Women drivers face €750 insurance hike

WOMEN drivers could be facing a €750-a-year rise in premiums after MEPs backed plans to ban sex discrimination in the car insurance industry.

The controversial European Commission (EC) proposals would force insurance companies to apply "gender neutrality" preventing them from using statistics such as driving records, life expectancy and other basic criteria when giving insurance quotes.

If approved by EU governments, the move would be the first EU legislation to tackle sex discrimination outside the workplace.

The Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) has warned that applying equal treatment without taking account of the fact that women statistically are safer drivers than men, could raise women's motoring premiums by as much as €750.

"We believe it won't benefit men and it would certainly penalise women," said IIF regulation and planning officer manager Paul McDonnell.

He said the proposals might initially lead to an increase in car insurance premiums for women and a drop in premiums for men.

But if this attracted more risky male drivers, the industry would compensate by increasing premiums and both sexes would suffer.

Green Party MEP Nuala Ahern said the plan was an "own goal" by the commission.

"This will make it more costly for women to get insurance. We all want equality but if there is a genuine risk differential between young male drivers and young women, it's completely mad of the commission to disallow this objective data," said.

The plan must be unanimously approved by the EC, which is composed of ministers from all EU states.

Ms Ahern said she hoped the council would introduce amendments to the proposal.

The commission said if the plan is approved, it should not be applied for six years to give the insurance industry time to change its working methods.

The IIF has arranged a meeting with the Minister of State at the Department of Justice Willie O'Dea to express its concerns.

The new rules would not only explicitly deal with insurance sector premiums and benefits, but would apply with some exceptions to all available goods and services.

The exceptions apply in cases where goods or services are intended exclusively for members of one sex, such as single-sex private members' clubs, or in hairdressing where, "the skills required are different for each sex", according to the commission.