Gender insurance ruling: case study

Jade Sell has been driving since she passed her test nearly four years ago aged 17, and relies on her car to get to and from her work "in the middle of nowhere". But the 20-year-old, who works as a stable lass at a private racing stable and stud farm outside Dorking, Surrey, says she is deeply worried about the impact on her finances of today's "unfair" ruling . The insurance premium for fully comprehensive cover on her second-hand VW Golf, which she bought in December, is slightly more than £1,000 a year. She is expecting a steep rise of about 25% from next year in the premiums she pays her insurer, AA Insurance, as a result of the controversial ruling from the European court of justice. She has had no accidents in her four years as a driver and thinks the decision is very unfair. Her brother, who is two years older than her, drives a Nissan Micra and is "a typical boy on the roads" with a couple of accidents under his belt, but even he thinks the ruling is flawed. Sell says she needs the car for work and couldn't manage without it, although the higher premiums will undoubtedly put a huge squeeze on her limited budget: "This is not the sort of area with public transport. I am very reluctant to give up this car and I am locked into a finance agreement which it would be difficult to get out of without financial penalty. I pay about £95 a month for that. "The higher premiums would be a big chunk out of my disposable income and I am not sure how I will manage."