Ladies car insurance, is it legal.....?

Question

correct me if i'm wrong, but if a company provides car insurance for ladies only , is this not sexual discrimination. If these companies provided insurance for men only or christians only or Muslims only there would be outrage. What annoys me most is that i am 24 have been driving for 7 years (since i was 17). I have never had an accident or a claim. My better half is 22 been driving for 3 years and has had 1 claim. She gets our car insured £500 cheaper than me. Why?????

Answer 1

Statistically men are more reckless and dangerous drivers.

But of course in practice, I see many more incidents of women being completely oblivious to their surroundings and causing accidents.

If it makes you feel better, this isn' really so much an outright discrimination issue than a ploy to rape people of money.

Hell, do you really think you can justify having to pay 30% more of a premium simply because your car is red?

Answer 2

If it is any consellation, I got a quote from one of the "ladies only" car insurance companies and it was more expensive than a normal insurance company. I think they are a "novelty" to get peoples attention, I do not think they are much cheaper.

Also do you know that if they are cheaper for your partner, then you male partners can get put on as an additional driver at the same cost, so its not much different really. But as a woman, I agree, I can see it is a form of sexual discrimination, if there were a men only one, im sure feminists would cause a hissy fit.

Answer 3

Insurance companies are very discriminatory, but they are some of the most powerful companies in the world so good luck getting anything changed

The fact is that there are less claims with women drivers, especially in young men and women. It's not that women are more skilled, or are better drivers, it's that young men tend to speed, race, soup up, show off and take more risks than women - hence getting in more major accidents.

Insurance companies have a laundry list of things that determine your rate, many that are very discriminatory. Who else lives in your house, your grades in school, and a slew of other unknown things can affect your rate.

Not too sure about the UK, but in Canada and the US you usually see a significant drop in your car insurance after you turn 25. Most companies also drop your rate if you are married.

Answer 4

you are correct in one point insurance companies are not aloud to discriminate against sex, medical conditions and so forth unless the can statistical prove they are correct in what they offer. every insurer in the UK has to obied by the fsa & fos so they can do it. some the ladies only compnies will insurer others due to the fact they pass you on to a third party company who can offer a more competitive quote for things they carn't like sheilas wheels, esure, fist alternative, admiral, bell well the list goes on. The only reason i know this is that i work for an brooker who takes these policies. i agree though women are more of a risk then men.

Answer 5

Insurance companies amass statistics about customers. Any classifiable group making a higher or lower number of claims will pay accordingly. I know it hurts a bit if you are a good driver, but you are simply in a high risk group and your partner is not. Even the government are expressing concern about the accident level among young male drivers.

Answer 6

its all the young boy racers that are to blame! i would have thought that by the time your 24 though the different in costs for men and women would average out a bit? maybe you should try looking for a different insurance company? My brother is 18 and has just been looking at how much it will cost him and the lowest quote so far has been £1600!!! compared to my £400 for my first car its a bit extreme!!

Answer 7

I think at yours and your girlfriends age, she is statistically less likely to have an accident (although in truth, this isn't the case). As you get older, there really isn't much difference between insurance costs for men and women. All these women only things are a big con anyway, because they are all run by the same companies (there's another ad on telly with women who can't act - can't remember the name - that's owned by Churchills).

Answer 8

Change your insurers. There are professional companies who will translate documents for you but I do not know how much they charge. They have to swear that he translation is true etc but knowing the finance industry the slightest thing out of the unusual and the person on the answer phone can not cope with it and even if they could their supervisor can not. If they are on the sub-continent I 'm surprised they could even renew your insurance at all. the language difficulties are almost insurmountable. That is why I took my insurance away from Norwich Union

Answer 9

I'm 24 and been driving for 7 years is well and from what you said that is totally wrong and load of crap that their insurance is £500 cheaper. But what car are you driving as that could affect it. Im driving a Ford Fiesta 1.4 - and paid £420. You say "our" car assuming you both share the same car, so why not put her as the main driver and you as named.

Answer 10

Most car insurance companies that claim to be "Ladie's car insurance" companies are actually only aimed at women but do sell to men as well (such as Sheila's Wheels).

Answer 11

Yes that's true isn't it... Never thought about it like that, but there must be some law or the other because there are a few companies that do it.

I guess you could say the same about the change in insurance for those of different ages - ageism..?

Good question though!