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Safer wheels, better deals
By Emma Lunn
Women-only car insurers claim to have the fairer sex's best interests at heart, but are these specialist insurers genuinely offering female drivers a better deal?
Esure-owned Sheilas' Wheels, which launched two years ago, brought these specialist insurers to the public's attention with its all-singing, all-dancing 'Sheilas'. The brand now has nearly a quarter of a million customers and is currently recruiting more than 11,000 new customers a month - a growth rate that outstrips most mainstream insurance brands. Diamond, Diva Car and Girl Motor also specialise in women's insurance.
Of course, women will all agree they are safer drivers than men - and the statistics back them up. Home Office figures show that over the past five years, male drivers have accounted for 94% of all car accidents involving death or bodily harm in the UK; 97% of all dangerous driving convictions; 89% of all drink and drug driving convictions; 83% of all speeding convictions; and 85% of all careless driving convictions. This is despite the fact that the male-to-female ratio of drivers is currently split 55:45.
According to Sheilas' Wheels, women also tend to make cheaper claims - usually at a lower speed and closer to home - with far more involving parking and narrow streets. Men have more crashes on motorways and A-roads, and more accidents involving other people.
Comparing policies
But does this necessarily mean women need specialist female insurers? As these factors are generally borne in mind by all insurers, women typically pay less to insure their cars anyway. According to the Sainsbury's Bank car insurance premium index, the average premium for men is £518.46 as opposed to £442.28 for women.
While girl-power brands claim to offer women a better deal, a quick check of policy prices on the internet reveals that female-only insurers are regularly beaten by mainstream firms.
Moneywise looked at three different scenarios: a single 25-year-old woman living in London; a 35-year-old married mother of two living in Gravesend; and a 55-year-old woman living in Rochester. As the table opposite shows, the results were a mixed bag.
Diamond was the cheapest insurer for the first two scenarios, while Sheilas' Wheels and Diva Car both quoted more than £200 over the cheapest quote. But for the 55-year-old, Diva Car came out on top with £246.99 - £28.27 less than the next cheapest, mainstream insurer Budget, while Sheilas' Wheels and Diamond quoted £327.58 and £338.10.
However, when price comparison site MoneyExpert.com ran a different range of customer scenarios it found that general insurers consistently came out on top. The cheapest policy for a 35-year-old driving a 2002 Citroen C5, for example, was Swiftcover's at £198, while Sheilas' Wheels would charge £225, Diamond £261 and Diva Car £291. The average price of the top five women-only policies for this car was between £278 and £72 more than the premium offered by general insurers.
The results were similar for a 2002 Ford Focus. The cheapest general policy was again from Swiftcover at £146 and the cheapest deal from a women-only insurer was Sheilas' Wheels at £185.
Niki Bolton, spokeswoman for Sheila's Wheels, says that no insurer can claim to offer the cheapest quote for every driver but, by focusing solely on women, the company reflects the relative safety of female drivers through attractive premiums. "The key thing for any motorist is to shop around, not only for price but for quality too," she adds.
However, MoneyExpert chief executive Sean Gardner believes that by going straight to women-only providers, many women are ruling out some of the biggest names in the insurance market and some of the best-value policies on offer. "A large number of insurers will offer cheaper policies if you accept a higher level of excess in the event of a claim. Buying online can also result in big savings," he adds.
Check the details
But while the general policies may come out cheaper, customers should check their policy details to ensure that they are happy with the service they've signed up for.
Swiftcover, for example, comes out cheapest in both of the MoneyExpert scenarios, but a look at the policy details reveals that it places exclusions or less favourable conditions on some of the provisions which come as standard on other policies. For example, the excess paid by drivers under the age of 21 is £400 with Swiftcover - £100 more than the market average. And if your car is being repaired, you are only entitled to a complementary car for 14 days with Swiftcover, rather than for the entire period.
Whichever provider you choose, you can normally reduce your car insurance premium by adding a second driver, such as a partner or husband. And, despite their focus, women-only insurers also allow men to take out policies in their own names.
However, some mainstream insurers still maintain that female-only car insurers are a marketing gimmick and offer no real benefits. Emma Holyer, spokeswoman for insurer LV=, says: "Women drivers should not automatically assume that female-only insurers are the cheapest. Just because they only market to women doesn't mean they provide the best-value cover. It's always worth shopping around and checking prices with market-wide insurers as you'll often find they are more competitive."
Research by Moneysupermarket backs up Holyer's view. It reveals that the UK's top 10 most consistently cheap motor insurers does not include any specialist or female-only insurers. Instead, Swiftcover, the Post Office, Zurich, More Than and LV= are among those offering consistently low-cost policies.
Moneysupermarket.com managing director Richard Mason says: "With fair-weather insurers changing their pricing strategies overnight to meet their business targets, consistency is a useful gauge. But there's no substitute for spending a few minutes comparing the market when you want to know if you're getting the best-value deals."
Handbag cover
But Diamond managing director Sian Lewis insists that the company aims to be a "girl's best friend". As well as offering female drivers cheaper motor insurance, it includes some free extras. "These benefits include a guaranteed courtesy car for comprehensive policyholders if their car is repaired at a Diamond-approved garage and a free 24-hour roadside emergency helpline. Also, as we know how valuable handbags are to our customers, we have included up to £300 handbag cover on our comprehensive policy, free-of-charge."
Experts generally say that women looking to take out car insurance should focus on product details and pricing first, rather than the insurer's target customer base.
As well as being female, there are a few other things drivers can do to reduce their premiums. These include having a good driving history, parking off-road, being married and keeping your mileage down. Your occupation will also influence the premium you're quoted - if you play sports professionally or are a journalist, you will pay more than a bank manager or driving instructor.
As well as female-only specialists, there are other insurers that target specific groups. RIAS and Saga target those aged over 50, while Privilege targets drivers with a good safety record and five years or more no-claims bonus. But again with these insurers the message is the same: ignore the marketing and shop around to see if they are really offering you the best deal.
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