In the battle of the sexes it still appears that women are beating men when it comes to being offered the most competitive motor insurance premiums, according to the findings of an independent finance expert and leading academic who has discovered that an occupation-based loophole still exists which tends to inadvertently favour women drivers.
As reported in The Telegraph, Newcastle University economist lecturer, Stephen McDonald has found that some car insurance providers are side-stepping EU equality laws which were ushered in to challenge what was seen as unfair, job-based gender judgments, and are still guilty of indirectly proffering preferential rate motor insurance premiums for women.
By continuing to promote premiums grounded in a policyholder’s occupation as a means testing device, McDonald argues that this contravenes 2012-passed European quality laws, which he feels subsequently discriminates against men.
Observing six different professions, two of which were knowingly male dominated (civil engineering and plastering), two female dominated (dental nurses and social workers) and a further two occupations classed as non-gender specific (solicitors and leisure assistants), McDonald sourced his insurance information from a leading motor insurance price comparison site.
His findings make for interesting reading, as it revealed civil engineers pay 13% above average, while dental nursing saw motor insurance premiums that were typically 10% below average.
To put this into greater perspective, men currently account for some 92% of the civil engineering industry, while figures support that less than 1% of dental nurse roles are carried out by men.
Jobs for the girls prove more cost effective than for male counterparts in terms of motor insurance premiums
The only deviation in this male-female car insurance divide comes when examining the social working profession, where statistics denotes that 79% of the work force comprises of women.
But as Dr McDonald points out, this single discrepancy might have more to do with the underlying fact that due to the nature of the job social workers will make regular house calls and often in deprived (and therefore, high risk) areas. Which would be reflected in insurance premiums, irrespective of gender.
The general consensus was that for the large part, drivers in their 20s, 30s and 40s paid cheaper premiums if they held what was considered a female-dominated role, yet habitually attracted higher premiums for the male-dominated industries.
After the age of 50, McDonald noted that the car insurance premiums balanced out more favourably across the board. Although citing this apparent loophole whereby insurance providers can quote different prices to people in different jobs based on some work being perceived as riskier than other, McDonald concluded that; “At the same time, some occupations are held mostly by either men or women. This leaves open the possibility that direct gender discrimination be replaced by an indirect one, on the basis of occupation or even car type.”
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