Women driving blind on motor insurance hikes

Worrying new statistics released today by the AA have revealed that more than one-quarter of Brits are unaware that their motor premiums will be affected by next month’s European Union gender ruling.

Women, who are most likely to see their premiums increase under the new law, are actually the least likely to realise the implications of the ruling, which will mean that insurers will no longer be able to use gender for motor rating from 21 December.

Young women are most likely to be affected by the increases, with most facing rises of 25% or more when the law comes into force.

This is despite claims from AA Insurance director Simon Douglas that young men are more than twice as likely to have a serious car crash than young women, and are 10 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a car crash than those aged 35 or over.

Douglas argues that calculating premiums based on the risk a driver bears is the fairest method, but that rationale has been dropped in favour of gender equality.

Public reaction

With most insurers set to offer gender-neutral policies by the end of this month, questions have to be asked about what the public reaction will be to the changes.

In these tough economic times many drivers, particularly young females, may find themselves priced out of buying car insurance.

Some may stop driving altogether as a result, while others may decide simply not to renew or get new policies, leaving the door open to fraud.

Uninsured driving is already a big issue, with many offenders knowing that the cost of a fine if they get caught is less than the cost of buying insurance.

So now would be an opportune time for the government to introduce tough new laws increasing the cost of the fine, while working with insurers to bring down the price of insurance for motorists.