Maybe you’re getting on in years, affectionately told that you’re long in the tooth, over the hill, and that you’re no spring chicken. People can be cruel. Alternatively, you might be knee-high to a grasshopper and still being ID’ed when you order a drink. Either way, in our modern world, age really is just a number, and you can be and do just about whoever and whatever you want. Want to take up the violin at the age of 56? Do it. Want to write a novel at the age of 23? Go right ahead.
Age is more or less immaterial… Unless we’re talking about insurance.
Your insurance company cares a great deal about your age because it plays an influential role in your personal profile. They like knowing these kinds of details, because then they can build a better picture of who you are, what kind of policy you need, and how much you should pay so they can insure your risk of something going wrong.
Here are the most important ways that your age affects your insurance.
Car insurance and age
Younger drivers
Statistically speaking, drivers 25 and younger are more likely get into an accident. This is mostly down to the lack of experience and other joys of youth, such as impatience and the desire to live a full life as quickly as possible. This equates to a riskier person to insure, hence the higher car insurance premium and more excesses if these drivers get into an accident.
Tip: As a young ’un, you can do your bit to bring your premium down by choosing a safe, second-hand car instead of something a bit sexier and faster.
Getting a bit older
Growing older has its perks. Your fashion choices improve, you no longer think that chicken viennas are the sole source of protein, and you have a fair understanding of what it takes to drive safely. To wit, you value parking in brightly lit areas and avoid doing a couple of doughnuts in the parking lot, with your mates hanging out the window.
Chalk it up to experience, because that’s what your insurer does. Your better driving skills put you in a safer risk bracket and this brings your premiums down.
Seniors on the road
The aging process is often the culprit behind a number of accidents involving older drivers. The likely causes are slower reflexes, feeling overwhelmed in traffic, and degenerating eyesight. These signs of getting older have an impact of your ability to drive well and that’s why insurers tend to up your insurance premium so that they can cover your increasing risk of having an accident.
Home insurance and age
Younger homeowners (yes, they do exist)
Alright, so when we say ‘young’, we’re talking about people in their early 30s and up. Very few young adults in their 20s are homeowners, but if that’s you… then read on.
As a younger homeowner, the smaller your property is likely to be and the fewer valuables you’re likely to own. Your furniture is possibly second-hand and your jewellery, while eye catching, tends towards the costume variety (barring 1 or 2 items). In short, your home insurance premiums will be somewhat lower.
Middling homeowners
As you get older, you’re exposed to more opportunities to move up the career ladder and improve your lifestyle by investing in bigger and better things, like quality items that won’t need to be chucked out so soon after buying them.
This means you’ll need to take out or increase your home contents insurance to cover your swag, bling, gadgets, and toys. As a result, the responsible, somewhat older, homeowners will fork over a higher premium.
Senior homeowners
The silver-haired, twinkly eyed senior homeowners are a different breed altogether. They pay more for car insurance, sure, but does that mean that they’ll pay more for home insurance?
Age is a bit of a double-edged sword for the seniors when it comes to the cost of homeowners insurance. On the 1 hand, most seniors tend to have sold their bigger family home in favour of something smaller and more manageable. Typically, they’ll have bought their retirement home with the cash from the sale, and more than likely located in a retirement or old age village, which means increased security.
Ultimately, seniors could pay much less for their homeowners insurance when you factor in the security features of their homes and the size of their homes.
The answer is to find a reputable insurer
Regardless of your age, accidents and other incidents tend to happen to all of us. It’s an unfortunate fact of life, but 1 that you can be prepared for. What you can do to make sure that you’re paying the cheapest price for quality cover from an insurer who cares about you as a person and your valuables, is to compare quotes from reputable insurers.
You can start your journey today by clicking here for a commitment-free quote.