Category Archives: women’s car insurance

Most women deserve lower car insurance premiums than most young men.

women's car insurance

Road rage highlighted by #redmist hashtag

youngfoxydriverResearch findings recently published by black box motor insurer Ingenie confirm that as many as three out of four young drivers have been a victim of road rage during their early driving years.

On average, young drivers report having been on the receiving end of abuse on the road around four times (3.64) since they passed their test.

As we all know, bad behaviour can infect others which may explain why 65% of young drivers interviewed didn’t consider themselves road ragers yet 84% admitted to carrying out one or more acts of road rage since they passed their test.

Road rage gets a #redmist hashtag to raise awareness here

This is why Ingenie’s #Redmist hashtag campaign (colourfully named to describe the anger that descends upon motorists who let their emotions rule their driving) interested us and why we asked them to provide this information for a Guest Blog that should interest our young readers and their parents.

Apparently ‘other drivers’ behaviour’ is the most common road rage trigger (66%) followed by ‘running late’ (39%), ‘congestion’ (35%) and ‘roadworks’ (32%). The research also reminds us how important our emotional state is, identifying other triggers such as: ‘A bad day at work’ (27%), ‘Lack of sleep’ (21%), ‘An argument with a partner, friend or colleague’ (20%) and ‘Illness’ (9%). More than one in 20 (7%) admit that their financial situation can make them increasingly susceptible to the #redmist.

Knowing that everyone has their prejudices on our roads (often women drivers let’s face it) I wasn’t at all surprised to see that young drivers claim that older drivers were their #redmist bugbear. Let’s not bring statistics or logic into any such debate here – if they think that, that’s their truth as they see it. Plus ca change!

If this subject interests you or you would like to encourage a young driver here why not join in this quiz here to check out what sort of driver you/they are?. If you score highly and/or learn from this, chances are you can save money having a black box fitted to your car (terms apply etc).

Here are Ingenie’s #Redmist road rage research findings…

FOXY

PS: Any young drivers (female or male) keen to understand and improve their driving behaviour will benefit from attending one of the motoring events we attend and which are organised by AVF Communications. These include memorable sessions about road rage (how to recognise it and what to do), as well as DIY car maintenance and self defence. All great skills to have in any drivers’ portfolio.

women's car insurance

Could the high cost of car insurance be putting young females at risk?

taxihailingA survey carried out by price comparison website Gocompare.com has revealed that thousands of young women are putting themselves at risk by accepting lifts with strangers or with drivers who’ve either had an alcoholic drink or used recreational drugs.

Around one in 17 women (6%) aged between 17 and 25 who are non-drivers have on at least one occasion accepted a lift home with a virtual stranger.

More than one in seven (13%) have been a passenger in a car driven by someone who’d had an alcoholic drink or taken recreational drugs.

However, nearly one in five young women who don’t drive (18%) has also experienced violence, aggression or harassment directed at them or another passenger whilst using public transport.

Over a third (36%) of young women non-drivers responding to the survey said that driving and car ownership was too expensive and 38% said they could not afford driving lessons. A quarter (26%) said that they felt they had less freedom than their friends with cars.

Gocompare.com’s customer insight manager, Claire Peate, said: “There’s no doubt that learning to drive and getting your first car can be an expensive business, but it seems that some young women are taking risks with their own safety because they can’t get around as easily as their friends. Parents will be alarmed to learn that thousands of young women and teenagers are accepting lifts from people they hardly know, and are also being driven around by people who are possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“For many the alternative is to use public transport, but there again our research shows that young women have experienced aggression or harassment directed towards them or another passenger whilst using buses and trains.

“Young women, and indeed anyone, on a night out should follow some basic rules for staying safe. If you’re with a group of friends, stay together as much as possible until you’re home. Do not accept lifts from strangers and if you are offered the chance of a lift home by a friend make sure they’re in a fit state to be driving. Keep some money aside for an emergency taxi home and never be too proud to ring a parent or friend and ask them to pick you up. They’re sure to be much happier you called on them than for you to take a risk with a lift from a stranger or a drunk driver.”

From FOXY’s point of view the exorbitant cost of car insurance has a lot to do with this, thanks mainly to the 2012 Gender (Mis)Directive.

The consequences of the high cost of motoring

public transport policeKnowing that the number of young male drivers has fallen as a result of soaring insurance rates this is now our turn to be affected, regardless of statistical risk and gender safety concerns. Young females who can’t afford to drive are damned to potential harassment or worse when using public transport and occasionally taxis, are damned to isolation if they live in rural areas and damned if they then rely on richer friends to drive them home, who might take risks.

What is a young girl to do to have a social life? How is she to keep her job options open if she can’t afford to drive to move on in her career?

The insurance industry needs to think this one through again because cherry-picking rich young drivers isn’t the right way forward nor is it any guarantee of safer drivers or lesser risk. Quite the contrary it seems.

FOXY

women's car insurance

Nothing but the whole motoring truth

points_speedAfter a recent Freedom of Information report confirmed that some motorists were out and about on UK roads with as many as 45 points on their driving licence a lot of us were understandably annoyed that the ‘system’ could allow this to happen. And for how long has this been going on?

Especially knowing that points usually mean that drivers haven’t been paying attention to local road signs and conditions.

In fact it is that lack of concentration, which can so quickly become driver error, that causes serious road accidents, particularly when linked to inappropriate speed in so many cases.

But how can this be? Surely the DVLA can see the offenders (mainly men I hasten to add) and send someone round to reprimand them accordingly and remove their driving licence before their points start to accumulate…

And why don’t insurers simply withdraw their insurance cover?

The reason for this inactivity seems to be that neither the DVLA nor insurers have been on the case here as a result of inadequate information. So insurers simply don’t know if their Insured is telling the truth about endorsements/points or is simply being ‘economic with the truth’ at renewal time…

Moving records online

So the recent plan to move all driving records online seems to be a no-brainer as I see it and could even reduce the cost of car insurance for most people, say some ministers.

The systems challenge, which will be complete by mid-2015 we’re told, will end the need for the ‘paper counterpart’ document drivers have to keep with their licence. And insurers predict that honest motorists with minimum points could see their premiums fall by up to £15 a year.

Bring it on I say. And when the DVLA knows who the serial points’ offenders are who have been flouting the rules for years, they should name and shame ’em as well as ask the police to pop round and physically remove their driving licence for good order…

And motor insurers should check this database carefully too. Why should anyone with 45 points be insured at all knowing they ‘forgot’ to tell their insurer the truth.

Otherwise this makes the rest of us look like motoring muppets for bothering to play by the rules, tell the truth and pay the same car insurance premium as a serial under-declarer of points.

FOXY

women's car insurance

Could be cheaper to insure a classic car

This is a Guest Blog including an infographic designed by Confused.com and provided by Ian Owen about the cost of insuring a classic car.

We thought that young FOXY Lady Drivers in particular would like to know which classics can be cheaper to insure than more modern models.

classic-cars-young-drivers-infographic

FOXY footnote

Yes, classic cars like VW Beetles, Minis, Morris Minors and Triumph Heralds CAN be cheaper to insure and yes they’re undoubtedly fun to drive and look amazing… but that isn’t the whole story. Most classic car insurers will look for evidence that you belong to a car club like ours – suggesting you will take better care of your car than if you hadn’t joined a club…

There’s also other financial considerations of course. Be sure to factor in fuel consumption and road tax too – only pre-1973 manufactured cars are tax exempt as is, these cars are rarely environmentally friendly so most score badly on VED-related CO2 ratings AND you may find the new MOT regime somewhat onerous (and expensive to pass)…

But if you’re still determined to buy into that vintage look, we recommend you join FOXY and at least together we’ll be able to help you find a local garage that knows how to take care of an older car – not all appreciate their finer points, believe me!

FOXY

women's car insurance

Insurance brokers confuse customer service with ‘duty’

women expect moreIn a recent article about our new FOXY Lady Insurance website explaining how we intend to introduce women to female friendly insurance advisers that meet our standards it was reported that ‘critical brokers argue that they already have a legal and professional duty to give best advice to all customers.’

Which surely misses the point of insurers tailoring service levels to meet customer needs.

And suggests that anyone who thinks male and female customers have the same insurance needs and therefore the same advice applies must have been in hibernation for the last twenty years or so. Men and women are very DIFFERENT…

Which is why customer service has little to do with equality but everything to do with the application of the latest product knowledge, an appreciation of audience needs and a dedication to exceed customer expectations at all times.

Female service gaps in the motor industry today

Here are some examples of how the motor industry, by and large, is missing out on high levels of female customer satisfaction…

…If franchised dealerships wanted to make women feel at home, they’d have more female showroom staff and offer a female companion when it comes to a test drive.

…If women were happy with service levels in garages and showrooms they wouldn’t feel intimidated and patronised.

…If Mums were really appreciated, their cars would be ready BEFORE not after the school run.

…If car manufacturers wanted to cater for women they’d provide, as a minimum, fit for purpose cup holders and safe places for us to store big handbags (within reach but out of sight).

How the insurance industry might do a better job for women

And now that FOXY has the insurance industry in its sights, it’s the same sort of thing all over again. Brokers failing to see the need to be female friendly with many too complacent to imagine there might be a better way to provide insurance services; such as catering for busy women and finding that these standards then delight everyone else. Which might also mean more business and more commission income.

I am certainly not aware of the insurance industry being awash with exceptional and superior customer services from advisers who…

+ open early or late
+ are happy to phone you at home of an evening or at weekends
+ offer Skype as a personal service option; so you can see who you are dealing with
+ listen to what she wants, not just tell her what she needs/is available
+ are up to date with the latest insurance cover options for women after the Gender Directive
+ identify a suitable female member of staff in case a woman would prefer to discuss her confidential insurance arrangements with one
+ will volunteer to help resolve a tricky insurance claim.

Selling insurance to women has nothing to do with equality but a lot to do with gaining her trust, meeting her needs with the best value options and providing personal services that comparison websites aren’t up to.

My insurance needs

Yes I want to pay a competitive price for my insurance but I also want to be made a fuss of when I’m spending thousands of pounds on insurance EVERY YEAR.

I want to know if the accident repairers my insurer uses are genuinely female friendly or not and what that means…

I want to be able to trust someone to understand my needs, to represent my best interests, to know where the best deals are and to come up with the goods to suit my circumstances – year in year out.

If I can enjoy superior customer services like these at a competitive price why would I want to shop at a price comparison website?

That’s the female friendly business opportunity I sense for the insurance industry in the wake of the Gender Directive.

FOXY

PS: If you’re up to the FOXY Lady Approved standard and want to join our Female Friendly Insurance Register you can find out more at the FOXY Lady Insurance website.