Govt says no ECJ ban on age-based underwriting - yet

Jonathan Rees, director general of the Government Equalities Office, has reassured insurers there will not be a ban on age-based insurance pricing in the near future.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of such a decision from EU regulators entirely.

In March, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled the use of gender in underwriting insurance contracts discriminatory, and will ban the practice from 21 December 2012.

The basis for the case is the EU gender directive, which enshrines gender equality in law.

Speaking at the ABI Conference on 22 June, Rees said: "There is not an age or a disability directive, but only treaty and case law, so this ruling on gender will not lead to an automatic read-across to age and there will be no immediate impact here.

"However, we are not saying ‘do not worry at all', but it is not an immediate concern."

Labour MEP Mary Honeyball, who sits on the EU women's committee which campaigned hard for the gender ban, told insurers at the conference they should have worked more closely with the EU on the issue.

"This ruling is in existence. You may not like it, but the question now is what to do next," Honeyball told insurers.

"More lobbying and engagement with the EU will help in future and then perhaps things like this would not come as such a surprise."