Women are being urged to act swiftly to renew their life insurance policies ahead of new European rules which will ban insurers from taking gender into account from next month.
A ruling by the European Court of Justice last year means that from December 21 insurers can no longer consider a customer's gender when calculating how much they should pay for car or life insurance.
Men have tended to receive higher annuity rates due to their lower average life expectancy, while life insurance has been cheaper for women.
Kevin Pratt, an insurance expert at the price comparison website MoneySupermarket, said: "Life insurance has always been cheaper for women as women tend to live for longer and any claim that will be made is further away in time.
"Insurers won't be able to work on that basis.
"It can be a complicated process and you may need to go for a medical examination."
The website said it is yet to see any huge price hikes across the car insurance market, and the cost of cover for female motorists is around one-third cheaper than for male drivers.
However, Mr Pratt warned against trying to cancel a car insurance policy at this stage to try to lock into a deal before the new rules come in, as there may be a cancellation fee.
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