It's equality but is it fair?

Insurance premiums to change after ECJ gender ruling

Insurers cannot charge different premiums to men and women because of their gender, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

The decision means that women can no longer be charged lower car insurance premiums than men, and the cost of buying a pensions annuity will change.

The court was ruling on a challenge by a Belgian consumer group Test-Achats.

It had argued that a current exemption for insurers contradicted the wider European principle of gender equality.

"Taking the gender of the insured individual into account as a risk factor in insurance contracts constitutes discrimination," the ECJ said.

The requirement for unisex insurance premium and benefits will start on 21 December 2012, giving national governments and the European insurance industry time to adjust.

Different risks

For car insurance, women are generally a lower risk to insure than men but will, in due course, have to pay the same premiums.

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) said currently the cost of the average car claim by an 18-year old man was £4,400, while that for an 18-year old woman was £2,700.

"The ruling will have a significant effect on the insurance industry which has used the system of risk based pricing to award discounts to lower risk drivers like young females who are statistically safer drivers," said Graeme Trudgill of BIBA.

"The industry will have to change its model and effectively females will now pay a cross subsidy for males on their insurance premiums."

Simon Douglas of AA Insurance told BBC News that the decision could add about £400 to the annual cost of car insurance for a young woman.

"Particularly for women under 30 where the difference is most extreme, they currently pay about half what a man would pay," he said.

"We could see their prices go up 25-30% and men's premiums could fall by about 10%."

Pensions

The ECJ decision will also affect the cost of buying an annuity - an annual pension - as women live for longer than men and so receive a smaller annual pension for the same pot of money.

The insurance industry has warned that the change will lead to men receiving a smaller annuity income than they do now when their benefits are brought into line with those for women.

Tom McPhail, a pension specialist at the investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said the ECJ decision was a "seismic event which will fundamentally reshape the retirement landscape".

He predicted that annuity rates would equalise for men and women, at levels higher than female rates but "significantly worse" than current annuity rates for men.

"Rates will be volatile for the next few months as insurers monitor their new business and adjust their pricing in response to experience," Mr McPhail said.

Darren Philp, of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), said he was disappointed with the ECJ decision, which would lead to a worsening of people's pension incomes.

"The data shows that there is a clear difference between them when it comes to longevity," he said.

"It is therefore perfectly reasonable for annuity providers to offer rates on the basis of this difference, as long as it is based on clear evidence."



Is this a fair decision?

Comments

Sir Joseph said…

Hi Graham,

I can see you have written an article about the Spanish lockdown. I think it is good. You have fulfilled the profession that you bear inside. I congratulate you. You have begun the article gently, after you go on harder and you finish strongly. It´s okay. I respect your opinion but I don´t agree.

About if the insurance premium and the pension premium is or not equality and fair, it depends on your point of view. As the insurance premium for women as the pension premium for men is equality but not fair. On the contrary, as the insurance premium for men as the pension premium for women is equality and it can be fair. I mean, when I pay less money for the premium is equality and if I pay more is unfair. It´s always the same.

In any case, if the European Court of Justice has ruled, it´s nothing we can do. Everybody has to pay the same, -women and men-, okay? Companies said that this rule worsens this situation but they have the right to appeal for change it. It is said that women have lower risk than men but they are going to equalise because both are going to achieve the same habits now. Both work the same, both smoke the same and the society treats both in a similar way.

See you.
Graham said…
Afternoon José,

If I were to be the journalist that I have inside, I'd have to improve my typing skills - I am very careless. I have noticed more mistakes in my previous reply to you.

(3rd paragraph)It is reckless of politicians to urge their supporters to take to the streets ...

Somehow I delete the words I put in bold. In my Skype classes, I am forever making typos.

Anyway, the thing about this topic isn't so much the fairness or otherwise of this change in the law. I get on my high horse about the European Court of Justice.

Hopefully, our Boris will disentangle us from the ECJ. I could go on and on about it but that is all I'll say for now.



... You begin the article gently, then you go on harder and you finish strongly. ...

As to whether the insurance premium and the pension premium is or not equality and fair, depends on your point of view. The insurance premium for women as the pension premium for men is equality but not fair. On the contrary, the insurance premium for men and the pension premium for women is equality and it can be fair. I mean, when I pay less money for the premium, it is equality and if I pay more, it is unfair. It´s always the same.

In any case, if the European Court of Justice has ruled, there's nothing we can do. Everybody has to pay the same, -women and men-, okay? Companies said that this rule worsens this situation but they have the right to appeal to change it. It is said that women have lower risks than men but they are going to equalise because both are going to behave in exactly the same way. Both work the same, both smoke the same and the society treats both in a similar way.


I wonder how many typos I have made today ...