From the 21st December this year insurance companies will no longer be able to charge different rates for men and women. A lot of people, including myself think it is political correctness gone mad. The fact is men and women are different, and from an insurance point of view, carry differing levels of risk.
In general, young men are a bigger car insurance risk than young women. Women live longer than men. Men don’t take as many sick days as women. Saying these things doesn’t make me sexist, they have been proven by years and years of gathering statistics, yet for some reason from the end of this year, insurance companies cannot use this as a factor when calculating premiums.
If this new rule was to mean a move towards the middle, where one sex lost out and one gained, then I wouldn’t think it was such a big deal. However knowing insurers, and insurance principles, they are more likely to just increase the premiums for the sex which is benefiting from the current rules.
Although I was never eligible for poor old Sheila’s wheels, it’s sad to see that they are going to have to close their doors completely because of the new rules, even though there probably wasn’t any men out there upset that they couldn’t join.
It begs the question, what next for insurers? Will they no longer be able to risk rate based on smoker status? Previous claims history? Occupation? They are all necessary discriminations when it comes to certain insurances.
Unfortunately, however unjust these new rules, and however annoying it is that most of us are going to end up out of pocket, there looks like there is nothing we can do to stop it.
So lets look on the bright side. Until these new rules come into force we can take advantage of long term insurances by taking them out before 21st December. Whether you keep putting off sorting out your insurances, haven’t yet arranged any or even thought about arranging any, now is the time. For women, life cover is going to become more expensive, so now is a better time than it ever will be again to purchase. For men income protection is going to become more expensive, and taking it this year could save you hundreds of pounds.
Despite the new rules, and regardless of your sex, there is never a better time to take out long term insurance than the present. One factor that I can safely say will never be taken away from underwriting is age. None of us will ever be as young as we are today, so the sooner you start thinking about protecting yourself and your family, the better.
Kieron Bassett Financial Services has two Independent Financial Advisers who specialise in mortgages. Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or visit www.kieronbassett.com.
Jason Hinde DipPFS
19th March 2012
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