Car Insurance for over 90s

[KingscoteStaff]

Mum’s premium renewal has just come in - up from 1700 to 5000!!!

Hasn’t had an accident or a claim for at least 20 years. Small car used 2 or 3 times a week to go shopping and to church.

Is there a specific insurer for oldies? Any advice gratefully received.

Many other countries require a re-sitting of their drivers license at a certain age

Out of interest, which countries do this?

This isn’t fronting. Fronting would be if OP insured the car as her own, implying she’s the main driver and adding her mother as a named driver.

Some people on this thread are positively obsessed with getting the elderly off the road.
OP expresses no qualms about her driving and it sounds like her mental health would suffer if she loses the ability to drive.

Check to see if sitting an on road driving assessment would reduce her premium (if she passes).

@Muchcolderthanoflate When your mother was diagnosed did they not speak to her/a family member about driving? I work in this area. When a person is diagnosed where i work they are either told immediately that they must stop or in the case of less severe impairment they may be able to continue if they pass an on road assessment. Her insurance might not be valid if she has not informed them of her diagnosis.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/search?keywords=Driving&Search=search

Resources here.

Yes because they are likely to be dangerous drivers unless they have sat some kind of driving test to check competency.

An elderly person's mental health (when they could take taxis which would be cheaper anyway due to high premiums) versus the not inconsiderable risk of them causing an accident that could be serious for someone else? Some people are thinking selfishly about the "wants" of the old person or the difficult conversation about them not being safe on the roads any more, rather than thinking about the damage they could do if their faculties are seriously impaired. Which lets face it, they probably will be by their 90s!

Taxis are often unavailable in rural areas, even rural towns - let alone villages- , so it’s not that simple

Taxis may not be easy in some rural areas but that doesn't make it right for people in their 90s to be allowed to drive without sitting some kind of test to check they are still competent to be driving. They could literally kill someone else and it would be little consolation then that " oh well, they had no choice but to continue driving because they had chosen to live somewhere rural with no buses or taxis and they had chosen to keep driving because to give up the car would have been inconvenient". Our choices do affect other people and it's not unreasonable to say that people in their 90s probably shouldn't still be driving unless they have taken a test to prove they are still safe to do so.

We all know people in their 80s and maybe 90s who are bad drivers and it's no joke.

I'm not obsessed but I'm also happy to see another 90 year old driver priced out of the market.

It's telling that despite being as able as OP says she is, her DM hasn't got the ability to understand a taxi would be cheaper, because 'back in her day'...

It's so dangerous.

Saying all 90 year olds are incapable of driving is as discriminatory as saying all 18 year olds shouldn't.

OP clearly thinks her DM is up to it and she is only using the car for short journeys. It would be different if she had had lots of little accidents or was displaying signs of dementia

Many old people see taxis as an extravagance, it's a generational thing, much as I try to explain that actually they are cheaper than car ownership.

I have already decided that if I get old enough to be unfit to drive I will use taxis - not because I am rich but because the money from selling my car, and not paying petrol, insurance, road tax, maintenance etc. will keep me in taxis for a fair while.

Many old people see taxis as an extravagance, it's a generational thing, much as I try to explain that actually they are cheaper than car ownership.

That's not generational. It's a lack of thinking ability.

My dad was with saga insurance, he was still driving up to a few weeks before he died at 96 1/2 in 2021. It cost a bomb (I can't remember how much now) but like teenage drivers his options were limited.

I was happy every time I had to renew his driving licence for him that he was fine to drive and that I was answering the DVLA questions honestly.

He was a very good driver with virtually no claims history over 70 years, but the premiums rose every year as the risk increased. Eventually in what turned out to be his final year he had 2 collisions, both exactly the same - turning right out of a junction and not seeing the car approaching. Both times his car (Toyota Yaris) written off. I used to deal with the insurance co for him as he was quite deaf so always took him to the crash site to explain what happened to me so I could explain it on his behalf. Then go searching for another Mk 1 Toyota Yaris 5 door auto to replace the one the insurers wrote off. I'm still driving the last one I bought for him.

I think it's as discriminatory as saying that all 14 year olds shouldn't drive, which we do. Some individual 14 year olds would probably be perfectly capable of it but the odds are low enough that it isn't allowed on the grounds of public safety.

Perhaps you could do a simple table showing the cost of regular journeys to be made in a taxi v the cost of insurance and car ownership.

It's generational.

DMiLs car broke down with a fairly serious problem when she was in her late 80s. She was talking about the costs of fixing or replacing it - until DH went over the figures vs using taxis which simply hadn't even occurred to her as an option for routine use. After which it was a no brainer for her to ditch the car.

My father lives in NSW Australia. He just turned 85. At this age he has three choices.

1. Give up license
2. Get approval from GP to drive and only drive up to 2 miles from home
3. Get approval from GP. Sit a test with a licensed tester who sits with you while you drive around for 30 minutes on various types of roads such as highways and local roads. This will give you a full license again for I think 2 years if you pass. Then you would need another test.

(That 'lack of thinking ability' remark is horribly ageist. Some elderly people will have lost capacity but many are still perfectly able to do the maths and make sensible decisions. The OPs DM doing the Times crossword and bridge is probably sharper than many younger people. )

Depending on the state, Australia. Its either a medical assessment and/or on the road driving test (NSW its at 85 and both)

Parts of USA: Depending on driving fitness, driver may undergo physical or mental examinations or retake the standard licensing tests (vision, written and road).

Canada age 80 and every 2-years Drs Medical assessment

Denmark- Medical check is performed and doctor͛s certificate is issued. If physician is undecided about driving fitness, driver must undergo a practical driving test

New Zealand- at 75 you need a medical certificate and if concerns, then a retake of the road driving test

Many countries require a medical certificate at a certain age, but some also have the physical driving test.

@ErrolTheDragon

It's generational.

No it isn't

Having worked in the trade for 20 years I can tell you there are plenty older people who understand the cost aspect of car v taxi financially.

you cannot write off a whole generation as unable to think because you know someone who couldn't or wouldn't.

I had this with a family member - I made a spreadsheet showing the cost of running a car vs taxis for their average trips.

No brainer - they’re still happy using taxis a few years on.
Not a good option for those based rurally, but then that raises the question of if their chosen place to live is suitable.

You’re terrified about your DM driving because she has dementia (have you told DVLA). Not all 90 year olds have dementia.

This is not the thread to be ageist on (not that it’s right to be ageist on any thread).

This lady was brought up in an era when “ordinary people” didn’t use taxis, (which was also a time when public transport was considerably better than it is now) I can’t recall using taxis until I started using them for work, paid for by my employer. I’ve used them on my own account fewer than half dozen times. My DC started using them routinely when they were in the 6th form.

@MereDintofPandiculation

My suggestion that it is not generational does not make me ageist. That's quite a leap

Yes I've told the DVLA and the police, nothing has happened, the police say they can't act unless they see her driving dangerously and told me the DVLA could take up to 6 months to act. It's outrageous, she could kill someone.