistical data, collected and scutinised.
Haydos Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 To be fair to them the pricing is calculated based on risk and I'm pretty sure women are the statistically safer drivers. The same as older people v 17 year olds. There's no reason why either of these shouldn't get cheaper prices.
Zingari Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Will it be racist to charge me more holiday insurance to go to India or Libya , rather than say Tenerife or France ? The ECJ is a fookin joke
Bryn Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Still, great timing as I'm looking at getting a car this year.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Stick them back in the kitchen. If that had been a British judge presiding over the court that's probably what he would've said
Zingari Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 If that had been a British judge presiding over the court that's probably what he would've said someone would have had to wake him up first
Webbo Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Tbf if the shoe was on the other foot and men were getting cheaper car insurance than women it would have been banned years ago, and nobody on here would have dared to complain.
Jackirius Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Couldn't they have put Young guys insurance down instead?
breadandcheese Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Tbf if the shoe was on the other foot and men were getting cheaper car insurance than women it would have been banned years ago, and nobody on here would have dared to complain. Like men getting better annuities than women? I don't remember women objecting to that, because it is based on statistical fact and calculation, not prejudice. The ruling today has ended this,
Guest BlueBrett Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Haha! Bloody feminists didn't see this one coming did they!
ajthefox Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 As annoying as it is paying a premium for my insurance because I'm a young lad, the statistics don't lie and to be honest the discrimination line is rubbish. Men are higher risk and younger men are the highest risk. It should be left as it is.
Trav Le Bleu Posted 1 March 2011 Posted 1 March 2011 Be afraid... already they are talking about it's wrong to discriminate by age. So older drivers could also soonl be paying the same amount as younger ones.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.