As you get older you generally become wiser when it comes to dealing with issues around the home, so insurers see older people’s homes as less of a risk to insure.
In this guide we explain insurance for over 50s and also tell you all about the best home and home and contents insurance for over 60s.
Read on to find out how you can save on your home insurance after 50.
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When insurers look at insurance applications they often rely on a lot of data to work out how much risk might be involved in insuring that person, their possessions or their property.
The level of risk often determines how much you pay, and also what level of cover they will be willing to provide you with.
Unfortunately the statistics and data used by insurers does not always paint the full picture, which is why many people feel unfairly short-changed when, for example, they get higher premiums on their car insurance for being too young, or find it harder to get life insurance because they are too old.
On the other hand, when it comes to buying uswitch home insurance or home and contents insurance, you might find that you can get a better deal because you are over 50 or over 60 years old.
Statistically speaking, insurers will often find a pattern among the over 50s and over 60s, which shows that they are less likely to make a claim.
This might be because older people have more experience with looking after a home or it could be that they are less likely to have lots of parties and young children or pets in the house all the time – scenarios where things in the home could easily break.
What’s more, is that, statistically speaking, people in their 50s and 60s – when they do eventually make a claim – tend to make smaller claims than younger people.
So this could mean an older person is more likely to make a claim to repair a small area of damp in the ceilings, while a younger person might be more likely to make a large claim to fix a subsidence problem.
In addition to this, when it comes to home insurance claims, people aged 50 and over tend to be more truthful about their claims. Younger people, statistically speaking, are more likely to exaggerate the extent of the damage or the amount they’ve lost in order to make the most of the claim, while older people might be more honest about the situation.
As a result, you might find that you can get a cheaper deal on your insurance for your house if you are over 50 or over 60 years old.
Remember, this is all based off of statistics that insurers use to analyse your risk. You may have other risk factors that could undermine your age, but being over 50 or over 60 years old is a good place to start when comparing home insurance. Read our guide to learn all about cheap home insurance for over 50s and 60s and see what type of insurance you might need.
Do you need over 50s home insurance?
You can compare home insurance policies from a range of specialist providers who cater to people aged over 50. There are some insurance providers who exclusively provide home insurance policies to people aged over 50, over 60, over 70 and even over 80, so it’s never too late to consider taking out a home insurance policy.
But first, ask yourself what kind of house insurance you need. Do you need to buy cover for the actual building or do you want to protect your possessions?
There are two main types of home insurance: buildings insurance and contents insurance. However, with both types of cover, insurers will usually offer more flexible options to people over 50 and over 60 years old (see below in ‘Benefits of home insurance for over 50s and over 60s’ to find out more).
Buildings insurance will cover the main structure of the building – this includes the walls, roof and any items built into the structure such as the bathroom and a fitted kitchen.
You may have already reached a stage in your life where you have paid off a lot of your debts, including your mortgage so if you have some money left over you might want to also consider paying for repairs yourself.
However, home insurance is an investment, and in the long run could work out cheaper for you than if you paid for everything yourself as there’s no telling what could happen to your home or how much it might cost.
Contents insurance will cover all of your personal belongings if they get stolen or are damaged. Some home insurance providers might charge you extra if you want to have accidental damage cover, which would allow you to replace an item like a television if you bumped into it and accidentally smashed it on the ground.
You would most likely to need to declare high value items in your house separately such as jewellery or furniture, and these might incur separate charges. So just bear in mind that home contents insurance will insure all of your possessions but only up to a certain value – anything above that value will usually need separate protection.
Benefits of home and contents insurance for over 50s and over 60s
As you get older there are certain benefits you can get with both your buildings insurance for over 50s and over 60s, and your home contents insurance for over 50s and 60s. With these age groups insurers tend to find less risk involved with providing cover, but there are also areas in the lifestyle of someone who is over 50 or over 60 that work well for the insurer. This means you can get a better deal too.
For buildings insurance, if you are aged over 50 you might be able to get a much higher level of cover than if you were younger. This is because over 50s and 60s are more likely to be the owners of large family homes. So if you had serious damage to your home you would be more likely to get full cover for it.
Unoccupied homes tend to be more expensive to insure, but if you travel frequently you can probably get a better deal on your insurance simply because you are aged over 50 or over 60 years old.
For contents insurance, just like with buildings insurance for over 50s and over 60s, you are more likely to get a higher level of cover on your items. Some insurers will even let you have a ‘new for old’ insurance policy, which essentially means that if your old washing machine was damaged you would get enough compensation back from your claim to buy a brand-new one.
Before taking out any uswitch home insurance policy be sure to check the terms and conditions and see if it works out for you for the price you will be paying.
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