SINGLE women drivers are more of a risk behind the wheel than married ones – and have to pay a higher insurance premium.
That was what Birmingham motorist Eileen McCann was told when she telephoned her insurance company to tell them they incorrectly had her down as married on her car insurance renewal documents.
She says that when she rang the RAC to get the category changed to single so the policy was accurate she was thanked for informing them, but told she would now have to pay an additional £56.
“When I asked them why, they said it was because they considered single woman more of a risk and so there was an additional premium. I just couldn’t believe it, especially as I have been with them for some years and all the correspondence to me has always been correctly addressed as Miss Eileen McCann so they have always known I was not married.
“I telephoned back some time later to check it again and was told by another member of staff it was correct but the additional premium would be £58.”
Miss McCann, of Kings Norton added: “They told me it was because the policy was underwritten by Aviva, but when I telephoned Aviva to ask if they penalised single women drivers they assured me it wasn’t the case and they had never heard of anything like it.
“This seems to be discrimination by the RAC. And I just wonder how many other women are driving around with inaccuracies like this on their policies which could technically mean they are not insured.”
In a statement the RAC said: “It is insurance industry standard practice to consider the marital status in the calculations for motor insurance quotes for all customers. Generally speaking single people pay higher premiums than those who are married or cohabiting and any change to the status will result in a change in premium.
“We recognise that on this occasion the marital status of the policyholder had been captured incorrectly. We sincerely apologise to Miss McCann.”
Miss McCann, a retired financial services manager with the NHS, is so disgusted at the attitude of the RAC she has now insured her car with another company – which doesn’t charge single woman more for their insurance than married ones.
