The recent EU ruling on gender discrimination in insurance could lead to a temporary boost in profits for Admiral, the car insurance firm has said.
This week, the European Court of Justice ruled that insurance companies could no longer use gender as a criteria for calculating premiums .
The decision is likely to see premiums for female car insurance holders rise significantly as until now they have been able to pay less due to being less likely than men to be in an accident .
Admiral, which has just announced a 23 per cent rise in 2010 profit, said that this could be good news for car insurance companies .
"With my UK car insurers' hat on I am pleased, I think [the ruling] will be an enhancement to our profits, but as a UK consumer I am disappointed because I think it will mean more money in the hands of insurers," chief executive Henry Engelhardt said.
However, he added that the rise would be "competed out" over time.




