Car Insurance for Older Drivers

Turned down or charged more for car insurance

Getting car insurance can be tricky if you're over 75
Older drivers have long felt penalised by car insurers - having to pay higher premiums or being refused cover altogether. Our research has shown that many insurers currently don't cover those aged 81 and above.

Insurers maintain that they're entitled to charge higher premiums for older drivers because the likelihood of claiming on car insurance and the cost of those claims are greater for this group. However, charities like Age UK feel that these restrictions leave many people struggling to pay increased premiums just when they may need cover most.

A car insurance premium for getting older
Our analysis of car insurance policies shows that average premiums increase sharply as you move through the age groups. For example, we found that an annual policy for a 75-year-old woman living in north London and driving a Citroen would cost £702 with Saga. However, at 85 it would cost £1,224 - a 74% increase.

It’s vital at the best of times to shop around for the best rates, but even more so as you approach those age milestones. For example, there are considerable differences between online and telephone quotes even with the same companies - we found that a 65-year-old man in the same scenario would pay £465 annually with Direct Line over the phone, but the same deal online would cost £362.

The Equality Act – what does it mean for older drivers?
The Equality Act (2010) has paved the way for more up-to-date discrimination legislation. Companies will no longer be able to turn down your application for car insurance because of your age and the ABI, BIBA and the government are set to announce their approach to the discrimination objectives in the summer of 2012.

This is good news for older drivers, but there's a catch. As a result of this Act of Parliament, insurers may still be allowed to charge older drivers more for cover if there's reasonable grounds for doing so – but they'll have to do more to justify the increased premiums, backing up the pricing model with statistical evidence.

The Act also stresses that insurers will have to help consumers who are turned down at point of sale, directing them to an independent source of information able to offer assistance in finding affordable cover - this is known as 'sign-posting'. Currently, customers unable to find quality and affordable cover are left to continue their search alone without the knowledge of where to find alternative insurance.

The car insurance industry view
Car insurance organisations are obviously keen to retain some flexibility in choosing customers and setting premium levels. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) wants the Bill to help older people access cover more easily: ‘BIBA’s own vision of legislation is one that ensures fairness and sign-posting to help people, but does not force insurers to cover areas they have never dealt with and do not understand.'

Malcolm Tarling from the Association of British Insurers told Which?: ‘We believe that the government understands that insurers should continue to be able to use age as one of the risk factors, providing this approach is based on authoritative statistical data.’