Men still paying more than women for car insurance despite EU directive

The EU gender directive attempted to eliminate the practice that saw women favoured with discounted premiums. So commonplace was this in the industry that companies like Sheila’s Wheels were established.

However, new data shows that men continue to pay more as insurers’ data shows men remain riskier for firms.

Premiums examined by comparethemarket.com indicate that the 2012 ruling has had little effect. In fact, it suggests that the gap between men and women has widened.

Between June and August this year the average policy for women was priced at £649, while for men it was £821, 27 per cent higher.

John Miles, of comparethemarket.com, said: “This data shows how little difference the EU gender directive has had on insurance premiums. Providers are still giving big discounts to women.

“This is likely due to a number of factors, such as statistically higher accident rates for men and more men than women driving business and commercial vehicles – which are higher risk.

“The directive removed the ability of providers to give default discounts to women; however, the statistics and risk models used by insurers mean that the result is largely the same.”

Malcolm Tarling, from the Association of British Insurers, said the disparity was not a result of insurers ignoring the directive but that other factors were responsible.

“For motor insurance, factors such as the type of car, number of miles driven, driving record and claims experience will all impact on the cost of cover,” he said.

“Men and women are likely to drive different types of vehicle, do different mileage, and these variations, not gender pricing, will reflect in premiums.

“Also, across the board, average motor insurance premiums continue to rise - up 11pc over last year - due to increasing costs, including higher Insurance Premium Tax and rising vehicle repair bills.”