Insurance firms banning OAP volunteer drivers

Insurance firms are putting the brakes on pensioners driving elderly and frail people to hospital.

Across the country thousands of old and disabled people rely on volunteer drivers to ferry them to medical appointments, trips and visits.

Without this army of dedicated volunteers, many of the country’s most vulnerable people would be left isolated.

But now it has emerged older drivers are being forced to quit as insurers claim they are over the hill.

The Sunday Post has learned numerous councils across the country have banned competent, healthy drivers in their 70s, sparking accusations of ageism.

But the insurance industry has hit back, revealing the cost of claims increases when drivers are aged over 75.

Derek Barton, 68, vice chairman of the North West Pensioners’ Association, blasted: “If they are fit and healthy, it doesn’t matter what age they are.

“If they are competent, they should be allowed to do it. It’s age discrimination. I have used these schemes myself and they are fantastic but they are very short-staffed and this will only make it worse.”

Among those who have fallen foul of the policy is Neil Stuart, 75, who has been a volunteer driver with a social car scheme in Keswick, Cumbria, for 14 years.

Neil, who passed his test in 1957, has been told by Cumbria County Council its insurance policy does not allow volunteer drivers beyond 75 and that he must quit when he turns 76 this month.

The retired admin manager has enjoyed a blemish-free driving record and does not have to re-apply for his licence until 2018.

He said: “It is a matter of principle. It is age discrimination to say there’s a blanket ban at 76 to tell people ‘you’ve had it’.”

Neil is one of a stream of healthy pensioners across the UK who have been forced to give up volunteer driving roles.

In the north-east, a 70-year-old was forced to stop driving elderly people in a minibus, after insurers refused to cover him, despite not having an accident in 50 years.

In Dorset, an 81-year-old woman, also with 50 years’ experience and a clean licence, was told she was “uninsurable” and was ordered to quit.

Age UK’s Caroline Abrahams said: “Ability and safety, not age, should determine if a person is fit to drive. It’s important people should not be prevented from doing so on the arbitrary basis of birth-date alone.”

The Association of British Insurers said research shows the average claim cost for accidents increases greatly among the over-75s.

A spokesperson said: “For some group motor schemes there may be a maximum age cap, set by the insurer to limit the premium to a level that the organisation is able to pay.

“If there is any age cap on such group motor policies, this is not fixed at a particular age in the market and will depend on a range of factors, taking into account evidence that the risk and average claim cost of an accident increases with age, especially after the age of 75.”

Referring to Neil’s case, a Cumbria County Council spokesperson said: “The age limit is due to our insurance cover. We are looking into our policy.”

Research has shown that younger drivers are up to five times more likely to have a crash in which someone is injured than those who are older.