Car insurance increase - is it because I am 60 ?

[dsfbrit]

I have just asked for a quote to renew my car insurance. Nothing has changed apart from the fact I am now 60 years old.

Could this be the reason the premium has increased by around 50 percent ?

The insurance is class 1. I have not had an accident, nor been arrested for anything.

One other thing, the vehicle is now 10 years old. It is in very very good condition and has only done 65000 KM.

Thanks for your help

[AAInsuranceBrokers]

This could well be due to the premiums rates increasing however suggest if you are not happy to shop around for other quotes HERE

[dsfbrit]

AAInsuranceBrokers - thanks for the link,

[Pib]

It's not because you reached 60 years of age. Now as vehicles get older the coverage levels in certain areas of the policy decrease and if you want to keep them at certain levels you have to pay extra---have you been doing that which could have caused the increase. Condition of the car in the owner's mind (or odometer) means very little to an insurance company, but the age of he vehicle does. Ask for some quotes from other companies/brokers.

[dsfbrit]

Pib, thanks for the feedback.

I agree with you about the condition of the vehicle being in the 'eye of the beholder'.

However, I was really trying to say that compared to last year, it looks pretty much the same, has not been modified etc.. and so should not be a reason for a major percentage increase in the cost of the premium.

With relation to the condition of the vehicle, I am quite 'happy' that the compensation paid in the case of a complete write-off has reduced by 10 percent, from 370,000 baht to 340,000 baht, fair enough.

Also, the money paid out in case of medical injury, bail bonds etc... is all the same...has not changed at all from last year.

Everything is the same, but the cost of the insurance has increased from around 7000 baht to around 11000 baht - it makes no sense at all.

I know it is only 4000 baht, but that is over 50 percent and I just cannot understand the increase at all.

Do you know anything about DirectAsia as an insurance provider?

[AAInsuranceBrokers]

It's not because you reached 60 years of age. Now as vehicles get older the coverage levels in certain areas of the policy decrease and if you want to keep them at certain levels you have to pay extra---have you been doing that which could have caused the increase. Condition of the car in the owner's mind (or odometer) means very little to an insurance company, but the age of he vehicle does. Ask for some quotes from other companies/brokers.

In fact once you reach the age of 50 many companies decrease the vehicle premiums - not by much though

[dsfbrit]

AAInsuranceBrokers, thanks for your feedback. That is what I thought as well, for car insurance anyway, not medical cover though!

Pib asked me if I have done anything that would warrant this increase. I cannot think of anything.

- I have a Thai license

- I have not been arrested for speeding, drink driving (I don't even drink alcohol), drugs, not even had a parking ticket.

- I have only driven about 5000 Km in the last year.

- I have not modified the vehicle. It is just a Toyota pickup, so hardly a vehicle I would want to 'soup-up'.

I am looking at other options at the moment, the best deals seem to be online, not sure how good they are at paying out though - I am checking that out at the moment.

[Pib]

Pib, thanks for the feedback.

I agree with you about the condition of the vehicle being in the 'eye of the beholder'.

However, I was really trying to say that compared to last year, it looks pretty much the same, has not been modified etc.. and so should not be a reason for a major percentage increase in the cost of the premium.

With relation to the condition of the vehicle, I am quite 'happy' that the compensation paid in the case of a complete write-off has reduced by 10 percent, from 370,000 baht to 340,000 baht, fair enough.

Also, the money paid out in case of medical injury, bail bonds etc... is all the same...has not changed at all from last year.

Everything is the same, but the cost of the insurance has increased from around 7000 baht to around 11000 baht - it makes no sense at all.

I know it is only 4000 baht, but that is over 50 percent and I just cannot understand the increase at all.

Do you know anything about DirectAsia as an insurance provider?

No, I have never heard of them, but that don't mean they are not a big insurance provider. I get my insurance through a broker in Bangkok I've been dealing with for years and I've always used LMG insurance...they are not the cheapest but still have good rates and coverage, have have a very good reputation, and even provide policies in English. I've only had only minor claim with them over years in getting a broken window replaced on my Toyota Fortuner and that claim went fast & smooth....and didn't cause any premium increase the following year. But during those years I've sometimes noticed coverage changes on my renewal notices which I would always ask questions about and fortunately my broker reads, writes, and speaks excellent English...hard to run across a Thai with that capability.

Anyway, I have found out when a car reaches the grand old age of 5 years then certain coverage limits are reduced unless you pay extra to maintain them at higher levels. Also, while driving year after year with no claims which will usually earn you good driver discounts at the same time some coverage limits may also be going down....and then the car is usually not eligible for dealer repair...only contract repair (i.e., insurance company picks the repair shop) unless paying a much higher premium for continued dealer repair which may or may not be possible depending on the insurance company.

Many times when I have asked questions about why did my coverage limits go down/change or why wasn't a good driver discount as large as what I thought it would be, I would ask my broker and she would give me good answers...even with detailed quotes from other companies just to prove how the Thai auto insurance industries/polices work. When dealing with brokers in comparing insurance if they don't/can't/won't give you detailed quotes then just move along because providing detailed quotes is not hard for them.

I don't know what kind of vehicle you have which can affect rates, but 7,000 baht for true 1st class insurance seems really low...you sure you got complete, 1st class insurance or maybe have 2nd class insurance? If you happen to live in Bangkok and want the name of the insurance brokerage company I use, just PM me. Cheers.

[transam]

I am a fair bit older than the OP and my premium has gone down every year on the same vehicle, fink I was 57 when I bought it..

PS. AA Insurance..........

PPS. But I have been a good boy in the ride...

[dsfbrit]

Pib and Transam, thanks for the feedback.

Pib it is a Toyota Hilux 4 door pickup 3.0 Litre Diesel Manual.

The precise cost was 7500 baht. I thought 7500 baht was a good price to pay. It is definitely class A insurance.

[Pib]

I am a fair bit older than the OP and my premium has gone down every year on the same vehicle, fink I was 57 when I bought it..

PS. AA Insurance..........

PPS. But I have been a good boy in the ride...

transam,

I expect you have got your Thai citizenship by now but maybe haven't signed up for the Thai old age pension yet for folks over 60. The signup window is 1-30 Nov of each year...going on right now. I expect you may qualify for the age group which gets Bt1,000/mo but there are other amounts for other age groups....see below.

P.S. I use my Bt1,000 to buy diesel for my Fortuner.

[transam]

I am a fair bit older than the OP and my premium has gone down every year on the same vehicle, fink I was 57 when I bought it..

PS. AA Insurance..........

PPS. But I have been a good boy in the ride...

transam,

I expect you have got your Thai citizenship by now but maybe haven't signed up for the Thai old age pension yet for folks over 60. The signup window is 1-30 Nov of each year...going on right now. I expect you may qualify for the age group which gets Bt1,000/mo but there are other amounts for other age groups....see below.

P.S. I use my Bt1,000 to buy diesel for my Fortuner.

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Naaaaaaah, they won't have me, seems cos I like V8 stuff I am an undesirable.........

[dsfbrit]

Can I have 1000 baht a month for diesel please

I have just been looking at my quote and wondering if I could reduce any payouts. I have a bail bond of 200K baht, that sounds a bit high. I also have passenger accident insurance of 200K (normally 100k in other quotes) per person for up to 6 passengers. I have never had more than 4 in the pick-up and normally it is just me and my wife.

What do you think, safe to cut these amounts?

[Pib]

Can I have 1000 baht a month for diesel please

I have just been looking at my quote and wondering if I could reduce any payouts. I have a bail bond of 200K baht, that sounds a bit high. I also have passenger accident insurance of 200K (normally 100k in other quotes) per person for up to 6 passengers. I have never had more than 4 in the pick-up and normally it is just me and my wife.

What do you think, safe to cut these amounts?

Only an insurance broker/company could give you good answers and specific premium amounts. I have stumbled across Thai insurance web sites that gives premium quotes online...you might want to google for some of those.

But IMO Bt200K is not high bail bond for a farang. I've read quite a few news articles/posts over the years where a farang was supposedly at fault in causing an accident and then released on Bt200K or Bt300K bail. Bail for a farang will usually be higher than a Thai since they know a farang can skip Thailand easily....plus all farangs can afford high bail, right?

Don't have a clue if you could just say you will never have more than X-passengers versus the 6 your vehicle is made for....I'm going to guess whatever the seating capacity of your vehicle is, that's the insurance coverage you get...don't have a choice in the "number of passengers" to be insured. But I expect there would be a small discount for lowering the medical coverage per person. And sure, supposedly you can get a small discount identifying the only possible "drivers" for the vehicles, like only you and your wife, and then hope you never do let someone else drive you car and has an accident. I checked that out once with my broker and it was much of discount plus I knew maybe once a year I do have an in-law drive my vehicle so I didn't want to put myself in an un-insured situation in case of an accident while the in-law was driving.

Yeap, contact a broker for good, specific answers and baht amounts. Good luck.

[NanLaew]

If the current insurance carrier can't easily explain or justify the increase, then it is time to shop around.

FYI, I was happy with LMG coverage that was provided free for the first year by the dealer so I just rolled it over for the second year. However, when the next renewal came around, I did some shopping with AA and got a better, cheaper deal with AXA.

[kamalabob2]

I'm 60 and my premium has gone down each year since 2005 on a Fortuner. I have much higher coverage limits than the OP, but I did the 5000 baht "co pay" or "deductible". I also lowered the premium by having only 2 named drivers. I paid just over 10K last month for a year's premium on a 2005 Fortuner. I've raised the value of the Fortuner, for a small increase in the premium fee, to better reflect what the cost to replace the Fortuner would be.

[dsfbrit]

PIB, thanks for your comments. I agree with you on all points. I am actually the only named driver already. My wife doesn't drive a car, just her motorbike.

Nanlaew, my thoughts as well. An increase of 50 percent on the premium just makes no sense at all. They have come back to me now with a quote of 9300 baht.

kamalabob2, that is what I would have expected to happen. Just out of interest WHO are you insured with? This year I would have thought the insurance cost would have reduced, not increased by over 50 percent.

Anyway, the price has now changed from around 7500 baht I paid last year, to around 11000 baht this year and I received an email saying the insurance has now been reduced to 9300 baht.

So that is an increase from last year of 1800 baht or around 25 percent. Not sure why there is this increase, but for the extra 1800 baht it may not be worth me spending time looking for a better deal - especially as I know this is a reputable insurance company. I will have a think about this and I will maybe check out the companies you have mentioned above.

Thanks to you all for your advice, much appreciated

[Badrabbit]

I am 58 and have had accident insurance with Siam commercial for 5 yrs, all of a sudden they doubled the premium and halved the cover, they said "it's your age" I no longer use them!

[Pib]

I am 58 and have had accident insurance with Siam commercial for 5 yrs, all of a sudden they doubled the premium and halved the cover, they said "it's your age" I no longer use them!

Don't know if accident and vehicle insurance equate age group wise (expect they don't), but I do think the major age groups for "accident" insurance are 1 - 17 yrs, 18-65 yrs, and 66-70 yrs like this AXA Accident Insurance webpage lists. Now if you meant by saying "accident' as in vehicle accident, then yea, vehicle insurance jumping up at 58 yrs don't seem right. Now when a vehicle reaches the grand old age of 5 (five) years the coverage amount usually drop significantly and to keep the coverage amount at the higher, previous levels it requires you to pay a higher premium. I guess in Thailand when a vehicle reaches 5 years of age insurance companies figure the average Thai has not maintained their vehicle like they should (i.e., putting off/not accomplishing periodic maintenance, tires need replacement, some lights don't work, etc) and vehicles of that age tend to encounter more accidents...heck, cars/trucks don't require a yearly safety inspection until reaching 7 years of age. Then again, it could be just a BS reason Thai insurance companies have used to extract more premiums.