Higher Premium Under 25 and Over 65
Drivers under 25 and over 65 automatically pay more premium for insurance. Over sixty percent of drivers find that age discrimination, according to research by Independer.
Mainly drivers between 18 and 29 feel disadvantaged. From that group, 72 percent say that they find this age discrimination. Among drivers aged 60 and older, 70 percent have the same opinion.
If you are between 24 and 65 years old, you belong to the average driver according to insurers. Drivers who fall outside of this automatically fall into the ‘risk group’.
Young People Pay Top Dollar for Car Insurance
“Although I understand that people may feel disadvantaged, young people are twice as likely to be involved in damage as the average driver,” says Michel Ypma, insurance expert at Independer. “That is a greater risk for insurers, and they pass that on in the monthly premium.”
Calculations by Independer show that the average premium for drivers between 18 and 24 years old this year is almost 2,150 euros. In comparison: in the age group 25 to 34, that amount drops to just under 1100 euros, almost half. This also has to do with the built-up claim-free years. Driving without damage can result in a substantial discount on the car premium in the long term.
Young drivers not only pay more premium. With some insurers, they also pay a higher deductible in case of damage. Usually, it is an amount of 250 euros on top of the standard deductible.
After 65, the Premium Gradually Increases
Just like with beginning drivers, insurers charge a surcharge for drivers aged 65 and older. “The reason is similar,” says Ypma. “Insurers see on average more submitted damage claims with drivers from the age of 65 years. The surcharge calculated by the insurer gradually increases. Especially after your 75th, it increases significantly.”
A large majority of respondents call it age discrimination when specific groups pay more premium because of their age. Young people between 18 and 29 years old most often indicate that they have experienced this in practice, namely 54 percent.
In the group 60 years and older, only 5 percent say that they have ever experienced it. That is striking, since 70 percent of the sixty-plussers do believe that there is age discrimination when the premium rises because of age.