by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The EU ruling on insurance sex equality has been denounced by Kent experts as lacking common sense and logic.

The European Court of Justice has outlawed differences in premiums for men and women drivers, and annuity returns between men and women.

The ruling, made after a claim by an obscure Belgian consumer group, effectively undermines the whole basis of insurance risk assessment.

It will have a massive financial impact on millions of drivers and future pensioners.

From December 2012, women drivers, until now judged a lower risk than men, face massive premium hikes, while men, who tend to die at a younger age than women, will see pension annuities plummet.

Danny Cooper, of The Insurance Manager, based in Canterbury, said: "It's been said many times that being in Europe is like being in a Looking Glass world where very little makes sense.

"In their learned judgement today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has done it again in ruling that gender can no longer be used as an underwriting factor.

"Surely, if the statistics show that women are safer drivers than men and that women live longer than men then isn't it sensible that this should be reflected in the price of motor insurance and pensions?"

Dr Ros Altman, director-general of Saga, the Folkestone-based finance and holiday company for the over-50s, said the ruling had dealt a further blow to Britain's already struggling pensioners "in defiance of common sense and logic".

"Currently, men buy around eight out of every ten annuities sold in the UK and all of them risk receiving much lower pensions as a result of this decision.

"This means that future UK pensioners will be even poorer than they otherwise would be. Our state pension is already about the lowest in Europe so the impact here is very worrying."