Women motorists face cover hikes from Friday
WOMEN are set to pay more for many insurance products from this Friday as the industry takes advantage of rule changes to hike premiums, according to ratings agency Fitch.
An EU ruling that comes into force on Friday will ban insurers from considering gender when pricing products, hitting groups that currently enjoy favourable rates such as young women.
Estimates from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association suggest the average premium for a female driver under the age of 25 is expected to increase by between 15 per cent and 38 per cent after the ruling comes into force. Men in the same age bracket can expect to enjoy an average eight per cent drop in their premiums.
Fitch’s Bjorn Norrman said the rule change provides “a one-off opportunity to raise rates”.
“Insurers will need to make better use of other pricing factors to reflect the risk of each policyholder,” he added.
There is expected to be increased demand for policies that use GPS technology to judge a user’s driving style and price cover accordingly.