Men to pay same for car insurance after European ruling

[6ame]

This is from the BBC news: BBC News - Insurers set for sex discrimination ruling

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.

More 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 premium
The 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 thinking
The 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."

[Zuberi]

"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.

Could he be telling the truth?

[6ame]

"It does seem a bit unfair," says Emma. "But it's all right for me because I have to pay less."

Spoken like a typical women. It doesn't negatively affect her, or all women, so it's all right.

What pisses me off, is even if it was a fact that women caused 100% of car accidents, women's groups, and female politicians would be in uproar at women being charged more, and there would be absolutely no reason or excuse that would be justifiable to them, yet when it's men that are charged more, we're told that it's because we are dangerous, and women, once again, are saintly and can do no wrong, and everyone just accepts it.
I've still to hear just one single woman say "Why is my son being discriminated against?".

[dad_savage]

So I imagine then in any work involving physical labor this logic should make it ok for women to be paid less?

It does seem a bit unfair," says Emma. "But it's all right for me because I have to pay less."

Everything that's wrong with women, and the root-cause of most gender inequality neatly describes in their own words.

[Marx]

No, he didn't pull it out of his ass - what he did was spin-doctoring like most folks who promote sexism against men.

What it translates to is that men drive considerably more frequently (e.g. to work daily+trips out, etc.), longer and further (men tend to work longer distances than women do from their homes, thus making it that men are on the road for more time and more miles.

The chairman of the AA (Automobile Association) actually stated outright that "mile for mile women have more accidents" - which didn't win him any friends amongst the sexists community (e.g. feminists were not happy with him for being bluntly honest instead of spindoctoring the stats to portray women as superior drivers).


I was going to mention this myself, as I heard it on the radio this morning. They had a bit spiel from some guy working at Sheila's Wheels (a UK insurer for women, which uses adverts portraying all the men as idiots) who claimed there had been "no public outcry that women get cheaper insurance" and also claimed "the British public do not want this (equality insurance)."

What a tool.

Admitedly, most blokes just accept the sexism they're faced with in terms of insurance - but there is a growing number of men who are not happy about it. This site has seen not only Sheila's Wheels mentioned several times but car-insurance in general. So clearly, more and more men are getting more and more annoyed.

[Zuberi]

Spoken like a typical women. It doesn't negatively affect her, or all women, so it's all right.

What pisses me off, is even if it was a fact that women caused 100% of car accidents, women's groups, and female politicians would be in uproar at women being charged more, and there would be absolutely no reason or excuse that would be justifiable to them, yet when it's men that are charged more, we're told that it's because we are dangerous, and women, once again, are saintly and can do no wrong, and everyone just accepts it.
I've still to hear just one single woman say "Why is my son being discriminated against?".

It's no better over here. Women pay less for auto insurance even though they are usually the ones texting and blabbering away on the cell phone while driving. Me personally, I don't text period and I rarely talk on the cell phone while driving.
As for those who are stupid enough to text while driving, keep it up.


If you're lucky, your car will look like this.

[Marx]

Being a bike rider, without a bluetooth helmet (I have a bluetooth earpiece but it's uncomfortable to use and isn't designed for use on a bike), I don't text or talk. If people ring me up while I'm travelling - they have to wait until I've pulled over and then I'll call them back.

[senach]

I am 47, 30 years experiance,have no convictions and have full no claim's bonus,i got a quote for my wife who is 30 and just passed her test,her insurance is cheaper by 25%,go figure.

[senach]

BBC News - Insurance premiums to change after ECJ gender ruling

Ouch,get ready for the howl of the indignant.

[6ame]

BBC News - Insurance premiums to change after ECJ gender ruling

Ouch,get ready for the howl of the indignant.

I'm glad you pointed this out, great stuff.

I see this as a HUGE victory against the blatant and casual discrimination of men. let's be honest, if it was the other way around, we wouldn't have needed the European courts to get involved in the first place.

[Douglas]

BBC News - Insurance premiums to change after ECJ gender ruling

Hoorah!!!!

Now, if it really is true that men drive more miles and THAT is why their premium is higher, then we'll see more emphasis on banding insurance based on mileage which, while it will hit some men, is at least a fairer system not just based on gender.

Simon Douglas of AA Insurance told BBC News that the decision could add about £400 to the annual cost of car insurance for a young woman.

Now let's see how they like equality!

[byslexic_danana]

Higher insurance premiums for men are but another example of men carrying women, financially; look at couples, and observe who almost always drives, in relationships? And, accordingly, who has to pay the higher premiums? Now, what else does this remind me of, in relationships?

[Marx]

bbc news - insurance premiums to change after ecj gender ruling

ouch,get ready for the howl of the indignant.

w00000p!!!!

[byslexic_danana]

Now watch as women, aghast at the mere thought of having to pay THE SAME as men (shock, shock, horror, horror....), sell their cars en masse, leaving their menfolk to ferry them around, and to pick up the insurance tabs....

[Celtic Druid]

The chairman of the AA (Automobile Association) actually stated outright that "mile for mile women have more accidents"

This is being portrayed in the mainstream media as women losing out somehow, when in fact, when you look at the above quote - it's actually correcting a discrimination against men who have been subsidizing women all these years.

When you base the cost of premiums on a fairer calculation of miles driven x accidents, women are still getting a good deal by only having to pay the same as men. Yet still the moaning will continue for some time I suspect. Women should be careful what they wish for in future.

That said, for every isolated example such as this where equality laws actually impact upon women (rather than just solely benefitting from), there are still many more which favour them and detrimentally affect men.

And, until the madness of these EU-inspired equality laws similarly affects ALL women, across-the-board, they'll never truly 'get it' nor will anything ever change positively for men.