Differing car insurance premium rates for males and females are soon to become a thing of the past with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that it is now illegal to charge different rates based on gender. Women with private van insurance will also be affected by this.
Women drivers generally have cheap business van insurance compared to men, but starting on December 12th, 2012, their rates are expected to increase by an average of 25% for drivers under the age of 25.
Putting an end to gender discrimination is the reasoning behind the ECJ's ruling, despite statistics which show women cause fewer high cost road accidents than men.
The think tank Open Europe believes that a female motorist who begins driving at the age of 17 will have to pay an average of £500 more a year, spending a total of £4,300 more than she would at present by the time she turns 26.
Cheap private van insurance for women is coming to an end or so it seems and, as has been expected, there has been some backlash towards this ruling. The research director of Open Europe spoke up saying, "The ruling has pushed anti-discrimination legislation beyond the realms of all common sense."