EU bans cheaper auto insurance rates for women

Female drivers in the EU will likely see their insurance premiums rise significantly next year following today's European Court of Justice ruling that charging lower rates for women than for men constitutes illegal gender discrimination. At the same time, men are about to see their insurance premiums drop.

Insurance companies across Europe as well as in North America generally charge women much less for auto insurance than their male counterparts. Statistics show they are less risky drivers and are therefore less likely to get into an accident. The difference in pricing is particularly large for people under the age of 30, where women typically pay half of what men pay.

Previously such a distinction in pricing was allowed through an exemption for insurers from having to follow national discrimination laws. But a Belgian consumer group challenged the exemption, saying that assuming men are dangerous drivers simply based on their gender constitutes unlawful discrimination. The court agreed, and insurers in the EU will have to end their systems of separate rates by December 2012.

Belgium and France in race to ban the burqa

Who will emerge victorious? Belgium and France are currently falling over each other racing to be the first country in Europe to ban full face coverings. Whoever wins the race, both bans are guaranteed to eventually become law. The bans are illustrative not just of the conflict between Europeans and Muslim immigrants, but also of the ideological divide that separates continental Europe from the Anglo-Saxon world.

Both European and the Americans/British may dislike the burqa, but when it comes to how to deal with it, the English Channel and the Atlantic present a wide gulf. On the continent I don't know one person who thinks the ban is a bad idea. Yet I don't know a single American or British person who doesn't think it is a semi-fascistic disgrace.

Yesterday French MPs voted 335 to one in favour of legislation to ban face coverings in public areas. The ban does not specifically mention the Islamic burqa, a full-body garment that covers the entire face except a small slit for the eyes. Rather, it forbids anyone to cover their face in a public place. This would include costume masks or ski masks. A police officer would first ask a person to remove their face covering, and if they refuse, they can be fined €150.

Though the ban doesn’t specifically target Muslims, many Islamic groups and human rights activists are saying its main intent seems to be to send a hostile message to Muslims. They have accused French President Nicolas Sakozy of purposefully exacerbating tensions for electoral purposes. Though only a small minority of French Muslims would be affected by the ban (police figures say fewer than 2,000 of France's 2 million Muslims wear the burqa), Muslim groups have said they think the law stigmatizes all Muslims.