You have probably heard that the European Union decided some time ago that it was illegal for insurance companies to charge different premiums for men and for women. From 21st December 2012, gender discrimination will be banned.
What you may not have realised is that these changes are not restricted to car insurance.
Currently and with all other things being equal, life insurance costs less for women than it does for men and critical illness insurance costs less for men than it does for women. Think of it this way; we all know that women are the stronger sex so, when they get ill, they keep going. On the other hand, men tend to die when they get ill.
Pricing for risk, which has always been the way insurance companies operate, meant that men's life insurance rates are higher and women pay more for illness cover.
Later this year this will change and there will be only one, age-related premium, irrespective of gender. You can be sure that rates will NOT go down and it is predicted that life insurance for women will cost about 15% more with similar increases for critical illness cover for men.
You can do something about this. Provided that the policies are in place before December, we may be able to 'lock-in' the premiums before they increase.
It can take up to 3 months for a policy to be put in place, expecially if medical questionnaires are required so, if you are contemplating a review of your protection cover, please contact us now