Does gender affect car insurance premiums?
No. Insurance providers, by law, can’t discriminate based on gender.
In the past, car insurance quotes for women were cheaper than men. Female drivers generally have fewer major accidents on the road and make fewer high value claims, so they were automatically rewarded with lower premiums.
That was until 2012, when a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling made it illegal for insurance companies to use gender to calculate premiums.
Is women’s car insurance cheaper than men’s?
As mentioned, female drivers sometimes pay less for their premiums than men.
However, calculating insurance is fairer because it’s not based on gender but on other criteria that reflects drivers’ behaviour.
These factors can make you wonder “is insurance cheaper for women?” as, on the surface, it looks like they pay less because of their gender.
While insurance companies don’t discriminate based on gender when setting premiums, they do consider the following key factors that reflects an individual’s driving behaviour.
Vehicle choice
A car’s speed, security, features and value influence how much it costs to insure it. For example, a pricey sports car, which is expensive to repair or replace, costs more to insure than a 1.0 litre run-around.
The faster and more powerful it is, the more likely it is to be involved in an accident – so generally, the larger your engine, the higher the insurance costs. Desirable cars are more at risk of theft, which is again reflected in the cost of the premium.
More often, women drive safer, economical cars which are less likely to be damaged or stolen, making the average price for women’s car insurance cheaper.
Check out our guide to the cheapest cars to insure.
Occupation
Typically, men are more likely to work jobs with the highest average premiums.
For example, civil service and book-keeping jobs tend to have low premiums as they’re considered low risk. The chance of injury or accidents happening is minimal, and they’re more likely to be minor.
On the other hand, occupations like professional footballers have some of the highest premiums as they carry more risk – an injury or accident is more likely to happen to a sports professional and is inherently more costly.
Generally, women work in lower-risk jobs than men. However, insurance providers don’t look at factors in isolation, so you may not see high premiums solely because of your job.
Experience
Generally, the more experienced you are, the less likely you are to have an accident. The stats show that young drivers make the most claims, so when the ECJ ruling was passed in 2012, older and more experienced female drivers were largely unaffected.
As well as having fewer convictions and penalty points than men, female drivers have fewer accidents and claims. That means a higher proportion of women will have a substantial no claims bonus discount, reducing their insurance premiums even further.
How do female drivers compare to male drivers?
Overall, insurers no longer look at gender when calculating premiums. The price of insurance is set according to concise data that reflects a driver’s individual behaviour and characteristics.
So to answer “is car insurance more expensive for males?”: no. Insurance pricing is more about you as an individual.
How can you lower your car insurance premiums?
There are a few ways to lower your premium. We’ve covered how you can affect your insurance, but a few behaviours could lower your price:
Driving securely
The more secure you are on the road, the less likely you are to have an accident.
Safer drivers will see lower insurance costs, especially if they have black box insurance.
Having too many points on your licence can increase costs too. A clean, points-free licence is more likely to get you lower car insurance premiums.
See how penalty points impact your insurance.
Keeping your insurer updated about any changes
It’s essential to keep us updated about any changes to your driving situation.
If you have recent points on your licence, an accident, a new car or even a change of address, then you need to tell your insurance provider.
Discover what you need to tell your insurer.
Checking your car insurance group
Car insurance groups categorise vehicles by risk. There are 50 groups, with one being the lowest risk and 50 the highest.
For example, a Toyota Yaris would be in a lower group than a Ferrari due to the potential costs and risk.
Always ensure your car insurance group is correct; you may pay over the odds if you’re in the wrong one or choose to drive a riskier car.
Making the most of a no claims bonus
A no claims bonus is an insurance discount that is applied for the number of consecutive years you go without making a claim.
You can build your no claims bonus for a maximum of 15 years.
Learn more about how a no claims bonus works.
Honesty
You should also avoid underestimating mileage, lying to your provider and other things that could invalidate your insurance.
Honesty leads to the best policy.
