Eagle Star loses bid to halt discrimination inquiry

Insurance company Eagle Star has lost a High Court bid to stop the Equality Tribunal investigating complaints of discrimination by a woman after her income continuance policy was loaded by 100 per cent, allegedly due to the insurer’s view she was clinincally obese.

Bernadette Treanor (49) claims Eagle Star insinuated to others in 2002 her policy was loaded because she was overweight and due to “other incorrect reasons”, including an alleged imputed heart condition.

A letter to her GP from Eagle Star of October 2002 indicated the reason for the loading “was the fact she was clinically obese and was therefore at a greater risk of being absent from work”, Mr Justice John Hedigan noted today.

In complaints of 2002 and 2003, Ms Treanor alleged discrimination by the insurer on grounds of “disability” and further alleged victimisation of her in breach of the Equal Status Acts 2000-2004. She claims documents from Eagle Star show it clearly considered being overweight a “disability”.

Eagle Star rejects the complaints and claims the loading was on the basis of information following a medical examination of Ms Treanor by its chief medical officer.

Because Ms Treanor, of Dowdallshill, Newry Road, Dundalk, Co Louth, is an equality officer, the Director of the Equality Tribunal has assigned the case to be investigated by an external temporary equality officer.

Eagle Star had applied to the High Court to halt the investigation now but, in his reserved judgment today, Mr Justice Hedigan refused that application.

He ruled the tribunal has jurisdiciton to investigate the matter but stressed he was not determing the merits of the complaint or the issue whether obesity is a disability within the meaning of the Equal Status Act 2000.

He said it was undoubteldy “questionable” whether a particularly high body mass index falls within the categories of disbaility under the 2000 Act but that was for the tribunal to determine. There was also a right to appeal the tribunal’s decision in that regard to the HIgh Court.

He ruled the tribunal had not breached its powers under the Act in refusing to dismiss the complaint on grounds of Ms Treanor’s alleged failure to actively pursue it. The tribunal was not required to give Eagle Star reasons for the refusal to dismiss, he added.

The case arose after Ms Treanor sought income continuance cover in 2002 under the AHCPS (Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants) Income Continuance Plan with Eagle Star. She was told in August 2002 she was being accepted into the plan but with a loading of 100 per cent of the normal premium to be incorporated into the overall scheme which she would have to disclose when applying for further policies.