Women now pay more for car insurance — despite being better drivers
Women now pay more for car insurance than men — despite getting into fewer accidents, research suggests.
Analysis of quotes by vehicle leasing company Vanarama found that, taking gender bias in job sectors into account, it now costs women about £15.33 ($18.93) per year more to insure their car than men.
In 2012, the EU introduced new rules that meant that car insurance companies could no longer discriminate against men by charging them more than women for insuring the same vehicle.
This is despite the fact that women get into fewer accidents, so they cost car insurance companies less money.
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While women have been subjected to sexist remarks about their driving abilities for decades, evidence overwhelmingly suggests they are actually safer and more competent behind the wheel.
Research by price comparison site Confused.com found men break driving laws at four times the rate of women, and are more likely to be “at fault” when filing insurance claims.
Meanwhile, data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and and department for transport (DfT) shows men are far more likely to be killed or seriously injured on roads than women.
While men do tend to drive more than women, studies have shown that even when this is compensated for, striking differences in both the number and severity of car crashes still remain.
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Because of this, women previously payed about £84 less for their car insurance, with their average premium being about £737, compared with £821 for men.
However, since the introduction of the EU gender directive, this kind of gender discrimination is illegal.
To find out if there is still a gender bias in car insurance, Vanarama grouped each profession into several sectors of industry such as education, construction and retail.
It then compared the average costs of car insurance for a 1.5L Volkswagen Golf in each of these industries to figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which shows the gender bias in each sector, finding that, on average, it now costs women more to insure their car than men.
