Changes in the way people apply for life insurance means that applicants are no longer asked about their sexuality, a leading industry body has said.

A spokesperson from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that a perception that homosexual applicants were treated unfairly possibly existed through prior disclosure on life insurance forms.

But the same figure added that such questions no longer exist as part of the application process, with new government legislation meaning that applicants do not have to disclose whether they are in a civil partnership or not.

"It's possible that there has been a perception that applications were not treated in the same way in the past, but now no longer do people have to disclose … what their sexuality is," the ABI spokesperson said.

"There is government legislation now which means that you don't have to disclose whether you're in a civil partnership, so there can be no way that the insurance company knows what your sexuality is."