EU drops sex bias plans

BRUSSELS has dropped controversial proposals that would have prevented insurers from discriminating between male and female policyholders.

It is well known that young men drive more aggressively and crash more often than young women and this fact is borne out by insurance industry statistics and recognised in the higher premiums charged to young men when they apply for motor insurance.

The EU had planned to outlaw this reality through a Gender Discrimination Directive but in a late concession has now exempted insurance companies from the measures, so long as insurers can prove that gender makes a material difference to the risk profile of the customer.

Insurers have long argued that the EU‘s gender discrimination proposals were nonsensical since the risk profiles of male and female drivers were very different. The same applies for non-motor insurance policies, particularly life and health because men and women have very different claim patterns and varying life expectancies.

Adrian Webb, head of external communications at esure, described the climbdown as a ?vote for common sense‘.

He added: ?We have opposed these measures right from the start. It was obviously not right that insurers should be told to charge the same premiums for a young male driver as a female one, when we know from experience that the two will make quite different numbers of claims.‘

'The statistics speak for themselves - 97% of dangerous driving offences and 89% of drink-driving offences are committed by men. Gender does affect behaviour.'

Joanne Mallon, car insurance manager at Sainsbury's Bank, said insurers would have found it impossible to keep premium prices down if they had been forced to subsidise one group of motorists at the expense of another.

?We're pleased that sense has prevailed. It would be extremely unfair for a safer motorist to pay more in order to subsidise the premium of a more risky driver, be that due to their gender, driving history, the type of car they drive or any other factor.

?We have a good record for offering competitive prices to our customers and using the fullest information possible is the fairest way to set our premiums because it allows us to offer every driver the lowest premium possible according to their individual circumstances.‘

The European Commission still requires insurers to treat men and women the same when it comes to premiums and benefits. But all European member states have now agreed that this rule can be overlooked when gender is a decisive factor in assessing risks for particular.