'Directive could lead to unreliable CI pricing'

The Equal Treatment Directive, introduced by the European Commission in December 2004, prohibits the use of gender as a criteria in the calculation of premiums and benefits for the purposes of insurance and related financial services. Member states are entitled to use an opt-out clause in the directive which permits such practices where gender is a determining factor in the assessment of risk, based on relevant and accurate data available to the public. The UK government has said it will take advantage of the opt-out clause, but Nick Kirwan, protection market director at Scottish Wido...