Older women pay far more for car insurance

A recent report has highlighted how women can suddenly see the cost of their car insurance rocket when they hit the age of sixty, with a study revealing that once they hit this age they can end up pay around £80 a year more than men for their cover. Younger women generally get charged less than men for their vehicle insurance cover because they are considered to be safer drivers.

According to reports insurance firms believe that the abilities of women decline faster than those of men as they grow older, and because of this they are seen as a higher risk when it comes to driving. This means that as women get older they can see their insurance premiums increase, and once they hit sixty they will find that they may be paying considerably more than men.

The study was carried out by the consumer watchdog group Which?, and officials from the group said that sixty seemed to be the point at which women started paying more than men rather than the other way around. The officials involved on the research used a price comparison service and obtained quotes from five difference vehicle insurance companies to work out what the cost differences would be.

The research showed that after the age of sixty a woman could end up paying around 28 percent more than a man for the same policy with the same car and the same personal circumstances. The group said that of the insurance firms that were looked at only one gave a similar price for men and women after the age of sixty.

A spokesperson from Which? stated: ‘Gender is one of the factors that has an influence on the premium we offer. The difference is correct based on our estimates of the level of risk the two customers would represent to us as an insurer.’

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