On 20 September 2013, the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (“FSA”) has published in the Official Gazette the Norm no. 11 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to insurance services and insurance services provision (“FSA Norm”).
The FSA Norm regulates the equal treatment between men and women in the access to insurance services and insurance services provision as follows:

  • insurers are obliged to keep the record of insurance contracts bearing premiums or benefits differentiated by the insured’s gender and manage these contracts until they mature. Up to their maturity, such contracts will continue to be managed based on the statistical data applicable at the date of their conclusion. The laws in force at the date of the conclusion of such contracts will apply;
  • insurers are obliged to apply the principle of equal treatment between men and women as this is defined by Government Emergency Ordinance 61 of 2008 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access and supply of goods and services;
  • the use of gender as an actuarial factor in determining the amount of premiums and/or benefits derived from insurance contracts must not lead to gender-based differences in relation with the premiums to be paid by the insureds or the insureds benefits;
  • insurers are obliged to draft and apply procedures regarding collection, processing, publication and update of statistical and actuarial data used for the calculation of premiums and/or benefits related to insurance products;
  • insurers have the obligation to mention in the insurance contract the category of statistical and actuarial data used for the calculation of premiums and/or benefits and how such data can be accessed by the public;
  • the provisions of the FSA Norm do not apply to group insurance contracts if they are related to employment relationships.     

The FSA Norm observes: (i) the provisions of the Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services; and (ii) the outcome of the CJEU ruling of 1 March 2011 in the case C-236/09.