A new report from Which has found that older people are bearing the brunt of rocketing car insurance premiums – losing out by as much as £500 a year because they are staying loyal to their existing providers.
Average premiums have leapt in the last year – 8% in the last three months alone, according to Confused.com.
In the latest issue of Which? magazine, out on 20 July, editor Richard Headland says: “Of the age ranges we looked at, we found that older drivers are often hit the hardest and face the biggest disparity between the lowest and highest prices they are offered.
“Car owners should look to switch insurers each year as loyalty to one provider could cost you thousands in the long run.”
Reasons for the on-going rises include increasing in-car technology, rising insurance premium tax and the new compensation rules for those injured in accidents.
Perhaps surprisingly, those organisations focussing on older consumers were far from the most economic option in many instances.
And, while some providers offered lower premiums to drivers as they passed age benchmarks, others increased theirs.
A personal perspective
Last year my insurance premium with a well-known roadside recovery company went up by over 25%. I checked online with a comparison website and found exactly the same like-for-like cover available from the same provider – for 20% less. Puzzled, I rang up and told them this… a few minutes of haggling and I ended up getting the lower deal.
The message to older drivers is this: shop around; and if you are keen to remain with your current provider, don’t be afraid to haggle: tell them you’ve found a cheaper like-for-like quotation elsewhere. You’ll be surprised what you might be offered if you are serious about taking your business elsewhere.
Loyalty, sadly, doesn’t count for very much these days…
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