For years male drivers have faced higher insurance premiums than women, largely because they are deemed as a bigger risk on the road.But calculating insurance risk due to gender has been a 'thorn in their side' for the European Court of Justice for many years, according to the AA.Next month the EC may rule that calculating car insurance based on gender is unlawful and young women face paying up to 1,000 extra to insure their cars.Statistically men are twice as likely to make a car insurance claim and 10 times more likely to be in a crash involving serious injury than young women.Of course this does not take into account the young male drivers who do drive sensibly and have never been involved in an accident.Although the gap between what young women and male drivers pay for insurance is extortionate (a women aged 17-22 pages on average 1,682 a year whilst mean pay an average of 2,750) there has to be some benchmark by which insurance is calculated.Surely if insurance companies are not allowed to discriminate due to gender they can't then discriminate because of age either? The difference in insurance premiums narrows in age but will older drivers soon find themselves paying as much as younger drivers in the interest of fairness? Of course it's unlikely as older drivers tend to have more experience and bigger no claims discounts, but will that soon be the only benchmark? An insurance expert at AA has said that insurance companies may look to other risk factors such occupation or vehicle type, but they then chance 'indirect discrimination'.If it is made illegal to discriminate against gender, young men will find their insurance premiums go down but not perhaps by as much as they would like and other drivers may find themselves paying more.Insurance companies will be forced to increase everyone's insurance in order to compensate for the additional risk if gender cannot be taken into account.By its nature no discrimination is fair, but there should be rewards for those who drive safely and for those who don't.If you are a young women driving a new mazda in Yorkshire, the ruling will certainly not be fair!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Car Insurance Discrimination - Is It Fair?
For years male drivers have faced higher insurance premiums than women, largely because they are deemed as a bigger risk on the road.But calculating insurance risk due to gender has been a 'thorn in their side' for the European Court of Justice for many years, according to the AA.Next month the EC may rule that calculating car insurance based on gender is unlawful and young women face paying up to 1,000 extra to insure their cars.Statistically men are twice as likely to make a car insurance claim and 10 times more likely to be in a crash involving serious injury than young women.Of course this does not take into account the young male drivers who do drive sensibly and have never been involved in an accident.Although the gap between what young women and male drivers pay for insurance is extortionate (a women aged 17-22 pages on average 1,682 a year whilst mean pay an average of 2,750) there has to be some benchmark by which insurance is calculated.Surely if insurance companies are not allowed to discriminate due to gender they can't then discriminate because of age either? The difference in insurance premiums narrows in age but will older drivers soon find themselves paying as much as younger drivers in the interest of fairness? Of course it's unlikely as older drivers tend to have more experience and bigger no claims discounts, but will that soon be the only benchmark? An insurance expert at AA has said that insurance companies may look to other risk factors such occupation or vehicle type, but they then chance 'indirect discrimination'.If it is made illegal to discriminate against gender, young men will find their insurance premiums go down but not perhaps by as much as they would like and other drivers may find themselves paying more.Insurance companies will be forced to increase everyone's insurance in order to compensate for the additional risk if gender cannot be taken into account.By its nature no discrimination is fair, but there should be rewards for those who drive safely and for those who don't.If you are a young women driving a new mazda in Yorkshire, the ruling will certainly not be fair!
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