Pink car insurance – is it really cheaper?

No doubt you've seen the adverts of ladies in pink singing about how they get cheaper insurance – with the car they drive they'll need it - or a hairdressing salon spontaneously bursting into song and dance at a clients amazing deal…but is the new wave of women-only car insurance really as good as it sounds?

As it turns out – not necessarily. Despite the claims of the 'pink insurers', women can still end up paying almost as much as men for their car insurance. It's all down to individual circumstances.

For example, a 35 year old married woman driving a Citroen C5 could get quoted between £225 and £291 with women-only insurers, yet with mainstream insurers could get a quote as low as £212 or even £198. Most insurers will offer a cheaper quote for women drivers, regardless of their customer base.

It's not all bad news for women thinking about car insurance though. Most women-only insurers offer added extras to their policies that you may not get from a mainstream company, such as handbag cover, and a network of 'female-friendly' repairers that don't have the patronising attitude towards women drivers that's so stereotypical.

Having said that, most insurers will offer a contents cover with their policies anyway, although it may be an extra feature rather than a standard one. And most garages nowadays understand that women can know as much about cars as men, and will not take kindly to being sneered at by a burly mechanic. So is the 'we protect females' attitude from insurers actually necessary?

The bottom line is, male or female, look at a motor insurance policy for what it can offer you, not your gender. Get several car insurance quotes from both mainstream and women-only companies, and you're bound to find one that suits you.