A House of Lords committee has called on the European Commission to re-think a proposed Directive that could outlaw gender rating in motor insurance.

The House of Lords EU committee concluded it would be wrong to penalise women drivers for the sake of removing sex differentiation in rating engines.

Inquiry chairman Lord Williamson of Horton said the proposals would lead to anomalies and inconsistencies. "In time, gender can and should be taken out of most calculations for car insurance premiums.

"But when companies set premiums for newly-qualified drivers with no track record, gender matters."

The call to retain gender as a ratings factor was backed by First Alternative, which recently launched a women-only motor policy.

Head of risk and underwriting Mike Pickard said: "The Directive's key objective is fairness for both sexes, but if the insurance part goes through, it will be grossly unfair to UK women drivers."

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.