The ABI Agreement on Age and Insurance

Age is one of the few personal details an insurer can still use to decide whether to cover you and what to charge. The Equality Act permits insurers to charge customers more or refuse to offer insurance if age or disability means they are more likely to make a claim, where those judgements are "relevant" and "reasonable"¹. That is the legal backdrop to the ABI Agreement on Age and Insurance, a voluntary code from the Association of British Insurers that sits alongside the law and shapes how insurers treat older customers.

In practice, the effect is felt most in travel and motor cover. Travel insurance can become more expensive as you get older, especially if you have a medical condition or disability². Car insurance premiums usually start to increase once you are 70 and go up significantly after the age of 80². Neither is a bar to cover, and neither is the end of your options: specialist providers, brokers and signposting services exist for exactly these situations.

This page explains what the agreement is, why age pricing is allowed, which types of insurance it covers, what to do if you are refused, and where to take a complaint.

What the ABI Agreement on Age and Insurance is

The agreement is a voluntary commitment by insurers, coordinated by the Association of British Insurers, on how age is treated when cover is sold. It works alongside the Equality Act rather than replacing it. The Act sets the legal boundary: insurers may charge more or decline cover where age or disability makes a claim more likely, provided the judgement is "relevant" and "reasonable"¹. The agreement sets out how insurers apply that in day-to-day decisions, particularly around signposting customers to alternatives when a provider cannot help.

The practical effect for a consumer is a route forward rather than a dead end. Where an insurer will not offer cover because of age, the expectation is that the customer is pointed towards other providers or to a broker who can approach the wider market. That matters because the market is not uniform: some insurers specialise in older drivers, some in pre-existing medical conditions, and some sell only through brokers.

It helps to separate two things the agreement touches. The first is pricing, where age is one factor among many. The second is eligibility, where age or a medical condition means a particular insurer cannot offer cover at all. The first is a cost question; the second is an access question, and it is where signposting and specialist providers do the most work.

Why insurers can still use age when pricing cover

Insurers price by risk, and age is treated as a proxy for it. The Equality Act allows this: insurers can charge more or refuse cover where age or disability means a customer is more likely to claim, as long as the judgement is "relevant" and "reasonable"¹. That is why the same policy can cost different amounts at 45, 65 and 85.

The pattern shows up across products. Travel insurance can become more expensive as you get older, especially with a medical condition or disability². Car insurance premiums usually start to increase once you are 70 and go up significantly after the age of 80². On the protection side, charges on a savings endowment policy tend to be higher if you were older when the plan started⁵. For joint life insurance, the age of the older applicant typically has a greater impact on the cost⁶.

Age is not the only factor, and often not the largest. Insurers assess risk on several personal and policy-specific factors, including age, health and medical history, smoking or vaping, the amount of cover, occupation, the length of the policy, the type of joint life policy and any optional extras⁶. A fit 72-year-old with no claims and no conditions may pay less than a 55-year-old with a recent claim. The point is that age is one input, not a verdict.

Which types of insurance the agreement covers

The agreement's reach is broad because age affects pricing and eligibility across most personal lines. It is most visible in travel and motor insurance, where age-related pricing is common and where refusal is most likely to bite.

Travel cover is the clearest case. Insurers usually will not cover pre-existing medical conditions unless they have been declared and added to the policy⁷. In most policies, pre-existing conditions, meaning conditions you had before insuring your trip, are not covered unless declared⁸. That applies whatever your age, but it interacts with age because older travellers are more likely to have a condition to declare.

Motor cover is the other main area. You must have motor insurance to drive your vehicle on UK roads³, and if you drive on UK roads you must have at least third-party motor insurance by law⁹. Age affects the price rather than the right to cover, though some insurers set their own upper limits.

Protection products are also in scope. Life insurance comes in three main types: term life insurance, whole-of-life insurance and family income benefit insurance¹⁰. People with pre-existing conditions can still access level term, decreasing term, increasing term or whole-of-life cover¹¹. Joint life insurance can be purchased by those over 50, depending on the insurer, though over 50s plans cover one person only⁶.

Refused cover because of your age: signposting to other providers

A refusal is not the end of the road. Where an insurer cannot help because of age, the agreement's purpose is to point the customer towards providers who can. Brokers are central to this: they have permissions and legal authority to act on behalf of their customers¹², and they can approach insurers that do not sell directly to the public.

There is also a formal signposting route for people with medical conditions or disabilities. The British Insurance Brokers' Association has produced a guide, with its Access to Insurance Committee, to help provide guidance for people attempting to get protection insurance if they have a medical condition or disabilities¹³. That guide is a starting point for finding a broker who specialises in harder-to-place risks.

For travel specifically, specialist providers exist. JustTravelcover.com provides a way to compare travel insurance cover for pre-existing medical conditions, such as mental health, or for people who are over 65¹⁴. MIA offers travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions¹⁴. Avanti provides travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions, including mental health conditions¹⁴. The Insurance Surgery helps people with pre-existing medical conditions find competitive life insurance and travel insurance¹⁴.

Finding travel insurance with a pre-existing condition

The single most important step is disclosure. You must declare any pre-existing medical conditions or you may not be covered². In most policies, pre-existing conditions are not covered unless they have been declared⁸. That is true whether the condition is physical or mental, and whether or not it is currently being treated.

Specialist cover is widely available. A broker can help find travel insurance that will cover you even with a pre-existing condition, alongside other unusual risks such as a high-value antique¹⁵. Specialist providers cover mental health conditions as well as physical ones¹⁴. The trade-off is usually price and the level of cover, so it is worth comparing what each policy actually includes rather than the headline premium alone.

ABTA's own research has found that the over 65s are one of the age groups most likely to travel uninsured¹⁶. That is the risk the agreement and the specialist market are trying to reduce. Travelling without cover, or with cover that excludes the very condition you have, leaves the cost of treatment, cancellation or repatriation with you.

Motor insurance for older drivers: what insurers must do

Motor insurance is compulsory, and that does not change with age. You must have motor insurance to drive your vehicle on UK roads³, and at least third-party cover is required by law⁹. No insurer can leave you legally unable to drive, but individual insurers can decline to quote, which is why shopping around matters more as you get older.

Pricing follows risk. Premiums usually start to increase once you are 70 and go up significantly after the age of 80². That is not universal: if you are older, you could qualify for a discount¹⁷. Insurers weigh claims history, mileage, the car and the area alongside age, so two drivers of the same age can be quoted very differently.

There is no legal upper age limit for car insurance. Some insurers set their own, and a broker can approach those that do not deal with the public directly¹². If you are declined, ask why, and ask whether the insurer can signpost you to a provider that will consider you.

Where the agreement does not protect you

The agreement is voluntary, and it does not override the law or create a right to cover. Two limits are worth knowing.

First, insurance contracts sit outside some consumer protections that apply elsewhere. The Consumer Rights Act 2015, Part 2, states that section 65 does not apply to contracts of insurance, including contracts to pay an annuity on human life, or to contracts relating to the creation or transfer of an interest in land¹⁹. That means the unfair terms regime does not reach insurance contracts in the way it reaches other consumer contracts.

Second, insurers can refuse cover where the risk is a certainty rather than a possibility. Insurers cannot cover certainties, so they are legally entitled to refuse cover where the medical prognosis is that you will die during the policy term²¹. That is a different situation from age-based pricing, and no agreement changes it.

There are also product-specific age limits that predate and sit outside the agreement. Many PPI policies stop covering consumers when they reach the age of 65²². From that point on, many policies only provide cover for hospitalisation, accidental death and permanent total disability, though the cost of cover usually stays the same²². That is a reminder that age limits can be written into a policy's terms, not just applied at the point of sale.

Complaints and help: the insurer, the Financial Ombudsman and MoneyHelper

If you believe an insurer has treated you unfairly because of your age, the first step is a complaint to the insurer. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman². The service can help with a complaint about an insurance company or claim⁴, and it receives complaints from consumers about a range of insurance products⁴.

The Ombudsman looks at whether the insurer got it right. In assessing a complaint, it considers the relevant law and regulations, the regulator's rules, guidance and standards, and any industry codes of practice and, where appropriate, good industry practice²³. For insurance complaints, that includes checking that your insurer has followed the Association of British Insurers guidelines and been clear about what your policy does and does not cover²⁴. Where it finds fault, it can tell the insurer to put things right and may tell them to pay compensation for distress or inconvenience²⁵.

The service is free to consumers, and you do not have to handle it alone: you can ask someone else to help you with the complaint or speak on your behalf, such as a friend, family member or support worker²⁷. It can also help parents, guardians and others bringing a complaint on behalf of someone under 18²⁸. Complaints it handles include bank accounts and bank cards, insurance for your home, car or travel, and problems with loans²⁹.

For free, impartial help before or alongside a complaint, Age UK offers advice, information and practical support¹⁸, and can give you information if you are helping an older person, with useful fact sheets on its website³⁰. Age NI provides information about pensions and other benefits in retirement³¹. MoneyHelper explains when to use an insurance broker¹⁵, and the British Insurance Brokers' Association signposts access to insurance for people who struggle to find cover¹³.