Men pay £121 more than women on average to insure their car

Men pay £121 more than women on average to insure their car, a 26% difference, according to new research by MoneySuperMarket.

The analysis of nearly 15m car insurance enquiries on MoneySuperMarket¹, reveals that men pay £581 on average, compared to women who pay £460.

The study also looked into other factors that can affect the cost of a premium, contributing to the difference in price for men and women. Occupation can directly influence the cost of car insurance, with our data showing that men are 84% more likely than women to work in jobs that result in an average premium of £500 or more. For example, 96% of professional footballers who enquired about car insurance were male, and also have one of the highest average premiums at £2,166.

Another factor that can influence price is the make and model of your car. Men are more than five times as likely to own a car that costs £1,000 or more to insure and are 16% more likely to own a car that costs £500 or more to insure. In contrast, just under half (46%) of women own cars that cost £499 or less to insure, compared to just 37% of men.

The make and model of your car also determines which insurance group it belongs to, which helps to determine your premium. Each vehicle type is assigned an insurance group, from one to 50, with higher premiums associated with the higher number groups. While the correlation between insurance group and premium isn’t always strictly linear, people with vehicles in higher insurance groups tend to pay more.

Our data reveals that men are consistently over represented in groups at the higher end of the spectrum. Nearly one in five enquiries from men (18%) are classed as being in the top 20 groups, while two in five (40%) are in the top 30. In contrast, only 7% and 21% of women fell into those same groups, with over three quarters (79%) appearing in the bottom 20.

Dave Merrick, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket said, “Our research shows that on average men pay £121 more than women for car insurance. Whilst 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.

“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 14m motorists still allow their policy to auto-renew every year, meaning that in total £565m more is being spent on car insurance than is needed.”