Are car insurers cynically trying to drive the over-70s off the road?

That’s what many Money Mail readers suspect after being hit by vicious price hikes and even refused cover by firms — despite having unblemished driving records

up to £4,000 for an annual premium. He stuck with Flow.

His treatment by insurers rankles him. ‘They make me feel old,’ he says.

‘It’s as if they are quite happy dismissing my record as an exemplary driver with qualifications — and forcing me to pay for the mistakes of other motorists who may be a similar age to myself. It’s so unfair.’ (Des is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.)

Frances Susskind feels similarly aggrieved. Now 74, the retired teacher from Hove, East Sussex, has been driving Range Rovers for more than 30 years. During that time, she has never had an accident and describes herself as a ‘good and careful driver’.

For the past 15 years, Frances has been insured with Saga, a company specialising in catering for the over-50s.

‘I drive about five times a week,’ she says, ‘and I was quite happy to renew every year, even when the price went up.’

But she was told by Saga that it no longer wanted her.

‘I was shocked,’ she says. ‘After all, this is a company that is meant to look after people of my age. When I challenged the decision, it said that it couldn’t find an underwriter to insure me.’

She adds: ‘I have no health issues, take no pills apart from statins, play tennis three times a week and I am in charge of all my faculties. I feel rather cross. Is it the car I drive? Is it me? And why insure me for 15 years and then block me?’

These are questions which Saga has not answered and will not answer, although it should do given the loyalty Frances has shown it — and the profits it has made from her.

Thankfully, she has moved on and found alternative cover with the AA, but her experience, and that of Des, begs the question: is it right for insurers to discriminate against the elderly?

Of course it isn’t, although the insurance industry has somehow managed to exempt itself from age discrimination rules because of the statistics I previously quoted — suggesting a tenuous link between advancing age and greater risk.

Is the insurance industry doing anything to help elderly drivers stay on the road — drivers, incidentally, who must renew their driving licence every three years after hitting 70, in the process declaring any medical conditions that may impair their driving skills?

Yes. Some providers are now offering cover based on how many miles policyholders drive.

It is an option which some lowmileage elderly drivers are using — and it is working for them. They agree an annual mileage limit, pay an upfront premium, and a device plugged into the car’s computer reports their monthly mileage back to the insurer.

If they exceed their mileage limit, they pay a per-mile fine (usually, no more than 10pence a mile). Equally, for every mile under the limit, the motorist gets a refund.

Insurers are also extending the use of telematics outside of the traditional young drivers’ market and into the elderly sector.

For example, Aviva is now offering anyone who buys its cover through a comparison website the chance to enrol in the ‘MyDrive’ feature via its app.

This then monitors their driving habits through their smartphone and provides ongoing guidance to help them to drive safely.

Using telematics, the app evaluates a driver’s accelerating, braking, cornering, speed, and phone usage, such as taking calls or choosing music on their device.

At renewal, those who are deemed to have driven safely will receive a discount.

Aviva says 18 per cent of its app users are retired, suggesting they are willing to give MyDrive a go.

The final word goes to 85-yearold Hugh Colin Penfold, a former officer in the Metropolitan Police who learnt how to handle a car at the Met Police Driving School in Hendon, North-West London. The skills learnt on that course have stuck with him — and he has never had an accident.

He believes the elderly should be allowed to go on courses and prove their roadworthiness. This information would then be considered when they look for car insurance.

‘Many elderly drivers have lost their voice simply because of their age,’ he says.

‘But they should not be pushed off the road as a result of sky-high insurance costs.’ Absolutely.

‘We’ve lost our voice simply because of age’