Women's car insurance cost on rise, index shows

THE COST of car insurance for women is going up while for men it is falling ahead of a new EU directive banning price discrimination based on gender which is to come into force later this year, a new survey has shown.

The first AonInsure.ieCar Insurance Index was published yesterday. While it reveals that there are still significant differences in premiums paid by people depending on their gender, the gap is narrowing.

The insurance index also shows significant price discrepancies depending on where a person lives.

Women drivers in Cork and Waterford are likely to find the cheapest car insurance, while those who live in Limerick, Meath and Dublin are being asked to pay more, the survey shows.

Twenty-seven-year-old women drivers of a Ford Focus in Cork and Waterford with fully comprehensive insurance pay €91 less than their counterparts in Limerick and €89 less than people with the same profile in Meath and Dublin, the survey indicates.

It also highlights strong differentials in other categories. A 35-year-old man with comprehensive insurance for himself and his partner pays €318 in Waterford compared with €414 in Limerick, a difference of €96, while a 27-year-old man driving a Volkswagen Passat can expect to pay €844 in Cork and €950 in Limerick, a difference of €106.

The survey shows that men continue to pay dramatically more than women for car insurance with the cost of a policy for a 21-year-old man with a provisional licence put at close to €2,000. This is twice that of a woman in a similar position.

Across all categories, women pay significantly less than man. Under an EU gender directive which will come into effect in December of this year, such price gaps are to be outlawed.

The chief executive of Aon, Declan Cahill, said the change was already having an impact on prices in the market.

“We do not expect that providers are going to wait until just before the directive comes into law to make changes to pricing.

“Instead, we expect them to gradually make changes. In fact, we are already beginning to see some providers in the market closing the gap between males and females by slowly increasing female costs and bringing down male costs.”