New research has shown that car insurance premiums rose by 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year and female motorists are not getting the same premium discounts they did in the past.

According to the 2010 Confused/EMB Car Insurance Price Index, published by Confused.com, the cost of car insurance has risen by 14.3 per cent since April of last year. This transfers to an average £66 increase in car insurance cover over the year, to £524. In the first quarter of this year alone, premiums have grown by an average of £21.

Traditionally female drivers have enjoyed lower insurance premiums but it seems that this trend is changing. While women drivers still pay less for their car insurance on average than their male counterparts, younger female drivers (21-35 years) are being hit with premium increases that are higher than the market average.

Confused.com’s product director, Simon Lamble, said that motorists are likely to shop around even more to get the best deals to combat the increase in premiums.

On the subject of female drivers, Peter Lee from EMB added: “In pure monetary terms, younger females still pay less and younger females cost insurers less overall in claims than younger men. But the recent larger increases affecting women suggest that many insurers are narrowing this price differential between the sexes at younger ages."

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!