Auto Insurance Rates for Seniors?

[mountainsoft]

My wife and I both renewed our auto insurance recently:

Me: 56 years old
Car: 2000 VW jetta
Insurer: State Farm
Rate: $175 for 6 month policy (no coverage on my car)

Wife: 52 years old
Car: 2004 VW Jetta
Insurer: State Farm
Rate: $165 for 6 month policy (no coverage on her car)

Our rates have actually gone down in recent years, despite buying "newer" cars. It doesn't make sense to pay for full coverage on cars as old as ours.

This weekend my mother-in-law was telling us about her auto insurance.

MIL: 82 year old female
Car: 2003 Toyota Camry
Insurer: Safeco
Rate: $520 for 6 month policy (full coverage)

I assumed rates would go up for older (riskier) seniors, but that seemed crazy to me. So I came home and got several quotes online for $500 to $800, and that was without full coverage. That really shocked me. She pays over $1000 a year for a $3000 car she drives less than 500 miles per year!

So, I'm curious what kind of rates you pay at your age. Is my mother-in-law just an outlier case, or can we expect these kinds of rates later in life too.

 

[teejayevans]

In the aviation world, some companies won’t insure older pilots.
They can’t drop you, but they can jack up your rates.

 

[braumeister]

What are the specific coverages and limits?

No way to compare without knowing that.

 

[jazz4cash]

While I was with State Farm in my late 50’s, liability only on my 15 yo base model mid size pickup was ~$369/6 mos. We had 2 claims with them and the service was excellent. Their homeowners premium was exorbitant so we switched and saved 50% on the homeowners coverage

 

[VanWinkle]

Age 65, 2019 Toyota Highlander, full coverage 1000 ded 250/500 liability, 100,000 PD. No tow and no rental 260.00 per 6 months. Great credit score
and no tickets or accidents last 5 years.

 

[euro]

Is your MIL in the same location as you and your wife? Get a quote for her for #no collision/no comprehensive#, and then you have a reasonable comparison. Full coverage probably doesn’t make sense for her old car anyway, especially if the deductible is high.
Those of us who still remember how their car insurance rates skyrocketed when they added a couple of teenagers to the policy, I can tell you that $1000 per year is not necessarily a massive number for a higher risk individual.

 

[Midpack]

I don’t know why seniors rates for auto insurance should be any different, and super seniors should be higher. I’ve noticed that distracted driving cuts across all ages, it’s certainly not just younger drivers, and distracted seniors have lower reaction times. We’re paying about $900/yr for two of us, maximum liability and deductible. And umbrella insurance on top of that.

 

[mountainsoft]

What are the specific coverages and limits?
No way to compare without knowing that.

All of us have similar coverages, 100K/300K bodily injury, 100K property damage, 25K medical.

Cars are around the same age, and we live in the same general area.

 

[mountainsoft]

While I was with State Farm in my late 50’s, liability only on my 15 yo base model mid size pickup was ~$369/6 mos. We had 2 claims with them and the service was excellent. Their homeowners premium was exorbitant so we switched and saved 50% on the homeowners coverage

My parents had State Farm when I started driving, so that's what I've stayed with. I did check around a couple times but never found rates worth switching for.

We do get about $189 in "discounts" for multi-line, multi-car, accident free, and vehicle safety. So without those we would probably be closer to the $350/6 month range.

Our homeowner policy is under $975/year which seems reasonable to me.

 

[skipro33]

I imagine where someone lives matters. I'm in California.

Brand new 2020 Subaru Ascent Touring paid $44,000 in November. Insurance is $1,454 a year and is full coverage everything including full replacement cost for the fist year. It has half a mill liability in order to get the full mill umbrella as well.

I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 4x4 2500 diesel truck that I pay $1,190 a year and has the same policy as the new Subaru. Some may say a 14+ year old truck need not have full coverage, but I don't agree. I took it in last year for an air bag recall. When I went to pick it up, 3 mechanics were there to meet me and offer me full price what I paid for it new; $34,000. A 2020 replacement would be at least twice that when I asked what it would cost me if I bought a new one.

I also have a 1991 Suzuki Samurai and a couple motorcycles insured, but they are minimum policies of only a few hundred a year.

 

[mountainsoft]

Age 65, 2019 Toyota Highlander, full coverage 1000 ded 250/500 liability, 100,000 PD. No tow and no rental 260.00 per 6 months. Great credit score and no tickets or accidents last 5 years.

Her insurance agent did mention her credit score factored into her rates. I had never heard of that. Why would a credit score affect auto insurance?

She has never had a credit card or taken out a loan, never had an accident, never got a speeding ticket, and drives less than 500 miles per year around her rural community. She's probably a lot less risk than me or my wife.

 

[mountainsoft]

Is your MIL in the same location as you and your wife? Get a quote for her for #no collision/no comprehensive#, and then you have a reasonable comparison. Full coverage probably doesn’t make sense for her old car anyway, especially if the deductible is high.

The quotes I got were for No Collision and No Comprehensive. They were still higher than her existing full coverage policy.

She actually called the company that insures her home to see if they would insure her car too. Even with multi-line discounts they couldn't come close to what she is paying now. They told her to stay with her existing policy with the other company.

 

[braumeister]

I imagine where someone lives matters. I'm in California.

Very much so. I've been told several times that your zip code plays a large role in setting your rates. These days your credit score is also a factor with many companies.

 

[Aerides]

Two words: Actuarial tables

They have all the data: age, zip, car, etc. that says that the 82 year old driver in car 1, zip code A is going to wind up more expensive than the 52 year old driver in car 2, zip code B. Are they more likely to cause a wreck? Quite possibly irrelevant. And the value of the car is only part of it, it's the potential of the other cars, geography, the other drivers involved, the possible medical/liability payouts, etc.

Simply put, the insurers have data that supports that your DM is going to cost them more on average in payouts than you are.

OP, your 6 month rates are quite low. DH and I have newer cars, and carry high coverage as required by our umbrella policy, and we pay usually about $1k every 6 months for the two of us.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We have to maintain a High Auto Rate 250/500 liability for our Umbrella insurance. However, we still consider $325 for 6 months for 2 people fully insured with an up market 2020 SUV very reasonable.

 

[cathy63]

This happened to my Mom as well once she got into her '80s. She's in a similar situation, driving an older car just around the town where she has lived for 50 years, and she has never had an accident. California is one of the states where it's against the law to base insurance rates on credit scores, so that's not a factor for her (although her credit score is high anyway); it's just due to her age. She called her agent and was able to get the rates reduced somewhat, but she's still paying more than someone 5 years younger would pay.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I had a person in their 80's on my policy. It was only about $100 a year higher because of it. I still think something is wrong with her quote. Maybe she could drop full coverage.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Her insurance agent did mention her credit score factored into her rates. I had never heard of that. Why would a credit score affect auto insurance?

She has never had a credit card or taken out a loan, never had an accident, never got a speeding ticket, and drives less than 500 miles per year around her rural community. She's probably a lot less risk than me or my wife.

I think you have hit the cause. Ask her to get one credit card. I think she will see the rates drop. She can just use it once a year. It might take a month or two before a score appears. I have cards that I only use once a year.

 

[Dtail]

DGF and I pay 2400 yearly on 2 cars; 2011 and 2019 with full coverage.
Car insurance is generally expensive in Florida.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

DGF and I pay 2400 yearly on 2 cars; 2011 and 2019 with full coverage.
Car insurance is generally expensive in Florida.

I am sure you have analyzed all the Dtail(es) .... .

No seriously, that seems very high, here in NE Fla, we were paying $595 for 6 months for 2 new leased cars BMW and a Jeep Wrangler, when we had 2 cars. That was about 4 years back though. $2,400 seems awful high. We are with Progressive.

 

[jazz4cash]

.

Our homeowner policy is under $975/year which seems reasonable to me.

Our homeowners dropped from 1700 to under 800 when we switched to Nationwide 4 yrs ago. Our agent was never available and left us dealing with a Jr trainee. Auto was about the same after the switch. Homeowner’s policy has crept up to 1100 but they did just put a roof on for us so I’m pretty happy with that.