BRITAIN: Paying the Penalty For Growing Old

EDINBURGH (Scotlandonsunday), November 20, 2005: MANY people look forward to giving up work so they can travel, relax and generally enjoy life. So it can come as a shock to discover that some of these activities can be barred to them as the years slip by. Those who enjoy trips abroad are horrified to discover they can no longer buy insurance, or the cost of the policy exceeds the price of the holiday. Older drivers also find it more difficult to buy cover, which can call a halt to plans for days out and leave them trapped in their homes. A report released last week claims that the numbers of over-70s on the road will double to 4.5 million within a decade. This could lead to further clampdowns by police and insurers. A study from Help the Aged, conducted by Defaqto, found that more than one in four insurers would not give a quote for an annual travel policy to cover the nearly 10 million people in Britain aged over 65, and nearly three-quarters have a blanket ban on the over-75s. The figures are similar for motor cover, with around a quarter of insurers admitting to a moratorium at 75, and 90% shying away from the over-80s. A similar picture emerges with health insurance: life, medical, personal accident and even dental insurance become more expensive with age. The elderly can even find themselves paying more for pet insurance. It is only when it comes to household cover that it pays to be grey. Where can I buy protection for overseas travel? Few insurers will offer an annual travel policy to the over-70s, which can be a blow for those who retire on generous pensions with ambitions to travel. Age Concern's David Hoyle explains: "There are some cash-rich, time-rich retirees who retire in good health and on salary-linked pensions, and who want to travel and see the world. For the first few years everything goes well. But then the door starts to slam shut. "Partly it's because if you work, insurers know the most you will be away is perhaps five weeks in a year. But once you are retired it could be months." The other problem is that elderly people tend to fall ill away on holiday, and when they do their medical treatment can be serious and complex and their bills correspondingly hefty. Age Concern would charge a 77-year-old £195 for an annual travel policy covering Europe, or £204 when they reach 81. Saga cover would be £176.80, or £203.40 for the older traveller. Help the Aged would charge £146.64 and £187. However, for a single trip to Australia, Saga would charge the 77-year-old £138.54, or £178.34 at 81. Age Concern is slightly cheaper for the older age range, with £143, or £151 at 81. Help the Aged is slightly more expensive again, at £187 or £209. Those travelling in Europe can exploit free local medical care by taking an E111 form with them. However, Hoyle warns that there can be difficulties if you do become ill. He explains: "The Spanish equivalent of the NHS is excellent, but the difficulties lie in gaining access. All the services aimed at tourists are set up with the intention of channelling you into private provision." Can anyone stop me driving as I get older? The short answer is yes. The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) can refuse to grant you a licence on health grounds, or the police can recommend your licence is removed. Finally, if you can't find insurance cover, then you must not go on the road. The truth is that older people have more road accidents. A typical 70-year-old driver is 13% more likely to make a claim than someone aged 40 to 50, according to as yet unpublished research from the Association of British Insurers. Even at 60, the hazard lights start flashing for insurers. Only one in five drivers has passed this threshold, yet they already account for one in four accidents. As far as many insurers are concerned, 80-year-olds are as dangerous as 25-year-old boy racers. Within a decade, the number of over-70s behind the wheel will have reached 4.5 million, according to an Institute of Advanced Motoring report published last week. Insurers fear this could trigger chaos on the roads and send accidents and therefore insurance premiums soaring. This partly explains why the government is toying with the idea of introducing mandatory medical MOTs for drivers, which could ban many senior road users. Few within the industry expect ministers to opt for such a draconian step. However, they do anticipate more responsibility being placed on pensioners to unilaterally put away the driving gloves when they are no longer safe. In areas where the elderly population already outnumbers other age groups, the authorities have begun taking action. Torbay Council's road safety officer Bev Hannah told Scotland on Sunday that both the council and police have launched a major initiative aimed not just at the elderly but also their families and doctors, asking them all to take responsibility for an elderly person who is still fit to drive. She said: "There are more over-55s living in Torbay than any other age group by a big margin, and we did go through a spate of accidents. The problem is elderly people cannot always see themselves when it is time to give up driving, so those closest to them must take responsibility for that. That's not to say all elderly drivers are unfit to be on the road. A 70-year-old can be a much safer driver than someone of 40." But insurers are becoming more nervous, with many mainstream companies refusing to give quotes to drivers as young as 70. At 75, the choice of insurer narrows further, and by 80 drivers are restricted to a spartan list of underwriters who specialise in the elderly. Elderly women pay even more. Ellie Stanton of Help the Aged explains: "Young women are a better risk than young men, but it is the opposite as they get older. The men's driving improves, while the women become more accident-prone." The AA's Ian Crowder says the key to cost-effective cover as you get older is to build up a good track record with an insurer and stick with them, because only a handful of companies will offer you a quote. He explains: "Unfortunately, drivers are much more likely to have accidents as they get older. They have slower reaction times, and their hearing and eyesight may have deteriorated. They may get more easily confused. In today's fast-moving traffic, a fraction of a second slower reaction can make the difference between having an accident and avoiding one." Insurers are increasingly asking for medicals before underwriting an older driver, according to Crowder. The Institute of Advanced Motorists says that our roadhog Methuselahs are themselves aware of the problem, with seven out of 10 saying they would like refresher courses to brush up on busy motorways. The Institute is extending its advanced tests to non-members to help older drivers build up confidence and spot any potentially serious problems which may require them to reassess whether they should be driving at all. Age Concern insurance manager David Hoyle says drivers can take steps to keep accidents to a minimum and themselves insurable. He argues: "It's often taking care with the little things. If you are in a car park, walk round the vehicle before you pull away. It stops all those silly shunts. As people get older, their necks stiffen up and they don't always have such good all-round visibility." The good news is that there are companies out there which specialise in older drivers, and claim to have drivers over 100 on their books. Help the Aged and Age Concern both have insurance divisions which offer policies with no upper age limit. Organisations such as Saga, RIAS and Cornhill Direct actively seek new business from older drivers. Only Cornhill has an upper age limit for new drivers, set at what it claims is a generous 84. However, Saga has a 105-year-old driver on its books and several others aged over 100. A 77-year-old woman driving a Fiat Brava at a low-risk postcode would be charged £186.90 by Saga, £225.75 by Help the Aged, £326 by RIAS and £384.30 by Age Concern. That would rise at age 81 to £228.40 (Saga), £240.41 (Help the Aged), £377 (RIAS) and £428.73 at Age Concern. However, the AA says even though many mainstream insurers will not continue cover into advanced years, older drivers should not automatically go to one of the specialists. Crowder explains: "We have firms on our panel which will extend cover to those over 100. The specialists may not necessarily be the cheapest." Directline for example, is one of the big insurers who will offer cover to older drivers, although it refuses to take on new business from people aged over 80. It would charge a 79-year-old Fiat Brava driver living in a low-risk postcode £282.45. Household insurance This is the one area where substantial discounts are available for the elderly with no nasty stings as old age approaches. Most burglaries take place in the middle of the afternoon, so homes which are lived in at this time can cut their bills by up to a third. Most insurers will offer discounts for elderly residents, although some, such as RIAS and Saga, specifically target them. Medical and life As people age and their health deteriorates, the cost of private medical insurance can soar, and life cover too becomes prohibitive. Saga will cover a 77-year-old for £102 per month, or an 81-year-old for £126.77 monthly. It is possible, sometimes, to reduce the cost of medical and dental cover by insuring in a block with other members of the family, although normally you must be living with them to do so. Pet insurance Many elderly people spend a big chunk of their pensions looking after their pets, and on pet insurance. Although in theory the animals are better looked after than by younger families, they tend like their owners to be older and therefore significantly more expensive to insure. Furthermore, as more life-prolonging treatments become available, so the cost rises further. Rabbits with hip replacements and diabetic cats are no longer a rarity. Insurance nightmare for our dream trip HELENA and John Shiells had always dreamed of seeing Alaska, and as their Golden Wedding anniversary approached they decided it was time for their trip of a lifetime, writes Teresa Hunter. The 71-year-old couple from Linlithgow spent months planning the holiday together, including a stop at the Rocky Mountains in Canada. But their dreams began to fall apart when they tried to buy travel insurance. John contacted all the usual places they had used in the past for holidays, only to discover that now they were over 70, their business was no longer appreciated. Finally he tried Saga, and they were offered a policy without any problems. John says: "It was a big relief because I was beginning to get worried that we might not be able to find insurance. It was a bit more expensive than we usually pay, but if you want to go then you don't have much option. "It was well worth it. The trip lived up to everything we could have hoped for. It was absolutely wonderful. Now we have more than 100 photographs to remind us of that very special time celebrating that special anniversary." By Teresa Hunter teresahunter@scotlandonsunday.com