Men pay lb170 a year more than women for car insurance despite EU gender rules

MEN are experiencing to pay out lb170 annually more for car insurance – despite EU rules that ban gender profiling.

Women are getting bargain auto insurance prices despite the fact that laws were introduced in 2012 to stop insurers offering better deals according to gender.

And Compare The Market figures even reveal the space is getting worse.

Last month, the average price for a male driver stood at lb821 – compared to just lb649 for a women.

The 27 per cent price gap is really greater than the 20 per cent gap that existed prior to the EU rules arrived.

Firms like Sheila's Wheels, which advertised cheap deals for women, had to change its policies.

But 5 years following the EU rules, males are still being charged more for auto insurance.

John Miles, head of motor at Compare The Market, said: "This data shows how little difference the EU Gender Directive has had on insurance premiums, with providers still giving big discounts to women.

"This really is likely as a result of quantity of factors, such as statistically higher accident rates for males and more men than woman driving business and commercial vehicles – that are higher risk.

"The directive removed the ability of providers to provide default discounts to women; however, the data and risk models used by insurers mean that the result is largely the same."

The figures also reveal the average premium for males and women has rocketed by lb200 since 2012, too.

The past three years have seen prices rise thanks to a number of tax hikes and changes to personal injury payouts.

The full report can be viewed here.