Confused.com Reveals Young Male Drivers Pay Almost Double for Insurance Compared to Women
Confused.com and Towers Watson have revealed that young male driver pay almost double what women pay for insurance.

CARDIFF, WALES, February 17, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Confused.com/Towers Watson have revealed that the cost of car insurance for young men continues to go through the roof, with 17-20 year olds paying almost double what women drivers of the same age are paying.

Male drivers in the 17-20 year old age group are suffering as female drivers pay GBP1,771 less than the men UK-wide: it currently costs an average of GBP1,959 for women aged 17-20 to insure a car compared to GBP3,730 for men. These are the findings of the Confused.com/Towers Watson Car Insurance Price Index (Q4 2011), which is based on more than 4 million quotes.

Young people are feeling the impact most, with car insurance for young drivers seeing huge rises from the previous year. Regionally the picture is even more surprising: young men passing their driving tests in inner London can expect to be quoted an average of GBP5,523 to insure their car if they are aged 20yrs or younger which is more than 48% higher than the average for this group and 5.7% more than they paid in Q4 of 2010 meaning taking the time hunting around for the cheapest car insurance even more worthwhile. Their counterparts in Manchester and Merseyside fare even worse, with average costs of GBP5,724 facing them to insure their cars when they throw away the 'L' plates, a shocking rise of 10.6% year-on-year (Q4 2011 compared to Q4 2010). A 17-20 year old female in inner London can expect to pay GBP3,261 on average: a rise of 4.4% year-on-year, and they are paying an average of GBP3,307 in Manchester/Merseyside - a 9.9% rise year-on year. A high cost, but this is still more than GBP2,000 less than men of the same age.

When a driver adds another person to their comprehensive policy, average costs come down, so a 17-20 year old man pays GBP3,907 (UK average) as the only driver, but when they add on another driver the costs fall to an average of GBP3,345, a saving of more than GBP500. For 17-20 year-old women the UK average is GBP2,046 if they are the only driver and this falls to GBP1,819 for 17-20 year olds with another driver on their policy.

Comprehensive car insurance for women across all ages and regions fell marginally in quarter 4 of 2011 (-1.3%), but prices continued to rise for men, although by just 1% in quarter 4. Year-on-year, it was 61-65 year old men who saw the biggest jump in costs, with a 7.4% increase, bringing the average premium for men of that age group to GBP504. For women drivers it was the 26-30 year olds who saw the steepest jump in prices with 7.2% hikes, giving an average of GBP789.

Gareth Kloet, Head of Car Insurance for Confused.com commented: "From December, EU legislation will mean that insurers can't use gender as a factor in setting prices. The differences highlighted in our report show that there is still a huge disparity between what men and women are being charged for their car insurance. Insurers clearly still have a long way to go to comply with the new legislation. It's more important than ever to shop around and we're committed to making it easier for people to save money on their car insurance."

Press Release Contact Information:

Sarah Wenham
Confused.com
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