A new opportunity for males, and in particular young males, to avail of significantly reduced premiums for car insurance arose at the end of December 2012. The astute young male driver can cancel his insurance policy on or after December 21st 2012 and rearrange a NEW policy availing of the inevitable cheaper car insurance rates that will be on the market post EU Gender Directive.

Some companies have already adjusted their systems to take the new rules into account and you may see your insurance premium rates go up or down as a result. Younger women, for example, have historically paid cheaper car insurance premiums than young men to reflect their lower risk as a group, but this will no longer be the case.

--> The EU gender directive, widely known as ‘the European ruling on gender’, will mean that there will be changes to insurers’ use of gender-based pricing and cover. At the start of 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled that insurers could no longer consider your gender when calculating insurance premium rates and any benefits.

Before you rush out to get new quotes, check first that you are entitled to a pro-rata refund on your current car insurance policy.  Do NOT assume that you are. It is vital that you check out the small print of your existing insurance cover before you cancel your existing car insurance and before you take out a new car insurance policy.  It would be very disappointing indeed if you were to go to the trouble and expense of taking out a new car insurance policy only to discover that your existing insurance company is only refunding ten percent of the premium already paid!


The European Court of Justice was ruling on a challenge by a Belgian consumer group Test-Achats. It had argued that the exemption for insurers contradicted the wider European principle of gender equality.

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The two most likely scenarios where you are not entitled to a pro rata refund are as follows;

1. Most insurance companies will not give a pro rata refund if a car insurance policy is cancelled during the first year of insurance. If you are with an insurance broker such as QuoteMe.ie a quick call or email will clear this up for you.

2. The second instance where you may not be entitled to a pro-rata refund on cancellation is if you have had a claim on your existing car insurance policy.