Car insurance for women drivers of a pensionable age is more expensive than for drivers of any other demographic, according to a recent study by AA motor insurance.
The insurer illustrated this by showing the disparity in the price of car insurance for women drivers of 55 and 85; a 55-year-old woman driver would expect to pay around £186 to insure a Renault Clio, while an 85-year-old would expect to pay a comparatively whacking £385.
Astonishingly, this means that older women motorists pay even more for their cover than 25-year-old male drivers; a group traditionally viewed as high risk.
The insurance industry would argue that there is some foundation for making car insurance for women drivers of pensionable age more expensive; although women under 50 are less likely to have an accident, those over 50 tend to become responsible for an increased rate of claims as the years pass.
This situation contrasts sharply with the experience of male drivers, who when young are more likely to be the cause of a claim, but once aged 50 are involved in a decreasing number of accidents.