Men still pay far more for car cover than women with overall costs driven up by pricier motors and Premier League footballers
- There is a 26% difference between what men and women pay for car insurance
- Men are five times more likely to own a car that costs £1,000 or more to insure
- Your occupation can also directly influence the cost of car insurance
Men pay on average £121 more than women to insure their car – a 26 per cent difference, data shows.
On average, men pay £581 annually and women £460, according to comparison website MoneySupermarket.
Car insurance companies are no longer able discriminate on the basis of gender, but the make and model of a car influences premiums – men are more likely to own pricier cars.
They are also far likely to work in professionals that push up averages, such as Premier League football stars who are notoriously expensive to insure.
Men pay on average £121 more than women to insure their car, a 26% difference, new data says
Men are also more than five times as likely to own a motor that costs £1,000 or more to insure and 16 per cent more likely to own a car that costs £500 or more to insure.
By comparison, 46 per cent of women own cars that cost £499 or less to insure, compared to just 37 per cent of men.
The make and model of your car determines which insurance group it belongs to, which in turn will partially determine your premium.
Each vehicle type is assigned an insurance group, from 1 to 50, with higher premiums associated with the higher number groups.
While the correlation between insurance group and premium isn’t always linear, people with vehicles in higher groups tend to pay more.
The data, which analysed 15million quotes in the last two years, reveals that men are consistently over represented in groups at the higher end of the spectrum.
Nearly one in five enquiries from men are classed as being in the top 20 groups, while two in five are in the top 30.
In contrast, only 7 per cent and 21 per cent of women fell into those same groups, with over three quarters appearing in the bottom 20.
Professional footballers drive up averages
The study also shows how occupation influences the cost of car insurance – men are 84 per cent more likely than women to work in jobs that result in an average premium of £500 or more.
As an example, 96 per cent of professional footballers who enquired about car insurance were male and also have one of the highest average premiums at £2,166.
Dave Merrick, car insurance expert at MoneySupermarket, said: ‘While insurance providers cannot legally discriminate based on gender, other rating factors – such as the car you drive and your occupation – will influence the price you pay.
‘Our data shows that men typically drive cars in higher insurance groups and work in professions that attract a higher insurance premium, pushing up the cost of their insurance.’
| Date | Female | Male | Difference | % More for Men |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb-18 | £489.90 | £616.54 | £126.64 | 26% |
| Apr-18 | £481.83 | £619.24 | £137.41 | 29% |
| Jun-18 | £475.00 | £611.52 | £136.52 | 29% |
| Aug-18 | £473.59 | £601.01 | £127.42 | 27% |
| Oct-18 | £490.19 | £612.64 | £122.45 | 25% |
| Dec-18 | £490.32 | £612.64 | £122.32 | 25% |
| Feb-19 | £434.71 | £548.69 | £113.98 | 26% |
| Apr-19 | £443.34 | £553.88 | £110.54 | 25% |
| Jun-19 | £442.39 | £557.73 | £115.34 | 26% |
| Aug-19 | £427.29 | £542.36 | £115.07 | 27% |
| Oct-19 | £445.76 | £563.02 | £117.26 | 26% |
| Dec-19 | £471.96 | £604.81 | £132.86 | 28% |
| Jan-20 | £446.98 | £566.30 | £119.32 | 27% |
| Source: MoneySupermarket | ||||
Gender pay division over the years
Historic data shows that the biggest gender price difference recorded on the site between January 2018 and January 2020 was in April 2018.
In April 2018, there was a 29 per cent difference between average male and female car insurance costs, standing at £137.41.
This was closely followed by June 2018, where there was also a 29 per cent difference, but a slightly lower amount of £136.52.
However, as the smallest difference in that time was 23 per cent, the difference has been pretty stable over this time period.
Merrick added: ‘No matter your personal circumstances, there are a number of things you can do that may help to reduce the cost of your insurance.
‘For example, parking your car in a secure location, fitting an alarm and reducing your mileage are all ways to bring costs down.
‘Shopping around for a better deal can also save you up to £2,702. It’s vital to ensure your policy doesn’t auto-renew as this can sometimes lead to an increase in your premium.
‘More than 14million motorists still allow their policy to auto-renew every year, meaning that in total £565million more is being spent on car insurance than is needed.’
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