It is possible that men could be in the position of having to pay less for their student car insurance if the European Court of Justice rules that motor insurers can no longer continue to discriminate on the basis of gender.
However, if the discrimination action, which has been supported by advocate general, Juliane Kokott, proves successful, young women may stand to pay more for their student car insurance than they do under the existing insurance rules.
In fact, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that women may have to pay as much as 25% more for the cost of their cover.
ABI spokesperson Malcolm Tarling comments, "We believe this will be extremely detrimental to UK consumers. If insurers aren't able to take into account risk factors, it will have widespread implications."
A number of those associated with the industry have expressed concern that the move could actually result in an increase in road traffic accidents. They argue that as young men may have to pay less for the student car insurance, they might be tempted into driving higher performance vehicles.
A spokesperson from Woman driver insurance company Sheila's Wheels comments, "If young men's premiums are artificially reduced, this could lead to more opting to choose more powerful vehicles, thus ending up with the same net cost for a more powerful car.
"It is particularly alarming given that the head of the Association of Police Officers in the UK in 2005 noted that the biggest killer of young women in Britain is their boyfriend's and male friends' driving."