Insurance firms need to correct gender disparity in salary covers

Some female company directors feel disenfranchised as they have to pay 50% more to achieve the same level of cover as a male in the Irish market

Billy O’Shea, senior consultant with financial advisor Insight Private Clients.

Life assurance companies should review gender disparities in their product offerings, notably with the higher premiums applying to women than to men for executive salary protection, says Billy O’Shea, senior consultant with financial advisor Insight Private Clients.

“Historically, life assurance companies set premiums based on various factors, including gender. For instance, males often paid more for life assurance due to shorter life expectancies to that of females,” said Mr O’Shea. “This has been addressed by EU regulations, but some life assurance companies are not operating within the spirit of those regulations”.