Which? accuses car insurer of discriminating against non-UK born drivers

Consumer champions, Which? has accused The Admiral Group of breaking race relations laws by discriminating against drivers born outside of the UK.

The car insurance giant which includes Admiral, Bell, Diamond and Elephant.co.uk was revealed to be offering high insurance quotes to foreign-born motorists on average 18 per cent high than UK born drivers. Following its investigation the consumer publication took legal advice and its experts have advised that this practice is in breach of the Race Relations Act 1976.

Which? Chief Executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, said: “It is outrageous to charge someone more for insurance just because they haven’t lived in the UK for their entire lives.  We believe that this kind of discrimination has been outlawed for decades.

“We’re calling on the Admiral Group to stop this shameful practice immediately.”

The consumer champ now intends to pass details of its investigation onto the Equalities and Human Rights Commission for further investigation.

Which? obtained quotes from four Admiral Group brands and 15 other major car insurance providers for two scenarios in which the only difference was whether or not the applicant was born in the UK.  Insurers with the Admiral Group were the only ones in our research to ask ‘have you lived in the UK since birth’ and then charge a higher premium for those who answered ‘no’ where all other factors remained the same.

A spokesperson from the insurance group told Which?:“Admiral respects every customer, regardless of race, colour or religion.  We do not rate on race, colour or religion but we do rate on the age someone first comes to the UK.  Our advice is that this is consistent with the Race Relations Act.”

Author: Faye Sunderland, March 17th, 2010
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