>Women Drivers
>Ashley wanted me to raise this point. Personally I have no idea what he’s on about…
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>Ashley wanted me to raise this point. Personally I have no idea what he’s on about…
Battison's Blog 
>We all know what im on about, im just about ready for my next insurance payment, which will probably set me back best part of £700. Why? because im Male… if i was Female i know it would be allot less. Now i think this is terribly unfair, not because women are paying less, i think that they shouldnt need to pay more, but i think they guys should pay about the same. And why cant we all start on the same level playing field, why do I automatically get shoved into the pay a shed load more because you’re a your bloke group when I havent done anything wrong. I even know one girl, not mentioning any names, who has written off 2 cars already, and still pays less than I do for insurance. This incredibly unfair. A better system would be one that penalises those who are dangerous drivers/caused an acident etc allot more, and let the younger drivers off a little bit, I would be much happier with a system that charged everyone the same to start with, say £300 a year, then if you mess up pay more the following year so that the funds are re-couped. At the end of the day its your fault, your should be the one paying, not everyone else
>All Insurance is derived from the risk assosiated with insuring that person, or group of people. It is not a personal dig at you or male drivers, It is just that male drivers have cost that company more money in insurance claims than female drivers. If you think they are ripping you off, there is a free market and you can go with any insurance company you want.You could also play the system and insure a woman as the primary driver and you as the secondry driver which could be a bit cheaper depending on the company.
>There are plenty of things i could do to avoid paying out a small fortune. I could get the bus, i could walk, ride a bike, cheat the system by becoming a named driver, but taking into account that as a named driver the majority of insurance companies will only let you drive the car if you drive the car less than the first driver, which i dont, so if i was to do that i would risk that the insurance company would void my insurance and leave me with no cover. Similarly i could increase the excess, reduce the number of miles i drive, or buy a smaller car. But why should i have to do that just because i am already labelled? it shouldnt be like that. There needs to be a fairer way to decide insurance prices.Changing insurance companies would be great, however i already have a half decent deal with the company i am with. Its expensive, but its the best of a bad bunch.I just feel annoyed that having done nothing wrong i am forced to pay through the nose to do something. It borders on discrimination but i dont feel there is really a solution. I have a choice pay X amount of pounds per year to drive to work (30 mins) or get the bus (45 mins to Leeds, 30 minute wait, 25 minute journey onwards) not to mention the walking on each end. Yes i could move of get another job, but i learnt to drive for a reason.
>As Tom said, the reason insurance is cheaper for women is because they are statiscally less likely to claim. But I do agree with Ashley that someone who has already made a claim should have to pay more than someone who has not (assuming other aspects on the driving record are equal i.e. length of time driving).Yet as Tom also rightly said, we live in a free market where private companies dicate the prices. Ashley, would you ask the companies to change policy or ask the Government to start regulating the industry?
>Satistically men are stronger than women and can therefore do a better job in a manual labour environment yet they campaign for equal pay… Fair?I would ask the companies to change policies, I understand the reason behind why i pay more, i just think its completely wrong.There needs to be some sort of level playing field to start with, or even just to reduce the gap between the sexes. In my opinion the insurance companies should reduce the gap, but they wont because it makes them a ton of cash. The only way that it will change is if the government gets involved, but they shouldnt need to. If they did people would complain about them getting involved anyway, and probably ask how much of a cut they are taking.If there were changes to be made here are my proposed changes (again not having too much knowledge of how it is actually worked out)1. Start everyone on a level playing field regards price. Companies should be forced into offering the same price for their product regardless of who is applying (different insurance companies will offer different amount of cover and courtesy car bits etc)2. Reduce premiums, as is the case now, based on experience, possibly include something to do with the number of miles to further reduce premiums. (this probably wouldnt work because obviously we are trying to get away from people driver cars so rewarding people for driving thousands of uneccasary miles would be frowned upon)3.Increase the premium dramatically for those that mess up. im not meaning little scratches etc, have some sort of sliding scale that will increase premiums. Scratch a car and forced into a claim pay £30 extra for 5 years or something. Completely write off your car and a few others resulting in a massive 34 car pile up on the M62 should obviously require more of a punishment. £31 for 6 years…Its supposed to work like that, but it never will, not while insurance companies are making money and they dont have to change. The government wont intervene because they already have so much other stuff to look after that they dont want to create a new battleground which would for starters upset pretty much every women driver out there and potentially lose there vote, and as the gents are seen as lazy and probably less likely to vote (guessing not a shred of evidence) this would be seen as a very bad move, especially as you get involved with campaigners against speeding, Womens groups and a whole host of other organisations that would love to stick their oar in.
>I'm afraid I have to disagree. That's quite a radical set of proposals. As you rightly say, it would involve heavy state regulation, and hence many people would scream for blood anyway. But from a purely logical standpoint this would force some companies out of business (those companies that specialize in giving lower insurance to women for instance). It would hinder the sectors prospects to compete not only nationally but also internationally. If the state regulates too heavily it undermines the spirit of capitalist entrepeneurialism and competition, removing companies' abilities to be different. And although I am not exactly a staunch capitalist I respect the fact that flexibility within any given market sector is necessary. Some regulation yes, but too much can be the equivelence of putting companies and indeed entire market sectors into an economic straitjacket.
>Its just a pretty poor system. I honestly think that there neesd to be a bit more done to reduce the size of the gap. I know it would hurt some companies a little. Those that specialise in a particular area. But surely thats a risk of putting all your eggs in one basket? Also we are not talking about forcing these companies to start equalling insurance quotes overnight, im talking about reducing the gap over a period of years. We could reduce by a percentage say 5% a year and increase on the other side so that in time the gap will be reduced.Again its not a perfect solution, some people will lose out, others will gain, but the empasis is on trying to reduce the affect on the companies involved. Of course you will get those that end up paying more complaining because its not their fault, but welcome to my and pretty much every other young male drivers world. If the insurance companies can increase my premium because someone else in my insurance bracket crashed then surly they can increase one and reduce another because of an enforced change.
>You have to remember that insurance companies make money by compensating uncertainty. Insurance companies are no different from casino's albeit they are a lot more sophisticated.Statistically you have to be grouped as a man, this is only one of many factors that determine the outcome of your insurance policy. Don't forget that you are already grouped in many other respects e.g:* Your age,* Are you a smoker?* Are you the kind of guy who's gonna add special wheels and body kits (A.k.a Boy Racer)* What kind of car and make.The insurance company can build up a reasonably accurate profile of you based on many factors. If the car you own is popular among a high risk group like young boy racers then your premium will be upped too. Simply you'll be assumed to have a chance of being a boy racer too.Its not the insurance company's fault that your premium is high, its actually your fellow male counter-parts.At the end of the day, the insurance company always wins, otherwise insurance wouldn't exist.What you could do is talk to someone in insurance, and change your profile so your in the lowest risk category possible. I don't mean get a sex change, change your car for example, to place you into another category.Of course insurance companies keep a history of all your dealings with them, and they may share this with other insurance companies, so they can build a picture of you from throughout your automotive history.
>So from the information you have given me I am more likely to make a claim and therefore must be a bad driver because I am 23 year old Male driver, drive a S-Reg 1.6 Astra Sport (not because it’s the sport model but because it was cheap), haven’t had a claim on my insurance so far?I know how the system works, it just feels like good drivers are penalised because of choices they make not related to how they drive.Anyone else feel like the system needs a change? If so any ideas on how to change it for the better?