Europe establishes guidelines for interpretation of insurance gender pricing regulation

The European Union has now established a set of guidelines that are designed to provide insurers with some assistance with the interpretation of a ruling made by the EU court that states that it is no longer permitted for insurance companies to use gender as a factor for calculating the premiums that will be paid for various forms of coverage. The insurance industry has heavily criticized the ruling, which reversed years of traditional practice by insurers who have used gender as a part of their formulas for determining product pricing…

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European automobile insurance companies may begin using black boxes to establish rates

Car insurance companies in Europe that are looking for a way to work around the ban in Europe on charging different rates to male and female drivers are considering innovative new technology using black boxes that may completely change the way that auto insurance premiums are calculated. The largest automobile insurer in the United Kingdom, the Royal Bank of Scotland, is one of the companies currently investigating and testing the use of this technology, which uses a small device to monitor the way that customers use their vehicles so that…

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Women may not have enough knowledge about their life insurance policies, says MetLife

A new study from MetLife Insurance shows that working women may not be as knowledgeable about their life insurance policies as they should be. The study, titled MetLife 2011 Insurance Literacy Study, finds that 45% of working women have not taken a second look at their insurance needs since obtaining their first life insurance policy. This could leave their families at financial risk should the unexpected happen. Researchers with MetLife say that more steps should be taken to educate consumers on how their needs change over time and the importance…

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