Half of motor insurers deny quote to over 80s‚ new research reveals
Age discrimination remains rife in the insurance industry according to new independent research published today by Age Concern and Help the Aged.

New evidence reveals half of motor insurers and a third of travel insurers automatically exclude people aged 80 plus seeking quotes‚ irrespective of their health status. The list of offenders employing discriminatory policies include a number of household names (see table 1).

The research shows that while the situation for those at the higher end of the age spectrum is extreme‚ those in other age groups also experience ageism. Access to insurance becomes increasingly patchy once someone hits 65‚ with some companies refusing to provide insurance quotes to people in the 65-79 age bracket.

The research also shows older people are more vulnerable to paying over the odds for insurance due to the huge range in price of products. While the research shows quotes for travel insurance to Spain vary from £11 to £72 for 60-65 year olds (a £61 spread)‚ this increases to £40 and £413 for people aged 80 plus - a £373 spread. This evidence points to the uncompetitive nature of insurance for older people and a market which clearly isn’t working.

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List of insurers who refused to quote for an 84 year old man and 87 year old woman for motor insurance

Aviva
85 max age they will quote for.

Axa
Cover up to 80 years old only.

Axa
Can't quote due to age - recommended GoCompare or MoneySupermarket etc

Zurich Connect
83 max age of cover. Recommended Endsleigh Brokers.

Cornhill Direct
Can only quote up to 84yrs old.

Halifax
No new business over 80 years old. 0870 2414959 MasterQuote may help - they specialise in higher risk quotes.

Halifax
They don't insure over 80's.

Nationwide
Unable to quote for anyone over 85 years old.

Marks and Spencer
Won't quote for over 85.

Tesco
Max age 80 years‚ 11 months.

Tesco
80 is upper age limit.

Co-op
Max age 80 for new customers.

Co-op
Too old.

Sainsbury’s
Too old. Recommended Go Compare.

Sainsbury’s
No quote over 80 but put through to Master Quote.

Admiral
Only insure new business age 79 and under.

Admiral
Too old. Suggested Aviva‚ Liverpool Victoria and Marks and Spencer.

Privilege
They insure some over 80's but not this one.

Esure
No quotes over 80 years old. Transferred to MasterQuote.

Esure
Too old. Suggested MasterQuote but they require a reg. no.

LV=
Exceeds max age of 85

If it was your company, what would you do?

Older drivers are alot safer than younger drivers. They may have slower reactions but most drive slower to compensate. I'm aware that driving too slow can also be dangerous, but overall the risk is lower than what many insurers think.

It should be much easier to get the insurance at a good price, especially if more detailed refresher courses were introduced. All the insurer would need to do would be to increse the excess.

Obviously their risk models are suggesting it is too expensive or risky to insure drivers over 80. Refresher courses seem like a logical step. It will help older drivers improve their skills and the refesher course can by used to decrease insurance premiums, much like if your car is garaged and has an alarm.

Is it really driving skills that's at question or general health conditions?

Wouldn't a simple MOT for the driver, carried out by their own GP (at a small charge) be more logical? This could be intigrated in the annual check up.
The issued certificate could then be used to assess any risk factors before granting the insurance.

Surely it should be simpler than that...If the person has applied for insurance then they must feel capable of driving. If they have a clean historical record then it should be granted whether 80,90 or 100!

When we are older, funny little things affect our live without us really having any control over what we do. This short video will explain it better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC0opva9u84

Sometimes credit score tells a lot about a person.
So my question is, do you care about the credit score of your the other half ?
Is credit score a factor you will put into consideration when choosing your love ones?