Women insurance prices could rise by 25%

The price of car insurance for young women will rise today, thanks to a ruling by the European Court of Justice. Following a legal challenge by Belgian consumer group Test-Achats, the court ruled that it was illegal to charge different premiums based on gender, the European Court of Justice said “taking the gender of the insured individual into account as a risk factor in insurance contracts constitutes discrimination”.

Government figures show that women are statistically safer drivers than men, based on the fact that they make fewer claims on their car insurance, and this always meant that insurance companies offered cheaper car insurance to female motorists. From 21 December 2012 this will no longer be the case and young women are likely to see their insurance premiums rise by as much as 25% with men’s premiums possibly falling by about 10%. The ruling only applies to new policies started today with some insurance companies suggesting an increase of approximately £400 to the cost of a car insurance policy for a young women under the age of 25.

UK insurance industry representatives have been fighting against the gender ban for the last decade and expressed their disappointment at the ruling.