4 Mortgage PPI Costs Increase due to New EU Regulations.

Thousands of women in the UK will see a sharp rise in the cost of insurance later this year once new rules outlaw the use of gender in calculating insurance premiums. Currently, some forms of insurance are cheaper for women and others for men. From 21^st December 2012, insurers will no longer be permitted to charge rates separately for men and women.

The European Court of Justice’s ban on gender discrimination when setting prices for financial services will come into effect on the 21^st of December 2012. This will also affect men as the ruling means that pension income paid by annuities is likely to fall post 21^st of December. For men, income protection cover costs are likely to increase too.

What’s the impact?

Currently, women typically pay lower for their life insurance costs but according to the new European rules and estimates by the HM Treasury, women’s premiums could go up by as much as 15%.

The ruling will not affect existing insurance policies but they certainly will impact on the pricing of those taken out after the 20^th of December 2012. Women will be hit the most in the form of a hefty increase in the cost of car and life insurance.