MSE News: EU ruling could throw insurance pricing into chaos

Former_MSE_Guy

"A possible rule change means millions of consumers could pay more for some policies but others could see prices dive ..."

Read the full story:
EU ruling could throw insurance pricing into chaos

puddy

this was on this board yesterday wasnt it? or was it in discussion time. either way, i dont understand the protential ruling when insurance is based on 'risk' statistics, not gender stereotyping as such (although you may argue they are the same thing)

so as a woman, any car and life insurance for me is likely to rise to counter the drop in premiums for men, is that right? (if the ban is enforced)

CynicalScotsman

Fantastic News!
No more male discrimination!

After all its the girls that cause all the accidents

lisyloo

i dont understand the protential ruling when insurance is based on 'risk' statistics, not gender stereotyping as such

Puddy - insurance companies don't make the rules. The EU do.
You have it the wrong way round.
Businesss cannot dictate to the government. It works the other way round.
If this becomes law then business will have no choice but to change. What they've done historically becomes irrelevant.

so as a woman, any car and life insurance for me is likely to rise to counter the drop in premiums for men, is that right?

Speculation, but yes probably.
Other types of insurance could improve for you though.
For example wome get worse annuity rates from pensions as they live longer.
But we don't acutally know what businesses will do.
They might make one gender worse and leave things the same for the other and pass on no benefits.
We don't know, we can only speculate.
But it does work BOTH ways.

lisyloo

No more male discrimination!

err......I think you might find certain insurance more expensive.
For example you won't benefit from having a lower life expectancy with annuity rates.

After all its the girls that cause all the accidents

yeah right :-)
So why do motor insurers give us cheaper premium then.

As I said this is a "double edged sword" for ALL of us.

Ultimately we'll all lose out across the board as the changes will cost a fortune and we'll have to pay for it.

mikey72

I think the trick for men though, is to go to companies like "sheilas wheels", who target women. As the customer base is skewed now, it should mean men will initially benefit, until the premiums even out.
So even more need to shop around from now on.

FATBALLZ

mikey72 wrote: »

I think the trick for men though, is to go to companies like "sheilas wheels", who target women. As the customer base is skewed now, it should mean men will initially benefit, until the premiums even out.
So even more need to shop around from now on.

I struggle to see the point of companies like Sheila's wheels. How does offering insurance only to women mean they can offer women better rates than other companies do? It implies that other companies subsidise mens insurance by charging women more than usual. I doubt this somehow.

It looks to me like cutting out half (or more) of your potential customer base for no reason.

puddy

lisyloo wrote: »

Puddy - insurance companies don't make the rules. The EU do.
You have it the wrong way round.
Businesss cannot dictate to the government. It works the other way round.
If this becomes law then business will have no choice but to change. What they've done historically becomes irrelevant.



Speculation, but yes probably.
Other types of insurance could improve for you though.
For example wome get worse annuity rates from pensions as they live longer.
But we don't acutally know what businesses will do.
They might make one gender worse and leave things the same for the other and pass on no benefits.
We don't know, we can only speculate.
But it does work BOTH ways.

got no pension (well only a minscule one, likely to be paying about £20pw)

MiserlyMartin

CynicalScotsman wrote: »

Fantastic News!
No more male discrimination!

After all its the girls that cause all the accidents

Thats right. If this goes through - no more insurance sex discrimination!
Perhaps the EU are useful for something at last for a change

lisyloo

How does offering insurance only to women

Sheilas wheels do offer insurance to men.
Their advertising targets women, but they do offer policies to men.

lisyloo

got no pension (well only a minscule one, likely to be paying about £20pw)

It was an example.
It's not the only case of it working both ways.