Tag Archives: car insurance

FOXY Lady Drivers Club doesn’t sell car insurance but it does provide lots of independent information to help women drivers make a foxy choice – it also encourages members to share feedback to help others, especially where there has been a problem

insurance for women

Win Car Insurance Competition

Thanks to our FOXY Lady Insurance partner, Cornmarket Insurance Services, we are announcing a special insurance competition so that one UK female insurance policyholder can win up to £500 worth of car insurance at renewal time in 2018.

All you have to do is REGISTER FOR AN INSURANCE QUOTE (car, home, motorcycle or pet) – and read the Terms and Conditions on that page please.

We don’t promise that we can beat ’em all, but depending on perceived risk factors and during changeable market conditions, we are one of the only insurance services (if not the only?) to ring fence a totally female portfolio when it comes to motor, home, motorcycle and pet insurance.

Which is a good thing in most instances.

And there’s more.

An added bonus for non members

If you have yet to join FOXY Lady Drivers Club, just register for an insurance quote and enter this competition to receive a FREE Online Member gift subscription to FOXY Lady Drivers Club into the bargain. This makes you eligible for our Member Only insurance services.

If you are a member of FOXY Lady Drivers Club, please tell any female friends who aren’t.

We do this because only women can legitimately be members of a motoring club so we can then reserve our preferential insurance rates/services for female members of the Club. Who can then add partners and husbands of course. But not boy racers.

Sadly statistics confirm that it’s still young men that cause the majority of (and the most expensive) road accidents.

And being a motoring club for women drivers, our road safety advice and support services put women first and we don’t want to have to pay for these expensive male accidents.

Don’t miss out. We exist to save savvy Club members money. The more that join the Club the better the deals we can negotiate across the board. To benefit us all.

FOXY

insurance for women, women drivers

Are women really better drivers than men – and how does this affect insurance?

It’s a contentious and controversial argument which has been debated for decades – and will probably still run for several decades more. Perhaps it will never end.

We’re talking about the battle of the sexes behind the wheel – are men better drivers than women, or is it the other way around?

Driving stereotypes are ingrained and hard to shift. Thus, female drivers are often tagged as unable to park properly – especially reversing into a parking space – while male motorists are too often seen as aggressive, fast driving types who would rather turn a one-hour journey into a six-hour trip than simply ask for directions.

But are these truths or myths? And in the ongoing contest of women drivers versus their male counterparts, who are the better drivers?

Recent research seems to favour females. In fact, the Telegraph reported both in 2015 and 2016 that surveys revealed women are the ‘better’ drivers. Tests on motorists while in the car and when approaching London’s busy Hyde Park Corner junction yielded a stronger performance from women, who scored 23.6 points from a maximum of 30. The male drivers monitored managed 19.8 points in comparison.

Some of the results showed clear divides between driving behaviours. For example, 14% of men were witnessed ‘cutting dangerously into traffic’ while only 1% of women were. When it came to ‘driving too close to the vehicle in front’, 27% of men did so; only 4% of women did. And 79% of female drivers were considered to have shown ‘adequate use of mirrors’ compared to just 46% of men. Of course, this isn’t a definitive verdict but an interesting sample study.

Meanwhile, in this article titled 13 driving myths uncovered created by RAC Breakdown cover – data from an NCP survey suggested women were also more skilled at parking than men. It used surveillance on 2,500 drivers across 700 NCP car parks to come to the conclusion that while men were quicker at parking, women were more likely to park cars ‘in the middle of a bay’.

Driving proficiency obviously has a bearing on road safety but also insurance costs. Historically, primarily because male drivers are involved in a higher proportion of road traffic accidents, they were typically charged more for insurance than women. However, an EU ruling in December 2012 prevented insurance companies from discriminating on the basis of gender alone, instead pricing premiums of other data. What happens to that ruling in the wake of the Brexit decision remains to be seen.

What’s interesting is that, according to an article published by the Guardian earlier in 2017, instead of the price gap between men and women narrowing, it has widened. Back in 2012, it says, male drivers paid on average £27 more for an annual car insurance policy. Now, that amount has grown to £101. Despite the ruling, in general terms, women drivers have benefited from insurance pricing. Men are still considered higher risk. Instead, insurers are increasingly using more targeted data and analysing specific factors such as age, driving history and occupation calculate premiums based on the probability of risk.

As an extension of that, telematics – also known as black box – insurance is a way of monitoring driver behaviour and performance, as a means of rewarding safer drivers with lower premiums. It can track braking and acceleration to calculate a driving ‘score’ which could then lead to a reduced price at renewal time.

This means, regardless of whether you’re a man or woman, you have the ability to lower your insurance costs by driving carefully and responsibly – although black box insurance is usually available to younger motorists only.

cost of motoring

How to enjoy motoring and save money

ack: Figaro Owners Club
ack: Figaro Owners Club

We were asked to write a blog for the worthy Money Advice Service about motoring savings their readers can make.

I am more than happy to oblige as saving money with women drivers in mind is a subject dear to our hearts.

My experience is that some rich people treat cars like designer fashion. When something stops looking new or the height of fashion, they want it replaced pronto.

You don’t want to buy a car from people like this for fear they’ve neglected the car, knowing this won’t be their problem come MOT time. This is why c40% of cars and a shocking 50% of vans fail their first MOT (safety check) after just three years.

And why you really don’t want to buy one of these vehicles even if they’re cheap at the time…

However, if you buy the right car in the first place ie a value for money car that’s clearly been maintained, serviced and cared for it’ll be more reliable for longer than one with a scant service history suggesting a car that’s about to get VERY expensive to run. We call these cars lemons as they always leave a bitter taste in the mouth – and motoring memory!

But if you continue to look after your car once it moves into its mellow MOT years, it’ll last you much longer and make motoring more affordable and enjoyable into the bargain.

Tips how to cherish a family car

A cherished car is safe and reliable for longer. Here are a few money-saving tips to help women economise on motoring bills.

1 If you are the main driver, get an insurance quote from a company that specialises in female drivers and excludes boy racers. There are big savings to be made for many women.

2 If you drive less than 5,000 miles a year, it still makes sense to have your car serviced once a year (because professionals can spot what’s likely to become expensive before it does) but you’ll save money, depending on the age of your car, by making do with an oil and filter change one year (cheapest formula), an interim service the next (medium cost) and a full service (the expensive one) every three years. And if you do this at the same time as the MOT ask for a half price one (saving c£27)…

3 Put a small amount of money away a month towards annual car servicing and unexpected car repair bills. You can’t run an older car without unexpected bills but if you have a ring-fenced motoring reserve to dip into this will ease the inevitable financial pain.

4 By all means shop around at MOT time but be canny. Garages aren’t regulated and mechanics don’t have to be licensed so some unscrupulous back street garages advertise MOTs for less than the cost of doing this to then rip you off. For example, a half price MOT brings in c£27 for the hour this takes. That’s not a lot to pay someone and contribute to overheads. Instead, check the garage is listed at Motor Codes or the IMI Professional Register – then you know the business has invested in being better than the rest and is unlikely to rip you off.

5 Check your tyres regularly. Illegal ones carry a fine of £2500 and 3 penalty points EACH. Choose a businesses listed at the female friendly Tyre Services Register because they’ve signed a promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell you tyres you don’t need.’ They’ll also advise you about the best buys at the time. Never buy part worn tyres – yes they’re cheap but a false economy as you don’t know where they’ve been.

6 Shop around for local fuel. Supermarkets aren’t always the cheapest/nearest and if you sign up to the PetrolPrices website they’ll tell you where your best local deals are.

7 Register with FOXY Lady Insurance for an insurance quote at renewal time. You can do this now. We’re cutting the cost of car insurance for nine out of ten motorists and this could be you…

I hope this helps you save money on your bills. Here’s to happy motoring for less in future.

FOXY

FOXY Lady Drivers Club

insurance for women, women drivers

Foxy competition time…

Screenshot-13

We’re feeling the love and have three great gifts for women to win…

1/ If you’ve missed our Harrod’s Valentine Day champagne and chocolates offer at our Facebook Page (it ends on Wednesday 11 February at noon) worry not.

2/ Starting on Monday 16th we’ll be running a special competition for one wonderful and deserving Mum on Mothers’ Day, ending on Wednesday 11 March at noon. I can’t say too much for now other than it’s from Fortnum and Mason…

NB: Be sure to like our FOXY Lady Drivers Facebook Page to see/enter this after 16th.

3/ Our London Shard Hotel competition via our FOXY Lady Insurance website

If you’re feeling lucky and in need of low cost car insurance sometime this year, be sure to visit the FOXY Lady Insurance website and register for a quote* to enter our best ever hotel competition for a stay at iconic Shard London Hotel this summer. That runs until 30 April 2015 and the lucky winner will be announced in May. This prize is worth £1500 including £500 spending money and is offered by our marvellous insurance partner Cornmarket Insurance Services Ltd.

The more insurance renewal dates you supply (we have car, motorcycle and home insurance services) the more entries you get in this competition. And the more times you’ll hear from friendly Cornmarket at renewal time of course.

We’re getting great feedback here and we’ll be doing our darnedest to get women the insurance rates they deserve, simply by seeking the safest drivers and excluding expensive boy racers that seem to chalk up the most expensive accidents and claims, which previously we were contributing towards.

So these are three really fab gifts for ladies who are following us. One for Valentines Day, another for Mothers Day and the biggest of all, for a fantastic summer holiday in London in the 5 star luxury Shangri-La Hotel that is part of the iconic Shard Hotel there.

Terms apply… but don’t miss out!

FOXY

*Our aim is to cut the cost of car insurance for 9 out of 10 members of FOXY Lady Drivers Club. Terms apply. Club members get the best rates but in 2015 non members who buy a FOXY Lady Insurance product will get a gift membership of the Club included in their deal.

Learning to Drive

Gender driving licence disqualifications

Copyright Peter Cheney, The Globe and Mail 2012
Copyright Peter Cheney, The Globe and Mail 2012
I could never understand why our insurance industry rolled over and let the EU tell them they could charge women the same as men for car insurance. When the gender risk remains the same, by and large.

And you must forgive me for being cynical when I read that motor insurance has become profitable during 2013 after many lean years.

The Gender Directive arrived in December 2012 so UK insurers had a good 12 months of potentially charging female drivers more.

Coincidence or contributory factor I wonder?

Probably too soon to tell, she says trying to be charitable.

However new figures obtained by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) confirm that male drivers between the ages of 20 and 30 were the most common group to be disqualified from driving in the 12 months between July 2013 and June 2014. And you have to drive badly to be disqualified of course as in collecting too many points on your licence, driving too fast and testing positive for drugs or alcohol.

These figures were supplied by the DVLA following a Freedom of Information request and reveal the age and gender groups most commonly carrying out a driving offence that then led to a subsequent driving ban.

As of 21 June 2014…
+ 92k UK drivers were disqualified between July 2013 and June 2014.
+ Just over a third of these (c31k) were men aged between 20 and 30.
+ Fewer than 15 per cent of the overall total were females.

I’m not saying that 15% is an acceptable level but if you factor in the increase in the number of women drivers and the mileage we now do, the statistics would have been even more marked in favour of safer female motorists in the early 90s.

And let’s just set the record straight about older drivers too. While 36k drivers between 20 and 30 were disqualified in the last 12 months only 10k were in their fifties and just 4k in their sixties.

So the evidence remains clear that it is the young male drivers that are in need of better preparation for motoring.

Not to be challenged by allegations that young men are better drivers than young women because they pass their test in fewer lessons. Whilst this is undoubtedly true, hasn’t anyone else worked out that the fact that young women are generally less confident learner drivers, take longer to pass their test and need more lessons to do so makes them safer drivers? My conclusion is that the testosterone driven male confidence factor allows too many young drivers to pass their test before they are sufficiently road savvy.

This is a gender issue and the sooner we realise that young male and female motorists are equal BUT VERY DIFFERENT, and should be treated differently, the better.

Simon Best, chief executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “These statistics strongly reflect the research we have already carried out in this area – that young males are very much the at risk group when it comes to driving safety.”

Hear, hear IAM.