Male motorists pay up to 79% more for car insurance than females in the same age group according to research by price comparison website MoneySupermarket.com.

The biggest disparity in pricing between males and females is in the young driver market, where male motorists are being handicapped by the boy racer reputation.

Statistics

The following statistics reveal the average car insurance premiums which are offered to motorists in the following age brackets who own a 1.25 litre Ford Fiesta travelling the average 10,000 miles per year:

It can clearly be seen that young male motorists are the most penalised groups when it comes to insurance discrimination, with 18 year old male drivers paying on average £3,092.42 per year more for car insurance than their female equivalents.

Why are young men so heavily penalised?

According to government figures, male motorists are the recipients of more than 98% of the convictions for dangerous driving which are handed out in the UK each year.

Additionally, research by the road safety organisation Brake revealed that one in four of the fatal crashes which occur in the UK each involve drivers under the age of 25. This is despite the fact that motorists in this age group make up just 12.5% of the total driving population in the country.

When put into the context of these statistics, it is unsurprising that young male motorists are on the receiving end of such high prices, with the insurance companies ultimately being the ones who are forced to fork out for the costs of accidents involving their car insurance customers.

The fairness of statistics

There has been much debate over the fairness of using these statistics in order to determine car insurance quotes. One side of the argument, which has the support of the AA, is that there are "sound statistical reasons" to help justify why males pay more than females, with insurers using these statistics in order to quantify the level of risk a potential customer represents.

This is a viewpoint which is shared by MoneySupermarket.com's Julie Owens, who added that it would be unfair to distribute the additional costs accrued for the insurer by these unsafe motorists on groups which are statistically safer drivers.

However this is not the opinion of everyone, with a 21 year old male contributor to the MoneySupermarket.com forum complaining: "I'm 21 next week and I pay £1,780 insurance for a 1.2 Corsa. I consider myself to be a good driver and don't believe I should be charged more because the typical 21 year old male is a boy racer. I'm not!"

New regulations

These arguments were recently presented to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) following a campaign by Belgian consumer group Test-Achats.

The ECJ ultimately decreed that it was unfair to use gender to discriminate against motorists in the insurance market. It is expected that female car insurance prices will increase by up to 30% on the back of this, which will add an additional £1,242.46 to the average 18 year old female's car insurance premiums.

Julia Owen's prediction about the insurer's expenditure being recovered from statistically safer motorists is ultimately being proven. But despite the ECJ ruling, the fairness of this method is still a matter of much debate in the industry.