The Association of British Insurers said on Thursday that it will study the text of a legal opinion on alleged gender discrimination in the pricing of insurance products. He warned the clients at the same time that women could now miss out on slightly cheaper rates if a person’s sex is excluded as a factor in calculating premiums.

The comments on this followed soon after a legal advisor to the European Union’s highest court said this Thursday that insurance companies should not be able to charge men and women separate rates for various products.

They said that basing actuarial decisions on gender violates the EU’s anti-discrimination codes as per a court press release. Different pricing for men and women is a standard feature of life because of the fact that women on an average live longer than men.

A spokesman for a major Dutch life insurer said: “This (legal opinion) is bizarre. Our actuaries are not discriminating, they're using statistics.”

The ABI spokesman said: "Where gender is relevant to the risk, insurers take that into account."