Tag Archives: Sheilas Wheels

Women control family finances

Yet more evidence about the power of the female purse when it comes to taking control of household finances.

According to a new survey from Sheilas’ Wheels 28 per cent of couples have no idea what their partner earns, or what savings or debt they might have.

And when it comes to the gender divide, men are seen to be the most dishonest about money with almost a third (29 per cent) admitting they are not open about finance with their partner.

But this mistrust is shared with many women too! Despite more than half of women (51 per cent) taking charge of the bills in the relationship many females would rather ask their friends for financial advice than their partner.

In fact 36% of the women in this study keep their bank accounts divided to maintain a sense of financial independence. But when we have good news such as a pay increase or an unexpected windfall, 42% of us treat our partners and 67 per cent use our own bank account to buy them a present at least twice a year.

And I am fairly sure that most men do this too.

Isn’t it human nature for us all to want to ringfence some personal money for things we REALLY want versus the things our joint incomes buy as essentials? Regardless of how much we earn or the money we have for the household budget.

Vive la difference … although I wouldn’t like to think my husband was hiding significant stashes from me 😉

FOXY

PS: The image I chose is a bit of fun – yes women are saddled with the reputation of being dizzy shoe and handbag shoppers but I think that is by and large unfair. Most of us know the bills come first and we are good at budgeting for them (and then allowing an occasional treat of course, when there’s funds to spare…)

Foxy handbags make the difference

To get a fair car insurance premium, women drivers may need to shop for female friendly cover options including the likes of designer handbag cover in motor insurance policies in future.The sort of handbags that men won’t need cover for…

Last week women drivers looked likely to be the car insurance losers as a result of the recent EU ruling to equalise gender premiums.

But now I’m not so sure this is how it will work out in the end for the creative insurers. In fact I predict there will be many new ways to create a fair insurance formula to reward women with the car insurance premiums they deserve by simply differentiating the product so it isn’t what men want to buy. Designer handbag cover is an excellent example of this.

After a lot of female furore in the EU and in our offices recently, the indignant heat seems to be off for a while because the ruling only applies from December 2012. It’ll be a while before women start to feel the car insurance premium pinch.

But assuming that the reported doom and gloom were true, this is what we can be fairly certain will happen as a result of the EU ruling…

  • Women will pay a lot more for their car insurance (which may deter the younger ones from learning to drive)
  • Men will pay a bit less so perhaps MORE risky younger ones will be able to afford to drive younger (the probability of their accidents will keep premiums high for young men)
  • Women will pay towards young men’s accidents (that’s the same as paying into insurers coffers then out again in male claims)
  • All insurers will work hard to earn as much as they can (in what has been an unprofitable sector for some for years)
  • Many insurers will see this as an opportunity to bump up rates for existing female customers (a short term but likely lucrative strategy for the uber greedy)

But the good news is that female insurance brands like Sheilas’ Wheels, Diamond and Ladybird insurance won’t face the same underwriting concerns because they don’t have to underwrite for men (by and large) so they won’t need to demonstrate equal rates. This means they can underwrite using probability models where women, being the less dangerous and less expensive gender to insure, pay less than men would do, all things being equal.

So we can expect to see a spate of new pink and frilly brand names for car insurance products for women. Insurers that don’t already have a FOXY Lady-like brand can be seen to offer benefits that are clearly female friendly, like handbag cover, compared to a Brut-like brand for men with benefits such as toolbox cover ;-)… that sort of thing.

An opportunity for a FOXY Lady-like insurance brand for women perhaps?

FOXY

All feedback about women’s car insurance is welcome – where relevant and news to us, we share this within FOXY Lady Drivers Club.

Are ‘want it all’ women happy?

Yes I have been fiercely ambitious during my life but the opportunity cost of business success can be a personal one. I can’t help thinking that women who want it all have either been fed a lifestyle myth (by delighted men and miserable women) or they’ll realise what they’ve missed when it’s too late to do anything about it.

I am not sure why want it all women seem to need total control of their lives. We’re forever reading about female career role models, Supermums, domestic goddesses and celebrity sex symbols. How do they do all this and why am I expected to follow suit?  I’m weary enough surviving from morning to night as is, let alone with ‘perfection’ waving at me from a ‘must have’ horizon…

I think feminism has gone too far here and taken a wrong turning even; surely life is intended to be a balanced partnership, not a battle of the sexes? And what cost a career if, by the time you’ve got to the top and look round for a partner to share your spoils with, all the best husbands have been bagged. I can’t imagine anyone choosing to bring up a child on your own… it’s difficult enough when there’s two of you.

Why this topic? I’ve just read some new research from esure’s privately owned insurance provider Sheilas Wheels (no longer part of HBOS/Lloyds). They do mischief PR surveys to draw attention to their female insurance products; this one suggests that nearly one in three women in their sample now bring home a higher salary than their partner and that one in five women are now the main or sole earners in their household.

Apparently 44 per cent of men in the UK would happily stay at home to look after the family and household to let their partners bring home the bacon. Perhaps they think that’s a cushier number? They’d be wrong of course but not so daft perhaps if their female partner works AND organises everything for them to do.

How sad that 12 per cent of this female sample consider a big salary to be the most important aspect and one in five (19 per cent) said that being passionate about their job is top of their list. A ripple effect from The Apprentice TV show perhaps? This research also found that over one million career-hungry women would choose success in the workplace over a relationship.

A more realistic finding, in my FOXY motoring-related experience, is that one in eight (12 per cent) women have returned to work because of the recession and a third (30 per cent) have increased their working hours to help boost the family income.

This reminds me of recent Boston Consulting Group research where women admitted to being stressed, short of time and overburdened. They wanted time saving services and to do business with organisations they could trust; ones who treated them as equals of course but recognised their female needs and differences.

Fortunately we all know that women come in different shapes, sizes and combinations throughout their lives – community mums, career executives, voluntary altruists and soloists of all ages.  No matter what it can be tough being a female because we are likely to berate ourselves for not doing more or better.

But the truth is that women are the nurturing/caring gender by nature and men are the born forager/providers; no harm in trying to adjust the balance a bit on occasion but we can’t odds our natural genes no matter how hard some try.

FOXY

Women wanting to save time and enjoy female friendly money saving services should consider joining FOXY Lady Drivers Club for help, advice, information and support when it comes to running their family cars.

For details of female friendly UK garages that recognise what busy women want, see FOXY Choice.

Why distracted drivers should stay cool

According to Sheilas Wheels women are calmer, safer and better drivers than men in the summer.

Yet another provocative headline designed to wind men up ;-).

Too much visual distraction...This because, apparently, men get more distracted and irritable than women in the heat. As the temperature starts to rise so does their temper and their testosterone, when the temptation of totty talent proves irresistible.

After all, men are not famous for their multi-tasking abilities…

Perhaps scantily clad females are equally to blame and should carry a health warning during summer months; something like ‘Look at me and you might crash.’

But what I’d really like to know is whether women aren’t the better drivers in the winter as well?

Could it be that the cold weather slows male drivers down?

In which case turn the air conditioning up to its maximum guys during the summer months and let’s see if it keeps us all safer on the roads no matter the season.

FOXY

“A lot of guys think the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less intelligent she is.  I don’t think it works like that.  I think it’s the opposite.  I think the larger a woman’s breasts are, the less intelligent the men become.”
Anita Wise

An election manifesto for foxy wives

Apparently one in four women are more interested in politics since the rise of the PWAG (Politicians Wives and Girlfriends…)

Almost a quarter of women (24 per cent) are taking a more avid interest in political affairs thanks to foxy women in politics such as Sarah Brown and Samantha Cameron, according to research by motor insurer Sheilas’ Wheels.

Although I find this hard to believe (depending on the politician I suppose…) apparently one in six women (17 per cent) said they would consider dating or marrying a politician since the rise in popularity of the PWAG.

88 per cent of women questioned admit that the PWAG has had an influence on their behaviour and the way they conduct themselves, choosing modesty over brashness.  A further 72 per cent of the women surveyed claim the PWAG is a big influence on their wardrobe – way ahead of the WAG with 28 per cent of the vote.

Additionally, over a third (37 per cent) of British women would rather be, or be like, Samantha Cameron compared with a fifth (21 per cent) who voted for original WAG Victoria Beckham.

Testament to their growing fan base, Sarah Brown has 1,117,984 followers on Twitter.  Samantha Cameron has also set up her own YouTube channel, with her first film being viewed over 22,500 times to date(3).

Jacky Brown at  Sheilas’ Wheels comments:  “It seems that Samantha Cameron and Sarah Brown are really becoming the talk of the nation in the run up to the election this year and it is great to see that British women seem to be looking up to this new breed of empowering female role model.”

FOXY exclusive – we predict an increase in the sales of Converse trainers as worn by SamCam…

FOXY

Visit FOXY Lady Drivers Club to find out about female friendly motoring services that women appreciate.