Women paying over the odds on car insurance

Car insurance companies like Sheila's Wheels and Diamond target women through female-friendly advertising campaigns, but when it comes down to hard cash, it seems they are not always as competitive as other insurers.

swiftcover.com, which was voted cheapest car insuranceprovider in 2007 by www.moneysupermarket.com, looked at how much women would pay per year with a number of motor insurance brands online. In order to provide a balanced picture, four examples of women were chosen to show a range of ages, locations, car makes/models, occupations and driving histories.

The most that any of the women would pay was a whopping £944.45 a year with Diamond (see example two), £612.69 more expensive than the £331.76 quoted by swiftcover.com. Across all four examples, even the smallest average saving with swiftcover.com was over £145.

Tina Shortle, marketing director of swiftcover.com, comments: "Statistically, women have been shown to cause less accidents than men, which means their premiums should be much lower, but even we were surprised in the difference between what they could be charged. Our message to all drivers, both men and women, is to shop around - and certainly not to settle for your renewal premium until you have made sure it is competitive."

How the quotes were calculated

All quotes are based on a female car owner, doing 10,000 miles a year, with the car kept on a driveway and fitted with the manufacturer's standard security items and having had no modifications. All the women are UK residents and have had a full licence for more than 5 years. They choose a voluntary excess of £300. Quotes generated through swiftcover.com's own research on 05/06/08.

Example one:

Age 25, lives in Milton Keynes, drives a Ford Fiesta Style 1242cc petrol manual manufactured in 2007, works as a civil servant, has 0 years no claims discount, 0 convictions and uses the car for commuting/domestic purposes.

Example two:

Age 35, lives in Birmingham, drives a VW Passat S (130) 1984cc petrol manual manufactured in 2005, works in the emergency services, has four years no claims, one speeding conviction (camera) and uses the car for domestic/commuting purposes.

Example three:

Age 45, lives in Newcastle, drives a BMW 525 SE Auto 2494cc manufactured in 2003, works as an engineer, has 5 years no claims, 0 convictions and uses the car for domestic/work purposes.

Example four:

Age 55, lives in Southampton, drives a Saab 9-5 V6 (ECOPOWER) AUTO ESTATE 2962cc  manufactured in 2001, works as a teacher, has 5 years no claims bonus, one speeding conviction (camera) and uses the car for domestic/work purposes.

For more information, please contact:

Victoria Roe or Joshua Van Raalte

Brazil (PR agency for swiftcover.com)

01865 556 000

swiftcover@agencybrazil.com

Footnote:

¹ 18.9 million women drivers taken from the DVLA's driver statistics for 2006 (latest available).