So......an end to cheaper car insurance for women

Flyboy152

boyse7en wrote: »

Bloody typical! I was thinking that at least I'd save a few quid when my two daughters start driving.

How much do you want to bet that insurance for women goes up in price, rather than the cost of men's insurance coming down?

The current estimates are that premiums will go up by twenty-five percent for women and go down by ten per cent for men. That's probably about proportionate for the ratio of men to women who drive.

Flyboy152

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

This report intrigued me as well. Whilst I can see the point about not being allowed to discriminate based on sex, the whole point is that the insurance companies base their premiums on statistics. If it's statistically true that women make less claims than men, then it seems resonable to offer them cheaper premiums ( obviously, taking into account all other relevant factors as well ). Just the same as a 17 year old newly qualified driver, of either sex, is likely to crash more than a 40 year old with 20 years experience under their belt.

Broad generalisations, admittedly, but the point is the difference in premiums is based on factual statistics, not arbitrary sex discrimination. Oh, and for the record, I'm a male of the species, so I have no particular axe to grind on that score - if women are statistically safer then so be it :-)

But that is not exactly true. The actuarial assumptions are based on the likelihood that women will make fewer and less expensive claims, not necessarily whether they are safer drivers or not.

Flyboy152

Inactive wrote: »

Well I think you are wrong, insurers have no incentive whatsoever to not charge according to their own statistics, unfortunately none of us have access to them, however, surely at least one insurer would charge a lower premium for young drivers if their was any evidence to support your flawed theory.

Premiums, in general are related to risk assessment by insurers.

But the question remains; what risks are they assessing? Are they calculating the likelihood that the policy holder will have an collision, or will make a claim?

Flyboy152

jase1 wrote: »

The thing is, every time I have ever shopped around for insurance the difference between the least and most expensive quotes has always been of the order of 3 or 400%. And it's not always the same suspects at the top and bottom of the list either.

This says to me that, to a large extent, insurance quotes are picked out of the air with a saliva-coated forefinger.

So does this ruling really make any difference?

Insurance companies set premiums according to their own claims experience, as well as actuarial data.

optimus_primera

Lirin wrote: »

I would easily argue- I don't have any statistics- that women have more accidents than men. Amongst my female friends, there's a lot of fender benders, minor bumps, scrapes, etc, whereas most of the men I know who've had an accident- it's usually a biggie. While women have more accidents, mens are usually more expensive to repair. Women tend to be more nervous/dippy, whereas men tend to be aggressive/cocky. Again, a sweeping generalisation, but then, something has to be used as a factor to even come up with pricing.
There was something to that effect on one of the news channels this morning, I think.
Gender should maybe play a part, as genetics and life define different overall attitudes in gender.

Oh i don't know ...... there are female drivers round here who could give the wacky racers a run for their money!

It seems to me nowadays that young female drivers are now getting as bad and young males.

Lum

Flyboy152 wrote: »

But the question remains; what risks are they assessing? Are they calculating the likelihood that the policy holder will have an collision, or will make a claim?

That a claim will be made.

The "women are safer drivers" thing in the Sheila's Wheels ad is just marketing, they actually mean "women cost us less", but that doesn't sound as good.

It's irrelevant which gender is actually safer for insurance purposes, money is all that matters to them.

DaveF327

reduceditem wrote: »

I bet the execs at Sheila's Wheels are carping themselves.

I doubt it; they'll be too busy painting their nails while driving :rotfl:

Tucker

I just want to know if this will make women let me out at a junction??

I think I'm invisible to anyone except white van drivers.

diable

Tucker wrote: »

I just want to know if this will make women let me out at a junction??

I think I'm invisible to anyone except white van drivers.

Maybe you should invest in a makeover a decent hairdresser and a charm school........

Lirin

optimus_primera wrote: »

Oh i don't know ...... there are female drivers round here who could give the wacky racers a run for their money!

It seems to me nowadays that young female drivers are now getting as bad and young males.

Generalisation. I'm female, but was taught by a rally driver...:D
Something along similar lines was mentioned on Sky I think.