Young female drivers in U.K. saw premiums rise 22% after gender-based pricing ruling

Auto insurance premiums for young female drivers in the United Kingdom have risen an average of 22.1% since the  European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the gender-based pricing, a new study suggests.

Since Dec. 21, 2012, female drivers between ages 17 and 19 have seen an inflation of their premiums of £231 ($365) on average, suggests analysis from quote website MoneySupermarket.com.

Male drivers in the same age group have seen an 11.2% fall in premiums, or £184 ($291) on average, but still typically pay more than females of the same age, the analysis suggests. Young males still have the highest premiums of all groups, the company notes.

Typical premiums for women in other age groups have not increased, and premiums are generally falling overall, it notes.

“The introduction of the gender rules was always going to cause concern as the impact on premiums, in particular, female premiums was always an unknown,” Peter Harrison of MoneySupermarket.com noted in a statement.

“However, the UK car insurance market is one of the most sophisticated in the world, with insurers using other factors other than gender to calculate premiums. In addition, it appears that the competitive nature of insurance is helping keep premiums down,” he added.

The website’s analysis was carried out on a sample of quotes between Dec. 3,  2012 and Jan. 13, 2013.