MP Alexandra Attalidou has proposed legislation imposing fines of up to €100,000 on insurance companies that discriminate against drivers aged 70 and above. This initiative was discussed during a recent session of the House Human Rights Committee, where concerns were raised about elderly motorists facing exorbitant premiums or outright refusals for coverage.
According to data shared with the committee, the number of drivers aged 70 and above has reached 70,343 in 2022, accounting for 10.5% of all licence holders in Cyprus. The proposed bills aim to safeguard the rights of elderly drivers by ensuring that age cannot be the sole criterion for issuing insurance policies or determining premiums.
The first bill seeks to prohibit insurers from using age as the only factor for policy decisions. Insurers will need to demonstrate specific risk data to justify any premium variation for this age group. The second proposal mandates that insurers provide adequate written explanations when refusing coverage, with potential fines of up to €3,500 for non-compliance enforced by the Insurance Commissioner.
Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades highlighted the statistics showing that out of 600,814 drivers under 70, just 58 collisions involved drivers aged 70 and above, representing only 7.2% of total road collisions. Moreover, 32 of those were deemed at fault. This data suggests that older drivers may not be as high-risk as insurers claim, challenging the rationale behind inflated premiums.
Despite these findings, the industry remains cautious. Andreas Athanasiadis, director general of the Association of Insurance Companies, warned that the proposed fines could lead to increased premiums for all drivers. He noted that while some insurers do impose surcharges starting at age 70, the extent of discrimination against elderly drivers remains unproven. He urged for a thorough examination of individual cases where complaints of unreasonable premium hikes have been reported.
Dimos Antoniou, president of the Third Age Observatory, voiced the plight of elderly drivers, sharing a personal account of his mother-in-law who was denied insurance after decades of loyal service to her insurer. Such experiences underscore the need for legislative reform to protect the elderly, who often lack viable alternatives for transportation due to limited public transport options in Cyprus.
The Commissioner for Administration’s office has affirmed that there is currently no legal framework addressing age discrimination in insurance, echoing the need for the proposed measures. Committee chair Irene Charalambidou indicated that further input from the Law Office and the Bar Association will be sought before finalising the bills.
In a bid to further investigate the treatment of elderly drivers by insurance companies, Attalidou plans to reach out to the European Commission to request an independent inquiry into the profit margins and policies of insurers in Cyprus.
