Motor vehicle insurance is becoming increasingly more expensive for drivers of retirement age. With these tips, seniors can avoid the higher contributions.
Having a car can be a challenge even at a young working age. Maintaining a vehicle regularly, paying for any damage and paying insurance premiums can all be quite expensive. If you are also of retirement age and have to pay higher insurance premiums, this makes the situation even more difficult. This way, seniors can still save money.
Why do seniors pay higher contributions?
The first question is why seniors pay higher premiums than younger drivers. With their many years of experience, they should be well prepared against accidents. A study by the Federal Statistical Office shows that seniors are less likely to be involved in traffic accidents. Nevertheless, according to a study by Finanztip, they have to pay more from the age of 65. For this group of people, the basic contributions are twelve percent higher than for 55-year-olds. On average, 75-year-olds have to pay 60 percent more.
Seniors may cause fewer official accidents, but they are responsible for more expensive damage that is often not even reported to the police. This is what they want to have found out as part of a study by the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV). Accordingly, drivers over 80 would cause accidents that cost twice as much as that of an average driver.
But if a driver has never or only rarely caused accidents, then he usually doesn’t notice the higher surcharges. These are offset by the discounts for the higher no-claims classes. Only those who take a look at the constant no-claims bonuses can see the significant differences.
Savings opportunities
Seniors still have opportunities to save. If you take a close look at your policies, you may be able to consider whether partial insurance might also be an option. The tariffs are generally cheaper here. Restricting the number of drivers or informing the insurance company that you drive less can also save a lot of premiums. Last but not least, it is advisable to pay the contributions once a year and not monthly.
However, seniors can save particularly if they register their vehicle in the name of their younger partner, for example. You then still have the opportunity to drive the car and do not lose your no-claims classes. It is also a good idea to register the car to younger family members, such as children or grandchildren, and also insure it through them. According to a study by the news site Focus, up to 43 percent of contributions can be saved.
However, you have to tell the insurance company that the car is also being driven by the older seniors. Otherwise you run the risk of losing insurance coverage.
Editorial team finanzen.net