Do over 70s just pay more for car isurance?

RussDennis

MSE hive mind, im hoping you can help me. My mum who is in her mid 70s has seen her car insurance increase and increase over the past 5 years or so. She drives a 2013 Honda CRV.  Do we just need to accept that because of her age her insurance is now expensive? Or would it go down if she purchased a new smaller car?
Thanks 

molerat

Is she just continually renewing with her current insurer ? Has she actually bothered to check elsewhere ?

Neil49

I hope she hasn't just auto renewed each year with the same company!
First step is to get a range of quotes via the comparison sites. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/motor-insurance/

Do this around 3 weeks before the policy is due for renewal.

Direct Line and Aviva don't come up in comparison sites so do separate quotes with them.

When you get a good quote make a note of the details and then check to see if there are any cashback deals available with Quidco or Topcashback. If so, start a fresh quote to see if you get a similar price by going directly with the company. If you go down this route you must complete the transaction in one go otherwise you can lose the cashback link. 

Sandtree

If you map premium -v- age (ie all other factors remained the same) you would end up with a U shaped curve, though an uneven one. As you get older premiums do start to get higher but never get to the same levels as a 18 year old driver.

However the others have made a good point on the question on if she has been shopping around or not as insurers heavily discount new business prices and subsidise those through charging higher amounts to long term customers... though in most cases this maxes out after 3-5 years and so if shes stayed longer than that then she is paying more than she needs to but latest increases may be due to age, inflation etc rather than purely the loyalty tax.

MalMonroe

I've just turned 70. And renewed my car insurance around the same time. I was with Hastings and was going to leave them as they quoted £250 for renewal but when I phoned to cancel they offered me such a good deal I've stayed with them. I've paid £179 for fully comprehensive for this year. 

Certainly in my case it's not to do with the age of a person. But my car is 4 years old and it's a small hatchback - I don't have to pay tax on it either. 

So I would say, yes it's to do with the age and condition of the car. And not the person! Thank goodness.

PS I've already done searches on Aviva and Direct Line, I do them every year and they are always MUCH higher than anyone else, don't bother even looking at them. 

MalMonroe

Sandtree said:

If you map premium -v- age (ie all other factors remained the same) you would end up with a U shaped curve, though an uneven one. As you get older premiums do start to get higher but never get to the same levels as a 18 year old driver.

However the others have made a good point on the question on if she has been shopping around or not as insurers heavily discount new business prices and subsidise those through charging higher amounts to long term customers... though in most cases this maxes out after 3-5 years and so if shes stayed longer than that then she is paying more than she needs to but latest increases may be due to age, inflation etc rather than purely the loyalty tax.

Nope, disagree. Increases are definitely NOT due to age of people, more to do with age of vehicles. Certainly in my case, and I can't be the only one in the UK who's turned 70 and only paid £179 for a year's worth of comprehensive insurance.

Sandtree

MalMonroe said:

Sandtree said:

If you map premium -v- age (ie all other factors remained the same) you would end up with a U shaped curve, though an uneven one. As you get older premiums do start to get higher but never get to the same levels as a 18 year old driver.

However the others have made a good point on the question on if she has been shopping around or not as insurers heavily discount new business prices and subsidise those through charging higher amounts to long term customers... though in most cases this maxes out after 3-5 years and so if shes stayed longer than that then she is paying more than she needs to but latest increases may be due to age, inflation etc rather than purely the loyalty tax.

Nope, disagree. Increases are definitely NOT due to age of people, more to do with age of vehicles. Certainly in my case, and I can't be the only one in the UK who's turned 70 and only paid £179 for a year's worth of comprehensive insurance.

As a vehicle gets older it gets cheaper to insure not more expensive as a) its value goes down and so the maximum payout reduces and b) people become more likely to accept living with minor damage rather than for claiming for it.

Now a brand new car, say a mark 8 Golf, maybe cheaper to insurer because it has better security features etc but the identical Mark 7 Golf made in 2012 will be cheaper than the same Mark 7 Golf made in 2018.

The simpliest way to rate motor insurance is to have a base premium, say £500, and then for each rating factor you have a look up table with a percentage... so keeping your car in a garage maybe 95% but keeping it on the road 105%, this is then applied to the premium and you continue along each factor. As a 70 year old it is likely you have held your license for a long time, probably have high NCD etc and so even if the rating factor for a 69 year old is 45% and a 70 year old is 46% (therefore a small increase in premiums) you will still see an overall low premium because of the other time related factors.

roddydogs

Well, I always shop around, but no one ever beats Esure.

cajef

MalMonroe said:

PS I've already done searches on Aviva and Direct Line, I do them every year and they are always MUCH higher than anyone else, don't bother even looking at them. 

I have been with Direct Line for years, every year when my renewal comes I shop around and get the cheapest quote then phone Direct Line and they always match that quote, in fact this year my premium actually went down by nearly 10%.