Sexual equality in access to goods and services : report, 27th report of session 2003-04

The Committee's report examines the EU Commission's proposals to extend EU sex discrimination legislation to cover the supply of, and access to, goods and services.

The proposals are essentially limited to commercial transactions (excluding aspects such as education, public health care, media and advertising representation), and will therefore be less comprehensive that current UK sex discrimination laws.

The main impact on existing UK legislation will be the proposal to ban the use of gender as a factor in calculating insurance premiums and benefits.

Although this suggestion has aroused considerable controversy in the UK, the Committee believes that the onus must be on insurance companies to justify any departure from the principle of equal gender treatment, based on objective risk assessment.

More research and consultation is required before these proposals are implemented.

Sound practical guidelines need to be devised, taking into account the implications on future annuities for men and women in the UK market.. Overall, the Committee argues that it is a reasonable objective to move away from using gender as a criterion to assess motor insurance premiums, and to seek to achieve a fair and competitive pricing based on other factors