A recent survey by The Sun newspaper has found that motorists named “Mohammed” are being charged more for their insurance than those called “John Smith”.
The survey by The Sun found top insurance firms quote drivers named “John” almost £1,000 less than those named “Mohammed”.
The most shocking example we found was an Admiral quote via Go Compare where identical details apart from the name were inserted, The Sun reported.
When it was “John Smith” wanting fully comprehensive insurance for a 2007 Ford Focus in Leicester the quote was £1,333.
But for “Mohammed Ali” it was £2,252 – £919 more.
One victim of the scandal – Mohammed Butt – said: “its racism, pure and simple. They cannot say Mohammeds are worse drivers than Johns.”
The Sun received 60 quotes after entering details into comparison websites including Go Compare, which show results from each specific insurance company.
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A Mohammed Smith living in London was quoted more for a policy than a man with the name John Smith.
And a John Smith living in Southampton was able to insure a 2009 Renault Clio for £992 with one company.
However, a Raj Singh living at the same address would have to pay £1,023 – £31 more even though all of the details were the same.
We would hope that this would not be the case. Many companies, like Covered, don’t do this. However, to see any doing so is concerning.
But one company today told The Sun: “We do not and never have used a customer’s name or any other piece of information to rate on race.
“The insurance quotes were not like for like.”
