Car Insurance

Women face higher premiums for car insurance following the implementation of an EU ruling that gender cannot be used to rate risk in late 2012.

This is likely to result in higher premiums for woman and lower ones for men. But those increases or decreases will vary depending on your age and also what insurance company you choose to buy from.

Tina Leonard tells Pat Kenny what the ruling will mean.

Actuarial and statistical data consistently presents men as a higher risk for motor insurance, particularly younger men, which is why they currently pay more. In fact the cost of premiums for males within the ages of 17 to 24 could be double that of a female the same age due to increased risk factors such as increased accident frequency and increase severity of accidents when they do occur.

From 21 December premiums for new insurance contracts have to be calculated on a unisex basis. And that should mean lower premiums for men and higher ones for women. This EU ruling will have the biggest impact here, in the UK and Spain where gender-based pricing is most commonly used.

However the difference is more likely to impact on 17 to 24 year olds as this is where the biggest price difference between men and women lies.

Premium costs between the sexes begin to even out after the age of 30.

Young female drivers worse off

AA Ireland conducted a review of eight insurers (ARB, Allianz, Aviva, Axa, Chartis, KennCo, RSA and Zurich) for prices following the gender rule change.

17 to 24 year olds

The worst affected are young female drivers with the average increase for a 25 year old up 24%. However, the increases ranged from 13% to 36% in that age category, so that shows the need to shop around.

Over 30s

The average increase for a 30 year old woman was 9%; 5% for a 40 year old; 4% for a 50 year old; 3% for a 60 year old and 2% for a 70 year old.

The same survey found a corresponding decrease for male drivers.

However the average premium decrease for 25 year old males was just 6%, so not as great as the increase on the female side. However, that is an average and the greatest discount found for a 25 year old male was 21%, which is quite a saving on last year.

For men of other ages the average decreases were: 5% for a 30 year old; 3% for a 40 year old’; 2% for a 50 year old; 4% for a 60 year old and 5% for a 70 year old.

Premiums 50% lower for some teenage boys

Independent insurance brokers chill.ie also carried out a survey.

Their analysis is based on the same policy criteria, where only the age and gender of the candidate varies, with the same Dublin based on a 1.2L car, a track record of insurance, two penalty points, and no convictions (14 insurers quoted).

They found that a current premium costing €4,317.84 for a 17 year old male would reduce to €1,833.51, a reduction above 50%. However a 17 year old female, with all other criteria identical would see her premium rise from €1,540.82 to €1,833.51.

As the ages rise however, the difference were less stark. For example, the same analysis for a 25 year old male and female showed the female paying approximately €150 more for insurance, with the male’s premium dropping €32. Analysis shows price increases between €13 and €25 for women over the age of 30, whereas the male’s policy premium is largely unaffected. For a 45 year old woman the increase was €12, with no decrease recorded for a male that age.

What this means is that it is crucial then when your motor insurance policy is up for renewal that you compare quotes.

Other ways to save on car insurance

1. Join a parent’s insurance as a named driver as early as possible, to establish a safety record, and avail of discounts on ‘own name’ insurance, based on a ‘named driver’ record, and driving experience.

2. Get a full licence as soon as possible to reduce the cost of motor insurance considerably.

3. Choose a car with a small engine; less powerful cars are cheaper to insure. Similarly, high value cars attract a higher premium.

4. Drive carefully and build up a no claims bonus.

5. Carefully consider the extent of cover you have and the excess you pay etc as changing these could lower your premium (and your cover too of course).

Tuesday 5 March 2013 9am

With motor insurance continuing to feature heavily in the news, be the subject of increasing political interest and under close scrutiny from a variety of consumer groups, the 2013 ABI Motor Conference promises to be a lively affair.

The conference will look at developments one year on from the first Prime Ministerial summit on motor insurance where issues such as reducing legal costs, the compensation culture and the poor safety record of young drivers featured heavily on the agenda. Furthermore, since the first insurance summit was held in February 2012, the Office of Fair Trading has referred the market to the Competition Commission on the basis that it is not working well for motorists.

In light of this and other developments, the conference will ask what initiatives are being taken forward that will improve the market and what progress is being made?

A number of breakout sessions will focus on the issues highlighted in the summit, along with other key issues such as

• the impact of the new regulatory landscape on motor insurers
• the future of data management strategies
• the future of risk-based pricing

Key questions that will be asked include:

• What obstacles need to be overcome to realise the full potential of data sharing?
• Will automotive telematics ever mature to the state where it can be used extensively?
• How is the industry tackling fraud?
• What is being done to improve the safety of young drivers?

The conference will enable motor insurers, vehicle manufacturers, consumer groups, road safety experts, lawyers and related business sectors debate with colleagues and hear expert presentations on the key challenges facing the sector in the coming years.

Registration is at 0900 and will conclude with a drinks reception at 1700.

Prices

Special early rate: 5 delegates for the price of 4

Contact

For any sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at the conference, please contact Lucy O’Rourke,

• 020 7216 7487

We accept all major credit cards except American Express and Diners Club

There are lots of concerns at the moment around excess car insurance.  Many people are being oversold insurance, sometimes even paying twice for the same insurance.  We are going to endeavour to keep you up to date with what’s going on the in car hire industry and offer helpful unbiased advice.

Watch this space for more information, or if you need help just drop a comment to us….

Your organizing your vacation for this year, you have the flights booked, hotel booked, travel insurance covered. Now you are thinking about hiring a vehicle while you are abroad. There is no better way to enjoy your freedom and enjoy a new area, having your own transport can make a vacation much more relaxing…or does it? A lot of car hire companies are renowned for adding additional charges as soon as you arrive to pick up your vehicle.
Taking out car hire excess insurance can save you more money than you perhaps realise at this moment.
For example, some car hire companies can charge upto €7 – €10 per day for excess insurance cover, so on an average 10 day holiday you have added €70 – €100 to your car hire cost. What is car hire excess? And whats the alternative?
Car hire excess is the amount of money you (the driver in this case) will have to pay if the car is damaged in any way, whether your fault or not.
So for instance if you are driving around in Spain in a Ford Ka with an excess of €250, you are involved in an accident that requires the front wing being rebuilt at a cost of €1000. You are charged €250 the other €750 is then covered by the car hire insurance company.
If you then have car hire excess insurance you can claim back your €250 from the excess insurance company. If you dont…your holiday expenses have gone up by €250.

So, to summarize :
1. What we are trying to get accross in this article is that car hire excess insurance is a must for any car hire in any country.
2. It works out cheaper to pay for it with a third party insurance company than directly with the car hire company.
3. It removes a lot of stress from your holiday, no crazy expenses added at the pickup desk.
4. Could save you a small fortune if you are involved in an accident as excess can go as high as €2000
5. It is very easy to set up.
6. If you are a frequent traveller you can get yearly cover to save even more.

Start looking into your car hire excess insurance now before its too late!