Those in the car insurance business have over recent decades needed not only to change with the growth and importance of the internet, but also how the needs of motorists have changed. Take the UK, for instance, I know of one parent insurance company that is split into several parts, all rebranded to deal with, standard insurance, insurance for over 50’s, insurance for drivers with 4 years no claims bonus or more and motorcycle insurance.
There are strong possibilities that they all just work from their same insurance database and systems and possibly use the same call centres and even staff to answer different calls. But my point is not to talk about the different brand names, but to understand why they have needed to split or expand into different brand names to cover the different elements of car insurance.
Take the over 50’s market, in the 21st century there are more retired people in the UK than ever before but more importantly for this information piece more retired divers than ever before. People are living longer, but they are also more likely to be driving around during their retirement, for a lot longer than ever before also.
Unfortunately there is statistical fissures regarding the over 50’s and driving safety. These statistics decrease or increase risk as the person gets older, quite the opposite of the risk in their younger days. It is very possible for your insurance premiums to go up in later years.
Large car insurance companies want a brand that represents these changes in life and show their customers that they are working towards their needs and so brand themselves as experts in over 50’s insurance.
If this is not done properly it may be difficult for the average person to understand why their policy has gone up, but being part of an organisation that delivers insurance just for them, can overcome that lack of confidence.
Customers in the 21sr century are looking for specialists not generalists; they want to know that this car insurance company or website has worked to get them the best policy at the best price which ideally suited to them.
There is a downside though and that is that many car insurance companies specialising in over 50’s policies, have not proven they are cheaper in price than going to a larger but generalist company. This may be because many are brokers and do not provide the insurance direct, where larger organisations may miss that middle man out of the equation. So those who know exactly what they want, may try the specialists first, but then be tempted to try a larger company afterwards, to at least compare prices.
There is also an unfair perception also and that is that some of the elderly may not challenge anyone on pricing and also they may not be using the internet as younger clients may. This could mean that higher premiums are being asked and being paid.
So if you can, make sure you shop around, use the specialists first, then write down the policy details and approach other companies, you may find this is a recipe to save money.
