Are insurers trying to drive over 70s off the road? Readers hit by vicious price hikes

For many elderly people, especially those who live in rural communities, a car is a necessity.

It’s their one reliable connection to the outside world, enabling them to shop and see family and friends — invaluable for their independence at a time when most public transport is not fit for purpose.

Yet running a car for the over-65s — and especially the over 70s — is becoming prohibitively expensive, as a major survey into motoring costs published today by comparison website Confused.com confirms.

Exclusive data provided to Money Mail shows that 65 per cent of drivers aged 65 and over have seen motoring costs spiral over the past year; 13 per cent have considered selling their car; while 31 per cent have cut down on driving to reduce fuel costs.

A combination of high fuel prices, soaring car repair costs and ever-increasing road tax and MOT costs are to blame — as are the wider use by cash-strapped councils of congestion charges and penalties for cars that fail to meet tough, new emission standards. 

Insurance squeeze: Some 65% of drivers aged 65 and over have seen motoring costs spiral over the past year

Given the parlous state of most councils’ finances, these ‘ultra-low emission zones’ and ‘clean air zones’ are going to spread like rashes in the coming years, invading not just cities but our towns and villages.

But the biggest financial headache for elderly drivers is the soaring cost of insurance. 

Although average car premiums for the typical driver are now approaching £1,000 a year, and rising at an inflation-busting annual rate of 58 per cent, the over-70s are being hit particularly hard.

Many in this age group are receiving four-figure renewal premiums — in some instances a doubling or trebling in cost on the year before.

Others are being abruptly told by their insurer that cover will not be renewed. As a result, they must look elsewhere. 

The insurer doesn’t have to explain why they are being jettisoned, although it will often advise ex-communicated policyholders on how they can get alternative cover.

Some elderly people, as Confused.com confirms, have had no choice but to give up driving earlier than they wanted to. They have quite literally been pushed off the road.

Understandably, many over-70s feel victimised and hundreds have contacted Money Mail since the start of the year to tell us so.

In short, they are bloody angry and believe they are being discriminated against — and pigeon-holed by insurers as doddery drivers, when nothing could be further from the truth. They argue that they are being persecuted, victims of an insurance witch hunt.

Typical grumpy Victor Meldrews? No way. Nearly all these drivers, some well into their 80s, have unblemished driving records going back many years — although a few have had the misfortune to be involved in a no-fault claim: an accident where their car has been hit, either while parked or from behind in traffic, and they are blameless.

Some of them even drove professionally before they retired (for example, for the police) and passed advanced motorist exams, instilling in them good driving habits that have never left them.

They have done absolutely nothing wrong. Their only crime, as far as the insurance industry is concerned, is that they are deemed elderly — and are of an age (over 70) where the data indicates they generate average claims higher than all age groups other than the under-30s.

Soaring costs: Average car premiums for the typical driver are now approaching £1,000 a year, and rising at an inflation-busting annual rate of 58%

The data, however, is not totally convincing. The latest information, from the Association of British Insurers, shows that the size of average motor claim by age group is highest among the under-20s and those aged 86 to 90 — surpassing £5,000.

But in defence of the over-70s, their propensity to claim is lower than for all younger age groups. 

Also, the number of casualties (killed or seriously injured) involving drivers over-70 has fallen sharply — by 51 per cent between 2004 and 2021.

Not overwhelming evidence, I would conclude, for the insurance industry to price discriminate against this age group. 

But insurers are in profit-rebuilding mode and have decided that elderly drivers are easy targets. They have also turned the screw on the elderly by exploiting new rules designed to ensure loyal customers are not ripped off.

Rather than driving down prices for these customers, which was the intention of the rules introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority at the beginning of 2022, the insurers have simply ratcheted up prices across the board. Loyalty penalties may no longer apply, but prices have shot up.

Evidence of the discrimination against the elderly is everywhere. Take, for example, Des Rogers, a 77-year-old consultant for a local coach and bus company in Birmingham.

Des, married for 54 years, has had a full driving licence for 59 years and has been licensed to drive almost all types of vehicles during his working life, including articulated lorries.

To this day, he still holds a licence to drive double-decker buses and coaches. His last accident was more than 20 years ago.

This year, his annual motor insurance with Flow (part of Liverpool Victoria General Insurance Group) for the Audi 6 he drives increased from a little over £600 to £985.

Rather narked by the 65 per cent- plus increase, he decided to shop around, only to discover that most other insurers weren’t interested in him (they declined to quote), while those who were prepared to offer him cover wanted up to £4,000 for an annual premium. He stuck with Flow.

His treatment by insurers rankles him. ‘They make me feel old,’ he says.

Price hikes: Insurers have also turned the screw on the elderly by exploiting new rules designed to ensure loyal customers are not ripped off

‘It’s as if they are quite happy dismissing my record as an exemplary driver with qualifications — and forcing me to pay for the mistakes of other motorists who may be a similar age to myself. It’s so unfair.’ (Des is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.)

Frances Susskind feels similarly aggrieved. Now 74, the retired teacher from Hove, East Sussex, has been driving Range Rovers for more than 30 years. 

During that time, she has never had an accident and describes herself as a ‘good and careful driver’.

For the past 15 years, Frances has been insured with Saga, a company specialising in catering for the over-50s.

‘I drive about five times a week,’ she says, ‘and I was quite happy to renew every year, even when the price went up.’

But she was told by Saga that it no longer wanted her.

‘I was shocked,’ she says. ‘After all, this is a company that is meant to look after people of my age. When I challenged the decision, it said that it couldn’t find an underwriter to insure me.’

She adds: ‘I have no health issues, take no pills apart from statins, play tennis three times a week and I am in charge of all my faculties. I feel rather cross. Is it the car I drive? Is it me? And why insure me for 15 years and then block me?’

These are questions which Saga has not answered and will not answer, although it should do given the loyalty Frances has shown it — and the profits it has made from her.

Thankfully, she has moved on and found alternative cover with the AA, but her experience, and that of Des, begs the question: is it right for insurers to discriminate against the elderly?

Of course it isn’t, although the insurance industry has somehow managed to exempt itself from age discrimination rules because of the statistics I previously quoted — suggesting a tenuous link between advancing age and greater risk.

Is the insurance industry doing anything to help elderly drivers stay on the road — drivers, incidentally, who must renew their driving licence every three years after hitting 70, in the process declaring any medical conditions that may impair their driving skills?

Yes. Some providers are now offering cover based on how many miles policyholders drive.

It is an option which some low-mileage elderly drivers are using — and it is working for them. They agree an annual mileage limit, pay an upfront premium, and a device plugged into the car’s computer reports their monthly mileage back to the insurer.

If they exceed their mileage limit, they pay a per-mile fine (usually, no more than 10 pence a mile). Equally, for every mile under the limit, the motorist gets a refund.

Insurers are also extending the use of telematics outside of the traditional young drivers’ market and into the elderly sector.

For example, Aviva is now offering anyone who buys its cover through a comparison website the chance to enrol in the ‘MyDrive’ feature via its app.

This then monitors their driving habits through their smartphone and provides ongoing guidance to help them to drive safely.

Using telematics, the app evaluates a driver’s accelerating, braking, cornering, speed, and phone usage, such as taking calls or choosing music on their device.

At renewal, those who are deemed to have driven safely will receive a discount.

Aviva says 18 per cent of its app users are retired, suggesting they are willing to give MyDrive a go.

The final word goes to 85-year-old Hugh Colin Penfold, a former officer in the Metropolitan Police who learnt how to handle a car at the Met Police Driving School in Hendon, North-West London. The skills learnt on that course have stuck with him — and he has never had an accident.

He believes the elderly should be allowed to go on courses and prove their roadworthiness. This information would then be considered when they look for car insurance.

‘Many elderly drivers have lost their voice simply because of their age,’ he says.

‘But they should not be pushed off the road as a result of sky-high insurance costs.’ Absolutely.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk