Gender Recognition Act 2004

Introduction

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into effect on 4 April 2005. This Act provides transsexual people with legal recognition in their acquired gender. If a client applies to register a change of sex under the Act, they are issued with a full Gender Recognition Certificate, which will enable them to apply for a new birth certificate

Background

A transsexual is an individual who firmly believes they belong to the opposite sex to which they were born and who undergoes gender reassignment. Gender reassignment incorporates surgical sexual reassignment to make the external body conform to how an individual views their self.

Key points

If gender reassignment takes place prior to policy inception your client will be underwritten based on their acquired gender. The individual’s actual mortality does not alter to their acquired gender but they are covered by the Gender Recognition Act which states:

“Where a full Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) is issued to a person, the person’s gender becomes for ALL purposes the acquired gender”.

Therefore, as governed by the Act, your client must pay the premium of their new gender.

Where gender reassignment surgery is outstanding, we will underwrite on current gender.

Should a policyholder/your client undergo surgery during the term of their existing policy they can effect a new policy based on their new gender, their existing premium rate cannot be changed.

Our underwriting approach