German insurance companies like Ergo Versicherungsgruppe AG (EVG2.XE) and Allianz SE (ALV.XE) said Thursday the European Union's Advocate General's opinion that insurers can't link a person's gender to premium calculations would be in conflict with German laws, should it be implemented.

Ergo, the primary insurer of reinsurer Munich Re AG (MUV2.XE), said "EU anti-discrimination law allows for well-founded exceptions when it comes to insurance products while German law actually demands differentiation as women are more expensive to insure than men."

Allianz said in a statement that prescribing unisex rates would be an infringement on German law. "Differentiation is not discriminatory," but fairly used by insurers as a basis for their calculations, Allianz added.

The German Insurance Association, the umbrella organisation for private insurers in Germany, noted that the Advocate General's comments are only a legal opinion, and not a ruling.

-By Frankfurt Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29725 500; djnews.frankfurt@dowjones.com