We’re not accustomed to dealing with rock stars at the PriceWatch desk but that changed last week when Paul Noonan from the band Bell X1 got in touch to complain about the blatant discrimination he says he received at the hands of an insurance company. Having just recently earned his first no-claims bonus entitlement, Noonan decided to shop around for the best insurance deal. He contacted FBD and, after dutifully answering all the questions about age, driving experience, make and model of car and more, he was asked for his occupation. “Musician,” he answered. He was then put on hold for an age with no option but to listen to “some awful version of Mr Bojangles”.

Some time later the insurance man came back on the line to tell him that FBD didn’t quote musicians. “I am new to this business of getting car insurance, but have long heard that we music types should lie about what we do when applying for it, as it’ll be insanely expensive or they’ll not quote at all, like some bouncer taking a look at your footwear and general unkemptness, and saying ‘not tonight, bud’.”

He says it is possible that studies and statistics exist that “show musicians to be a menace to other road users and property when driving, but I doubt it”. He absolutely accepts that some people should pay more car insurance than others, but thinks it should be “based on qualitative data, not lazy stereotyping, ignorance, and Pete Doherty”.

We contacted FBD to ask if it had a policy of refusing cover to musicians. A spokesman said that in the past there had been a list of “non-target businesses”, which included bookies, journalists, musicians and sky-divers, among others. He said many insurance companies’ reluctance to take on musicians “went back to a time when some musicians would have been comfortable having a few drinks and then driving home late at night from gigs”. He accepted times have changed and said FBD has too.

We were reassured that the company was now perfectly willing to cover musicians (and journalists; sky divers, on the other hand, may still have problems) and felt Noonan must have been given “misinformation”. He resolved to clarify the situation among staff at the company’s call centre in Mullingar. Incidentally, the spokesman also claimed to be a big fan of Bell X1 and said FBD had bought a thousand copies of The Cake Sale - the charity CD the band was heavily involved in last year - to give to all its staff as a present last Christmas.