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In last week's 'Single Equality' Green Paper, the government clarified that there would be exemptions for insurance firms' products for specific demographics.

Without exemptions, brands including Sheila's Wheels, Diamond and Saga would have fallen foul of the proposed legislation, which is aimed at eliminating age and sex discrimination.

'The government recognises that it is fair to use data on age and gender in setting premiums for some products, because different groups represent different levels of risk,' said Stephen Haddrill, director-general of the Association of British Insurers.

'We welcome efforts to ensure that, when the EU Gender Directive becomes law in the UK, it is applied in a way that minimises bureaucracy for insurers and costs for our consumers,' he added.