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New legislation could have penalised women drivers
A proposal which would have made car insurance more expensive for most women drivers in the UK has been dropped by the European Commission.
Insurance firms offer different rates for cover based on gender and, as male drivers commit 85% of serious motoring offences, women usually pay less.
The EU Gender Directive would have made insurers treat both sexes the same.
But a deal allowing insurance firms to take gender into account when setting charges has now been reached.
Deputy Minister for Women and Equality Jacqui Smith said: "The rights we've enjoyed in the UK for nearly 30 years will now be enshrined in this directive for the benefit of all Europeans.
It means that pregnant women in any member state should not be disadvantaged from getting mortgages
Jacqui Smith
Deputy Minister for Women and Equality
"This achievement shows how Europe can develop solutions that are good for us all.
"It's good news on insurance, but this directive covers much more than that. "
The directive will give equal rights to people in all of the EU's 25 member states.
Sex discrimination is already illegal in the UK under the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act.
As well as insurance, the directive will ensure equal treatment in a range of other goods and services.
This includes banking and pensions, as well as insurance and housing, including rented accommodation and hotels.
Ms Smith added: "It means that pregnant women in any member state should not be disadvantaged from getting mortgages because they are pregnant.
"It also means that married women should be free to get credit without a requirement for their husbands to be guarantors, and that part time workers should be able to apply for loans."
The directive will come into affect in about three years.
A proposal which would have made car insurance more expensive for most women drivers in the UK has been dropped by the European Commission.
Insurance firms offer different rates for cover based on gender and, as male drivers commit 85% of serious motoring offences, women usually pay less.
The EU Gender Directive would have made insurers treat both sexes the same.
But a deal allowing insurance firms to take gender into account when setting charges has now been reached.
Deputy Minister for Women and Equality Jacqui Smith said: "The rights we've enjoyed in the UK for nearly 30 years will now be enshrined in this directive for the benefit of all Europeans.
It means that pregnant women in any member state should not be disadvantaged from getting mortgages
Jacqui Smith
Deputy Minister for Women and Equality
"This achievement shows how Europe can develop solutions that are good for us all.
"It's good news on insurance, but this directive covers much more than that. "
The directive will give equal rights to people in all of the EU's 25 member states.
Sex discrimination is already illegal in the UK under the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act.
As well as insurance, the directive will ensure equal treatment in a range of other goods and services.
This includes banking and pensions, as well as insurance and housing, including rented accommodation and hotels.
Ms Smith added: "It means that pregnant women in any member state should not be disadvantaged from getting mortgages because they are pregnant.
"It also means that married women should be free to get credit without a requirement for their husbands to be guarantors, and that part time workers should be able to apply for loans."
The directive will come into affect in about three years.
