MSE News: Insurance costs up for some as gender ruling takes effect

Former_MSE_Helen

"Insurers are now banned from using a customer's gender to decide the cost of their premiums...."

Read the full story:

Insurance costs up for some as gender ruling takes effect'

rogerblack

"The average best price for 17 or 18-year old females rose 32%, from £1,910 to £2,523, while 17 and 18-year-old men's premiums fell by 10%, from £3,855 to £3,460."

Does this mean that the results for a male and female in the exact same circumstances differs, and if so, how is this legal?

Or is this figure assuming girls drive low performance vehicles, with lower accident risk.

Ectophile

Perhaps it's because the average young male driver keeps crashing into things, and being caught speeding, which increases their premiums.

rogerblack

For giggles, I setup a fake female driver - born 1990, a school receptionist, 3 years ncb, been driving 3 years the same car in a 6 year oldnissan micra, at my address.
Lowest is 335.
Simply flipping the driver details to 'male' - and requoting, I get the same numbers.
Entering a fresh male in an incognito window, I get broadly similar numbers (within a fiver). (which may well be due to typos in the applications)

I question the sanity of quoting such vastly disparate numbers in the original article without specifying the terms.

Percy1983

Ectophile wrote: »

Perhaps it's because the average young male driver keeps crashing into things, and being caught speeding, which increases their premiums.

I have a simple answer to this.

I have heard the argument so many times, "Why should sensible young female drivers pay for irresponsible young boy racers"

But the argument I have to put forward is:

Why should sensible young male drivers pay for irresponsible young boy racers?

dacouch

rogerblack wrote: »

"The average best price for 17 or 18-year old females rose 32%, from £1,910 to £2,523, while 17 and 18-year-old men's premiums fell by 10%, from £3,855 to £3,460."

Does this mean that the results for a male and female in the exact same circumstances differs, and if so, how is this legal?

Or is this figure assuming girls drive low performance vehicles, with lower accident risk.

They're using an average over many policies, as you suspect male drivers preference for higher performance cars will have a major fact on the average premium they quote

vaio

Ectophile wrote: »

Perhaps it's because the average young male driver keeps crashing into things, and being caught speeding, which increases their premiums.

yep, and the gender ruling doesn't stop young males who crash in to things being hit with higher premiums.

What it does do is stop all young males being penalised because "some" young males hit things

CKhalvashi

rogerblack wrote: »

For giggles, I setup a fake female driver - born 1990, a school receptionist, 3 years ncb, been driving 3 years the same car in a 6 year oldnissan micra, at my address.
Lowest is 335.
Simply flipping the driver details to 'male' - and requoting, I get the same numbers.
Entering a fresh male in an incognito window, I get broadly similar numbers (within a fiver). (which may well be due to typos in the applications)

I question the sanity of quoting such vastly disparate numbers in the original article without specifying the terms.

Mine's just gone down by about £1400, to £800.

This may partly be because I'm 30 and male, but its probably even more likely that it's more because I've gone down from 9 to 0 points in the last year!

CK

Pincher

Now we know the EU is full of cloud coo-coo land air-heads.

One of these days, they are going to stop the army from marching because there are no sanitary towels in mobile toilets.

rogerblack

dacouch wrote: »

They're using an average over many policies, as you suspect male drivers preference for higher performance cars will have a major fact on the average premium they quote

Kind of silly, as the whole idea of MSE is minimising cost.
Including minimising factors leading to higher costs.

Percy1983

Well the averages may still be down to car choices and potentially professions.

I will say my car is more powerful than the wife would ever buy to which I am well aware I spend more on petrol/tax/insurance for that power but personally I am more than happy with that.

If money got tight it would be one of the first things to go.