The European Commission has issued guidelines for the insurance sector in the EU on ensuring equal treatment between women and men in determining insurance premiums. The guildlines apply to insurance contracts concluded from 21 December 2012.
The guidelines are a response to a judgment of the European Court of Justice in the Test-Achats case (C-236/09) from 1 March 2011 stating that insurance companies can no longer maintain differentiation between men and women in insurance premiums and benefits. Understanding gender as a risk factor for insurance contracts is a discriminatory act which is incompatible with the European principle of gender equality. Insurers responded with disappointment and concerns about how to reset the whole system.
"When the Court of Justice issued its decision in the Test-Achats case on 1 March this year, I promised that the Commission would help insurers and consumers adapt to the ruling," said European Commission for Justice Viviane Reding in a press release.
"By adopting these guidelines a full year ahead of the deadline to comply with the court’s ruling, we have lived up to our commitment. It is now up to the insurance industry to ensure that there is a smooth transition to fully equal treatment of men and women in insurance. The Commission will remain vigilant in how the industry implements the court’s ruling. I expect that insurers that move to a unisex tariff first will have a competitive advantage on the European market."
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