Women are consistently seen to be safer drivers than men and the AA has expressed its concern at the prospect that EU gender discrimination rules might remove the possibility to provide female car insurance customers preferable rates.
AA Insurance director, Simon Douglas, says: “If this becomes enshrined in UK law then young women, who suffer substantially fewer serious collisions than men of the same age, would subsidise the premiums of male drivers.”
He added that young male motorists typically make claims twice as large as those made by their female counterparts. The comments follow claims made by EU advocate-general Juliane Kokott that basing car insurance premiums in part on gender is a violation of the fundamental rights of the individual.
Will Thomas, head of motor at price comparison site Confused.com, noted that gender is in many cases not the defining consideration when calculating premiums and that men could be disappointed if they expect lower car insurance costs as a result of the decision.