EWL Contribution: European Legislation on Gender Equality in Insurance Services (July 2009)
Contribution on the implementation of Article 5 of Directive 2004/113 on gender equality in relation to goods and services prepared by the European Women’s Lobby, the AGE Platform and the Belgian consummers’ organisation Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop for the European Commission Forum on the implementation of this Article
Directive 2004/113 lays down a framework for combating discrimination based on sex in the access to and supply of goods and services. Article 5 of the Directive, however, provides a limited exception in respect of the use of sex as a factor in the calculation of premiums and benefits in insurance and related financial services. AGE, Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop and the EWL have prepared this contribution together, following up to their common actions taken when the goods and services directive was adoptedin 2004. At that time, we repeatedly argued in favour of a strong text that prohibits, without exception, discrimination between women and men for services that are sometimes compulsory and that are vital to achieve gender equality and help to achieve the full integration of all women into society on an equal footing i.e. insurance and financial services and products.
AGE, Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop and the EWL would like to stress that the review of Article 5 is a timely and unique opportunity to put an end to the exception to the right to equal treatment between women and men that was introduced in paragraph 3 of this Article.
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