One of Ireland's largest motor insurers has admitted the day of the week on which a customer was born will affect their premium.
Research into the cost of insuring found there was a levy of as much as 8pc on someone's policy purely due to the day of the week on which someone was born, with Sunday and Tuesday being the unlucky days.
In an example of a 2007 Volkswagen Golf, driven by a 25-year-old man born in July, the cost of insurance varied by as much as €126 a year depending on the day of the week.
When asked about the variances in pricing, a spokeswoman for RSA said it adhered to all regulatory requirements when offering quotes.
"A range of factors make up insurance premiums, from vehicle make and model and where a person lives, to driver experience, claims experience, licence type and driver date of birth," she said. "These can result in a wide variance of premiums from one risk to another."
The pricing variances were tested across numerous criteria, including changed address, dates of birth, vehicles with all resulting is similar variances in prices.'
The director of the Alliance for Insurance Reform, Peter Boland, said the pricing anomaly was the result of a lack of data available in the industry. "It sounds very random from our point of view and I couldn't explain it," he said.
"We can't do anything to restrict commercial companies from doing business and, odd though it may seem, what they do with their pricing is entirely up to them. It raises a much bigger point which is that, despite the fact we're legally obliged to have motor insurance, there is no oversight of that market."
The cost of motor insurance has dipped by 6.9pc over the last year, according to the Central Statistics Office.
