Quinn Direct Comments on The European Court of Justice Gender Ruling on Car Insurance

CAVAN, IRELAND, May 26, 2011 (Press-News.org) The European Court of Justice has recently issued a judgment relating to gender 'discrimination' in insurance. This ruling will see significant changes for companies in EU Member States selling car insurance, Ireland included.

To understand what this might mean for you, it's necessary to look at the background, says car insurance specialist Quinn Direct.

For many years, car insurance providers have set their car policy prices based upon the perceived risk associated with a given individual. This has been widely accepted as the fairest way of setting motor vehicle insurance premiums by insurance companies and consumers alike.

People typically accepted that someone who, for example, had driving convictions, might be a riskier bet for insurers. Asking them to pay a little more for their certain insurance such as car insurance didn't appear unreasonable.

Yet, one aspect of this pricing-by-risk approach has proven to be controversial to some, including the European Court of Justice.

The issue stems from the fact that insurance companies traditionally charge higher car insurance premiums for male drivers than female drivers. As with other factors used to determine the premium charged for car insurance, the reason that gender has been a factor in setting the price is because of proven statistics. Year on year, statistics prove that male drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident and make a claim than female drivers.

The net effect of this historically, was that women were generally able to obtain their car insurance in Ireland at a lower cost than their male counterparts.

In their efforts to drive gender discrimination out of commercial life, the European Court of Justice has now ruled that this practice cannot continue. They have interpreted the practice of charging a higher insurance premium on the basis of gender alone to be discriminatory.

The judgment means that insurance providers in Member States will no longer be able to price their insurance differently for men and women based upon their gender alone.

The insurance industry were against this proposition, as it seemed to confuse the notion of 'discrimination' with an objective analysis of the different risks posed by male and female drivers. The reality is, however, that as of December 2012, the change in law will come into effect and men and women with identical details except their gender will pay the same price for car insurance in Ireland and across the EU.

So, will this spell the end of cheap car insurance for female drivers in Ireland? Whilst car insurance quotes are expected to increase for women drivers and decrease for male drivers across the market, and in particular for younger drivers, drivers in Ireland can continue to enjoy low cost car insurance whatever their gender with Quinn Direct.

Quinn Direct is a specialist provider of private and commercial motor insurance, motorcycle insurance & home insurance. Products are sold over the phone to customers and brokers from purpose built call centres in Ireland and the UK, and in addition the company's site www.quinn-direct.com allows customers to get immediate cover online.