Car Insurance for The Over 50's

Car Insurance for the over 50's has become a specialist category of car insurance which has seen a growth in interest from insurance companies over the past 5 years. More Insurance companies are entering this crowded car insurance marketplace, including Supermarkets such as Tesco, Credit Card Companies and even DIY stores are now offering car insurance. They are being forced to categorise the market and become more specialist and offering a special deal for certain categories of individuals including seniors.

When you obtain a car insurance or motor quotation, age is one of the key factors used to calculate your premium. Insurance companies have a tremendous amount of statistical analysis that proves younger male drivers are more likely to cause more accidents. Therefore, the older the driver normally reduces the cost of the car insurance premiums.

Senior drivers aged over 50 are generally much safer drivers. They are naturally more experienced, they drive more sedate cars, they are not likely to drive at high speeds recklessly as opposed to younger drivers, and they also take less risks than younger drivers. Therefore statistically older drivers are less likely to be involved in or cause an accident.

Car Insurance is essential - a legal requirement, and is one of the largest general insurance sectors. With over 35 million cars in the UK today, with many families having at least 2 cars, it is naturally a market that is targeted by many car insurance companies.

Recent years have seen the category of Car Insurance for the over 50's become big business, a big enough sector for the Car Insurance companies to dedicate and create special products exclusive for the over 50's drivers, irrespective of gender. More and more older people are turning to their cars for transport and relying less on public transport. More over 50's are becoming more affluent, with more disposable income to buy newer cars and more sophisticated cars. Therefore, the costs for car insurance have risen in line with car insurance companies' claims experience. The results of their increasing claims costs to repair ever more expensive cars has led to this sectoring of market categories to isolate categories of drivers who need particular types of risks and levels of cover.

No Claims Discount Protection

Many policy holders expect to protect their "No Claims Discount", as it has taken at least 5 years of claim free driving to acquire and they naturally do not want to lose it and see their car insurance premiums soar at their renewal. So, they will pay an additional premium to protect their well earned no claims discount in the unlikely event of them being involved in an accident.

Naturally, all drivers want to pay less for their car insurance premium and insurance companies are always trying to devise methods and measures to control rising premiums. The simplest way to do this is to isolate some sectors of the market and to offer those safer (usually older) drivers who generally have fewer accidents a special plan, which has been tailored for their needs.

This wasn't always the way Car Insurance was marketed. Only 10 years ago, the concept of sectorising market categories was restricted to very specialized categories, such as Young Drivers, Sports Car or Specialist Car Insurance. The idea was to keep all drivers claims and pool all premiums into one and then calculate premium increases across all categories. But with more and more drivers wishing to insure more expensive and sophisticated cars, the cost is a great deal more to repair or to replace the car. This has inevitably led to radical thinking by all the car insurance companies, and has changed insurance dramatically over the past decade, particularly by innovative new market thinking by companies who were not traditionally involved with car insurance, such as the supermarkets. The concept of dealing direct to save costs and other companies entering the market place with the most influencing factor being the dramatic increase in Internet motor quotations which has changed the way car insurance polices are marketed for ever.

What Does This Mean for you?

Well, what this means is that your age has more relevance than ever before on your choice of car insurance. If you are over 50, then you should consider your options and perhaps look at alternatives for your car insurance and motor quotations. You don't have to wait for your renewal if you pay monthly or by instalments. You may be able to reduce your premiums still further and also maintain your no claims discount protection.

Which Insurance Company Should You Choose?

That is a decision only you can make and the choice of companies to buy your car insurance from has become wider than ever before. With many companies offering the cheapest rates and special deals, how can you be sure you are getting the best deal for your car insurance?

The growth of the internet has changed the way many retail businesses can function and, especially for obtaining car and motor insurance quotations, it has opened up a whole new medium for drivers to obtain quotations without even going outside their front door. Before the advent of the Internet you would call a car insurance company directly from an advertisement in the Yellow Pages or visit your local high street Car Insurance Broker shop. The problem with those ways is that you can never really be sure if you are getting the best price for your Car Insurance, as it would take you weeks to call all the companies and to visit all the high street broker shops to obtain the quotes,. Then you would need to compare the policies before making a decision on your car insurance.

The Internet has changed the way people shop for car insurance forever and comparison websites are being advertised every day on TV, trying to convince you that their particular website will compare as many of the car insurance companies as possible. This would then enable you to make informed decisions as to which company is offering the best car insurance quote, all from the comfort of your home and within minutes not weeks. It is wise to check to see exactly how many motor insurance quote engines the comparison website claims to interrogate as it may be restrictive and not a sufficiently wide enough search.

This has led to more insurance companies going online and offering discounts to online applicants as, unlike shops and some call centres, which can only be open a limited number of hours per day, the internet is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This is the attraction for online shoppers, that they can obtain a competitive quotation for their car insurance anytime night or day.

Car Insurance quotations for the over 50's is a huge market and, with more providers offering special lower cost deals for this category, you will be wise to check out the companies' websites that are offering policies for you. Whether you have never used the internet before or you are a seasoned web shopper, you can always find alternative quotations for senior car insurance online. All you have to do is "click while you sit" and fill out some basic information to see if you can reduce the cost of your car insurance.

Caveat Emptor - Let The Buyer Beware
Just make sure you compare products and read the small print and excesses before you swap insurers and good luck.