Insurers concerned about the Equality Bill, currently before the House of Lords, will be relieved to hear that Michael Foster, a junior minister in the Equalities Office, has announced a specific exception to enable financial services providers to treat people of different ages differently.
The aim of the Bill is to put an end to age discrimination in England and Wales, while at the same time allowing employers to discriminate in favour of female and ethnic minority job applicants.
However, it includes powers to make exceptions which will mean that beneficial and justifiable age-based practices will be able to continue. Prices can therefore still be varied by age, if the variation genuinely reflects risk or costs and is not an “arbitrary decision”.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) agrees with the reforms in principle, but warns that competition could suffer because some insurers may opt to withdraw certain products, such as car and travel policies .