Car insurance gender ruling may adversely affect women

Tue, 22 Feb 2011

A ruling on whether it is unlawful to include gender in car insurance risk assessments could have ramifications for young women, the AA has said.

The European Court of Justice is to vote on the issue and will reveal its decision on March 1st.

However, the AA believes that if the court rules that it is not legal to assess car insurance risk on the basis of gender, many young female drivers will be required to pay higher premiums.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, explained that young women are considered to be a lower risk to insurers and often enjoy premiums 50 per cent cheaper than what their male counterparts are required to pay.

"I expect premiums to increase substantially for them, while they will probably fall a little for young men. At the opposite end of the age range, there is again a gender difference but it is less pronounced," he added.

"Insurers may look to use other risk factors as a proxy for gender - for instance occupation or vehicle type - but it isn't clear to what extent this will be permitted if it constitutes a form of indirect discrimination."
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