Car Insurance Comparison Site Questions EU Gender Ruling Impact

January 11, 2012, Ipswich, UK. Press Dispensary. Leading car insurance comparison site Tiger.co.uk today questioned the likely impact of the 2011 EU ruling that will prevent insurers using gender as a differentiation factor in setting motor insurance premiums. The ruling comes into effect on 21st December 2012 and industry observers had predicted significant increases in car insurance prices for women, particularly women under 25 who have historically enjoyed substantially lower rates than their male counterparts.

However Tiger.co.uk has challenged the view that a large number of women will be affected by the ruling following detailed analysis of thousands of car insurance quotes compiled over the last two years as part of its “Tiger Watch” price monitor.

This research suggests that for some younger female drivers, cheap car insurance prices are already a thing of the past. Using the example of a 20 year-old male and female driver profile analysed over the last 24 months, Tiger.co.uk has shown that the pricing differential between genders has already been severely eroded:

Period	Male Driver Premium
Jan – Jun 2010	ნ.2%
Jul – Dec 2010	Ƶ.3%
Jan – Jun 2011	ư.2%
Jul – Dec 2011	Ư.9%

Source: Tiger.co.uk

The data shows that in this example of a 20 year old male driver, they are no longer paying a substantial premium when compared to the car insurance quotes generated by their female counterparts. In the first half of 2010 they might have expected to be paying about 16% more for their insurance. By the last 6 months of 2011 this premium had been reduced to less than 2%. The gender gap for this group of drivers appears to have closed. Interestingly, most of this gap was closed prior to the announcement of the EU ruling in March 2011.

This is reinforced by other pricing data monitored by the car insurance comparison site that shows that year-on-year inflation for the same 20 year old drivers meant that women in this cohort experienced price increases in excess of 24% in 2011, whereas a similarly aged male driver might have seen premiums increase by around 14%.

A Tiger.co.uk spokesperson commented: “There’s been a lot of discussion over the last few months regarding the EU gender ruling and that it may well put an end to the relatively cheap car insurance prices that have been available to female drivers when the ruling takes effect at the end of this year. Through our Tiger Watch monitor we have looked at the relative pricing for a 20 year old male and female driver and analysed hundreds of quotes for these driver profiles going back to January 2010. We have found that, for this specific group, the gender gap has already all but disappeared.

This is not to say that younger female drivers, those aged between 17 and 19, won’t see their car insurance premiums increasing as a result of the EU gender ruling. But the number of female drivers who will be affected could be significantly fewer than originally predicted. However this does not necessarily equate to good news for Britain’s women drivers. Rather it indicates that for many young female motorists, relatively cheap car insurance is already a thing of the past”.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT
Jo Buck, Tiger.co.uk
Tel: 01473 418513
Email:
Site: www.tiger.co.uk