European Court of Justice rules on gender discrimination case
Under existing EU law, insurance companies are expressly allowed to offer different insurance premiums and benefits to men and women. Prudential complies with the relevant law as it currently stands. The European Court of Justice has announced today in a landmark ruling that this practice will no longer be lawful from 21 December 2012 because it is discriminatory. The judgement will result in a fundamental change for the industry and for our customers as it will affect all forms of insurance that use gender as a rating factor, including annuities, protection, private medical insurance and motor insurance.
The UK Government must now decide how the judgement will be implemented as a matter of UK law. We will be working with our legal advisers, the Association of British Insurers, Government and the Regulator to ensure that appropriate clarity is achieved in relation to the judgement. In the meantime, for Prudential UK it is business as usual.
