Overs 50s Car Insurance Guide
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Over 50s have unique needs for car insurance. You may have a long-established No Claims Discount to protect. You may not be keen on carrying out your own roadside repairs in event of a breakdown. And you may want your car covered for an extended trip to Europe.
Look through the information on this page to give you an idea of what to look for in an over-50s car insurance plan. And get a sense of how the cost of car insurance changes by age and how accident rates change with age—on the bright side, motorists aged 50-59 pay the least for car insurance.
Cost of over 50s car insurance
Motorists in their 50s pay the least for car insurance. In fact, this age group will pay around half of what a 20-year old would pay. This is because 50-year-olds have lower accident rates. However, by the 60s the cost of car insurance will be on the rise, continuing to increase with age. This is because risks go up for drivers once they reach their 60s. But the real jump comes for the over 70s.
The chart below shows some sample prices for comprehensive cover for a used Ford Fiesta. These are just indicative prices for our test case driver who clocks 5,000 miles a year; your premiums may be higher or lower.
| Average Cost of Cheap Comprehensive Car Insurance, by Driver Age | |
|---|---|
| 20 Years | £851 |
| 25 Years | £719 |
| 35 Years | £639 |
| 45 Years | £575 |
| 55 Years | £468 |
| 65 Years | £491 |
| 75 Years | £752 |
Accident Rates by Age
One reason that 50 year olds pay less for car insurance is that the odds of them having an accident are less. Specifically, we found that 0.35% of motorists age 50-59 have an accident each year. This is less than half the rate for 17-29 year olds.
The accident rate jumps back up for motorists in their 70s. And these figures likely understate the accident rates for older motorists, because the figures for the total number of valid driving entitlements by age include those no longer living in the UK and the deceased. So in all likelihood there are fewer actual drivers on the road in the older age categories, which means the real accident rate is higher for older age groups.
| Age | Drivers and Riders in reported accidents | Number of licenced drivers & riders | Percent of drivers & riders in reported accidents per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17-29 | 44,230 | 8,141,153 | 0.54% |
| 30-39 | 34,492 | 8,836,407 | 0.39% |
| 40-49 | 25,981 | 8,790,971 | 0.30% |
| 50-59 | 22,239 | 9,927,271 | 0.22% |
| 60-69 | 12,199 | 7,848,696 | 0.16% |
| 70-79 | 10,559 | 4,302,176 | 0.25% |
What over 50s should look for in car insurance
Over 50s have unique needs. They may venture off on long road trips in Europe in retirement. They may be less inclined to change a flat tyre roadside. They may prefer to have the luxury of a courtesy car if theirs is in for repairs after an accident. And they might have years of no claims worth protecting. Here is a list of features that any over 50 should consider.
- Upper age limit. If you want to stay with the same company, look for a provider that doesn't impose an upper age limit.
- Courtesy car. Be sure to check if this is only available when your car's in the shop for repairs after a covered accident, or if it's also available in case of theft or a write off.
- Breakdown cover. To assist if you have a breakdown.
- EU breakdown cover. If you will spend time abroad, look for a policy with breakdown cover in the EU as well.
- Alternative transport. After an accident, this provides transport home if your car cannot be driven safely.
- Emergency driver cover. This covers your car if another driver needs to drive it because you've had a medical emergency.
- European cover. If you want to spend your retirement driving around Europe, look for a policy with 180 days of EU cover included for free, or even unlimited EU cover.
- No Claims Discount protection. If you've spent years building up your No Claims Discount, it's nice to protect this because average accident rates start to rise after the 60s.
Note regarding savings figures: *For information on the latest saving figures, pay-less-than figures, and pay-from figures used for promotional purposes, please click here.