Shopping around for insurance essential for female drivers
Graeme Kalbraier, Managing Director of Tiger.co.uk, gives his advice to women drivers as the AA report announces a rise in insurance premiums by seven per cent for 17 to 22 year old females for comprehensive cover.
"This seven per cent hike in comprehensive cover for woman since January will be a serious blow to some young drivers. The increase comes at a time when insurers are faced with increasing financial pressures, making them less keen to discount rates for what have historically been lower risk groups.
"Shopping around is essential for saving money. For 20-year-old female drivers, the variation between the top ten cheapest insurance quotes is £130 (or 20 per cent).l And it is not just young drivers who experience differentials in price; 30-year-olds can save even more - top ten premium quotes vary by almost £150, with the tenth best quote coming in at 40 per cent more than the lowest quote. This is testament to the importance of shopping around.
"If drivers are struggling with excesses, price comparison sites like Tiger.co.uk allow drivers to vary their excess. With soaring petrol prices, this feature helps motorists stick to their budget while finding the most suitable policy for them.Graeme provides five top tips to help women buy the right insurance:
Consider the drivers on your policy. Insure your car for just yourself, or include Mum and Dad on the policy. Adding your friend or a sibling can bump up your premium - and you may get extra discounts if Mum or Dad is a named driver.
Beware of ‘fronting'. Don't be tempted to insure your car under your Mum or Dad's name and drive it yourself, as this is ‘fronting' and could result in you not being properly covered should you have an accident.
Shop around online. Make sure you use a good comparison site to shop around for the best deals and pay attention to things like excess levels and add-ons - Tiger.co.uk has some good tools to set your own excess levels .
Calculate your annual mileage. When applying for insurance, make sure you spend a bit of time working out what you think your annual mileage will be - it will have an effect on your premium, potentially lowering it.
Pick a policy with personal possessions cover. When you are comparing car insurance policies it might be worth looking at the level of personal possessions cover on offer. This way, providing you've locked the car, you're covered if your handbag is stolen from your car on the day you forget to take the bag with you.
"Female car insurance has always been a competitive market, with Diva, Sheila's Wheels and Ladybird all offering good discounts to attract drivers. This has largely been down to the risk profile of younger women generally being lower than that of their male counterparts. Female drivers have fewer accidents than their male counterparts, traditionally making them a much less expensive group to insure. A 20 year old male would pay about 60 per cent more for their insurance than a 20 year old female."