By Chris Gibbings
Young women could face paying an extra £4,300 for car insurance as EU judges prepare to rule whether charging women lower premiums than men breaches European sex discrimination rules.
The judges are to rule on Tuesday in a move which may see women under 26 having to pay around 25% more for car insurance as men's rates drop by around 10%, the Association of British Insurers said.
This would mean an average extra £4,300 more for women drivers aged 17 to 25, but men saving £3,250 over the same period, said Open Europe, the think tank campaigning for EU reforms.
At worst, women drivers' cumulative car insurance costs could be up to £9,300, said Open Europe.
Basing car insurance rates on statistics about the differing life expectancies or road accident records of men and women is standard practice across Europe.
It is specifically permitted in EU anti-discrimination rules which allows member states to discriminate on insurance rates and benefits "if sex is a determining risk factor, and that can be substantiated by relevant and accurate actuarial and statistical data."
But an Advocate-General at the European Court of Justice has advised judges that the concession in the EU "Gender Directive" is countermanded by "higher-ranking" equality provisions set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Lisbon Treaty.
If that legal "opinion" is upheld in Tuesday's final verdict, it will mean insurers can no longer use gender-based different prices on a range of products including car insurance, private medical insurance, pension schemes and annuities.
