Car Insurance Gets Cheaper Through Your 50s And 60s. Around 70, The Trend Starts Running In Reverse

The post Car Insurance Gets Cheaper Through Your 50s and 60s. Around 70, the Trend Starts Running in Reverse appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..

You’re in your late 60s, you have a clean record, and your renewal notice still went up. That increase comes from an age curve that insurers build into their pricing. In 2026 rate data from CarInsurance.com, a full-coverage policy averages $2,421 at age 50 and bottoms out at $2,312 at age 60. From there it rises to $2,498 at 70.

This frustration has been around a long time. A caller on The Clark Howard Podcast in May 2017 opened with “I am a senior citizen and we’re shopping around for car insurance, with a combination of house also.” Plenty of retired people could make that same call today.

1. Drivers roughly 60 to 75, many on fixed incomes, feel this most.
2. Premiums hit their low at age 60, averaging about $2,312 a year.
3. By 75, the average reaches about $2,742, roughly $430 or about 19% more.
4. You can absorb the increase, or trim coverage and compare quotes to offset it.

The timing makes it worse. The BLS research price index for Americans 62 and older rose 3.6% over the past year. A higher car insurance bill is landing on a household budget that is already getting more expensive.

Claims Per Policy Drive the Price, and They Turn Up Near 70

Insurers set prices based on expected claims. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that drivers ages 65 to 69 have the lowest rates of property damage liability and collision claims per covered vehicle. Those rates start increasing after about age 70.

The full picture is better to older drivers. Measured per licensed driver, fatal crash rates for people ages 70 to 79 fell below those of drivers 35 to 54 for the first time in 2015. Crash rates per mile do rise starting around 70. IIHS points out that older drivers do much of their driving in city traffic, which has higher crash rates than freeways, so the per-mile figures may be somewhat inflated.

Your age is fixed, but insurers also price how much risk they’re carrying on you: how many miles you drive, what your car is worth, and how big your deductible is. You control all three. An age increase of a few hundred dollars is well within what those choices can offset.

Three Moves That Can Erase the Age Increase

Take a Mature Driver Course Now

Many states require insurers to give a discount for an approved driver safety course. In New York, completing a DMV-approved course gets you a mandatory 10% reduction on your premium for three years.

On a $2,742 policy, that comes to about $274 a year. That is more than the $186 average increase between ages 60 and 70. The course usually takes a few hours online, so this is the easiest savings on the list. Retake it before the discount runs out.

Pay for the Miles You Actually Drive

IIHS notes that many older drivers drive fewer miles and avoid night driving. If you no longer commute, ask about low-mileage discounts, pay-per-mile policies, or tracking programs that score how you drive. The downside of tracking is that it records hard braking and late-night trips, so it rewards calm daytime driving and can punish everything else.

Cut Coverage on an Older Car

In October 2018, Clark Howard asked a caller “Are any of the cars you have old enough that you can avoid taking collision and comprehensive on that vehicle?” On a car worth $4,000 with a $1,000 deductible, the most collision coverage will ever pay you is $3,000. Look at what you pay for that coverage each year. If it’s a large share of that maximum payout, you’re overpaying to protect a car you could largely replace yourself. Raising the deductible is a middle option. Keep full coverage if losing the car would wipe out your emergency savings.

What to Do Before Your Next Renewal

1. Shop every renewal after 65. Insurers don’t price age the same way. Some raise rates much more sharply for drivers over 70, so the company that was cheapest at 62 may be expensive at 72. Get quotes on a home and auto package and on separate policies, because a bundle isn’t always cheaper.
2. Add discounts in order of effort. Do the mature driver course first, since it’s quick and, in states that require the discount, guaranteed. Then ask about mileage-based pricing. Change deductibles and collision coverage last, once you’ve checked what the car is worth.
3. Avoid cutting liability limits to save money. This is the priciest mistake. Retired people often have home equity and retirement savings that a serious lawsuit could go after. Liability coverage protects that money. Trim collision coverage on an old car before you touch the coverage that protects your net worth.

Your premium will probably keep creeping up after 70. A course certificate, accurate mileage numbers, and a round of quotes at renewal can keep your bill near what you paid at 60.

The post Car Insurance Gets Cheaper Through Your 50s and 60s. Around 70, the Trend Starts Running in Reverse appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..