The new EU rules which include that insurers in Europe will have to charge the same prices to women and men for the same insurance products without distinction on the grounds of sex, will enter into force from 21 of December.

The European Commission announced the entering into force of the EU rules on gender-neutral pricing in insurance industry from the 21 of December. These new rules mean that insurance prices could rise or fall in the short term for certain categories of customers while they are likely to balance out over time. In December 2011, the Commission issues guidelines to ensure gender non-discrimination in insurance premiums.

The rules comes after the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that different premiums for men and women purely on the grounds of sex were incompatible with the principle of unisex pricing included in EU gender equality legislation, and with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Court of Justice of the European Union declared invalid as from 21 December 2012 an exemption in EU equal treatment legislation which allowed Member States to maintain differentiations between men and women in individuals' premiums and benefits.

The ruling does not affect the use of other legitimate risk-rating factors (such as, for example, age or health status) and prices will continue to reflect risk. At the moment, a careful young male driver pays more for auto insurance just because he is a man. Under the ruling, insurers can no longer use gender as the sole determining risk factor to justify differences in individuals' premiums. But the premiums paid by careful drivers – male and female – will continue to decrease based on their individual driving behaviour.