Cautious car owners in the UK can avoid paying the same sky-high insurance as boy racers by proving they can drive like women.
A new insurance firm called Drive Like A Girl promises to slash premiums for all customers - regardless of gender - if they drive smoothly, avoid rapid acceleration and harsh braking.
These qualities are typically exhibited by female drivers, insurers’ statistics reveal.
Last month, insurance firms were banned from taking gender into account when pricing premiums in Europe. This has left millions of women drivers facing hikes in the cost of cover.
KEEPING SCORE
But Drive Like a Girl will judge a driver’s behaviour by installing a little black box under their car dashboard.
A tiny computer in the box records driving style and habits then scores the driver accordingly. If they drive ‘like a girl’ they’ll get cheaper premiums.
To get top marks - and more money off - you also need to obey speed limits, take breaks on long journeys and not drive at night on a regular basis.
After three months, your premiums will either go down or stay the same, depending on your score.
After a year, those who fail to drive ‘like a girl’ will get no discount and will probably see their premiums rise. You can check your score online any time.
A 17-year-old female living in London driving a ten-year-old Ford Fiesta, for instance, will pay £1978 (R27 751) for her car insurance. But with a high score, she’ll get a 17.9 percent refund (£354.06 /R4967) after three months.
Since December 21 last year, EU rules have prevented insurers from charging different prices for men and women drivers.
For 17 and 18-year-old females, the average car-cover premium has leapt from £1307 to £1965 (R18 337 to R27 568) - an increase of 50 percent - according to price-comparison site uSwitch. -Daily Mail