Ageist insurance policy requirement

I READ with sadness the report on the new insurance policy criteria effective July 1, “High-risk drivers pay more” ( The Star, June 30).

The two criteria, age of the driver and age of the car, are totally unfair to careful elderly drivers and poor people.

Many elderly people only use their vehicles to travel short distances to do errands. As such, they are safe drivers. It’s the young who are high-risk drivers.

People in the rural areas are forced to own cars because public transport is either not efficient or non-existent. Many of them would be owning old cars which are reliable with good maintenance.

We often read reports of young drivers being injured or killed in road accidents. Many people who break the speed limit drive new and fast cars whereas those with older vehicles cannot travel very fast.

Insurance policies should be based on the driver’s claim records and traffic violations. They should not be based on the age of the drivers and cars.

Are there reliable statistics which show that elderly people are high-risk drivers or have caused the most number of accidents?

Are there reliable statistics pointing out that old cars are prone to accidents?

It is lack of proper maintenance, like failure to change tyres regularly and changing the brakes components, that can lead to accidents.

It is the bad altitude of drivers, like being impatient, driving recklessly, breaking the speed limit and running red lights, that cause accidents.

Would the new policy be fair to careful elderly drivers like me? I have not made a single claim in more than 40 years of driving and now I have to pay a higher rate for insurance because of my age.

Would it be fair for people to pay a higher rate for insurance policies just because the cars they own are 20 years old?

Are the relevant authorities barking up the wrong tree?

Retirees and poor people are already struggling to make ends meet. Therefore, we hope the authorities will review the new guidelines for assessing the rate of vehicle insurance policies in order to be fair to them.

THOMAS FOO Subang Jaya