Motor insurers are interested in risk – the risk of your being involved in an accident and needing to make a claim on your insurance as a result.
This suggests a careful correlation between the demonstrated risks and the premiums likely to be charged by motor insurers. Surprisingly, perhaps, this might not always be the case.
If you are over 50 and looking for motor insurance, for instance, you might receive a range of different quotes, reflecting different ways of assessing the risk you pose – simply because of your age:
The facts
Research conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) suggests that drivers over the age of 50 are amongst the safest in the country, thanks to their:
- knowing when adverse conditions might make it better not to attempt to drive;
- a generally more cautious driving style;
- fewer driver errors; and
- the overwhelming evidence that older drivers are safer than those who are younger – the IAM research suggests that only 8% of the driving population is over 70 and they are involved in only 4% of the more serious road accidents, compared to the fact that drivers in their teens or twenties are involved in 34% of all injury accidents, yet comprise only 15% of the driving population;
Making sense
- making sense of these statistics, of course, is likely to be an issue between you and your insurer – if you are over 50, the insurer’s policies might kick in as a normal part of your application process for cover;
- if you are over 50 and want to save money on what it costs to insure your car, therefore, it makes a great deal of sense to consult a specialist provider of insurance to just such a market;
Other ways of saving money
- with the help and assistance of a specialist broker, there are still ways in which you might lower the cost of your motor insurance;
Level of insurance
- this starts, of course, with your selection of the level of cover you choose;
- you might think, for example, that the best way of saving money is to restrict any cover to the minimum third party or third party fire and theft level of cover;
- although the Citizens’ Advice Bureau suggests links you might want to follow if you are experiencing difficulties in arranging over 50 car insurance, it is still worth keeping in mind that a lower level of cover may not always be cheaper than a more comprehensive policy;
Excess
- one of the keys to earning discounts on the cost of your motor insurance is a relatively clean record of past incidents and claims – this is the basis on which you might be offered a no claims discount;
- there is little you are able to do to change that record, of course, but you might still choose to shoulder a greater proportion of the insured risks yourself;
- the way to do this is to agree to any additional, voluntary excess which might be offered – the excess effectively representing an insured risk and therefore reflected in the lower premiums the insurer might offer.
Although over 50 drivers may be amongst the safest on British roads, this might not always be reflected in the offers, quotes and policies offered to you by a whole host of competing insurers. You might want to cut through that uncertainty and confusion by seeking your quotes from a specialist provider of motor insurance for the over 50s.
