Have you been left out of pocket due to poor service or sharp practice? Do you have a money problem that won't go away?

It can seem impossible to get a fair result when you are battling a large, faceless organisation alone. But never fear! The AOL Money Fixer is here to help.


This week she offers advice for a reader struggling to find affordable car insurance for his elderly mother.


Dear Fixer,
My mother is now 86, but she remains very fit and active for her age. She has insisted on living alone in the home she shared with my father since he passed away three years ago.

However, she enjoys visiting her friends and family - not to mention going to the shops and running errands - in her trusty Ford Fiesta.

It would be difficult for her to be as independent without the car, which has never been involved in an accident since she bought it 15 years ago.

Despite her safety record, however, her car insurer Aviva has this year increased her premium by about £300 a year - a large amount for an old lady living on her pension.

My enquiries to rival firms have also lead to nothing with many of them refusing to consider insuring her at all due to her age.

Is this legal? And are there any insurers offering reasonably-priced car insurance for drivers in their 80s? I would appreciate your advice.

D Locke, Leicester

Dear Mr Locke,
Older people in their 70s and 80s are often penalised by insurers concerned about the increased risks associated with slower reactions and failing eyesight.

As you have found, some companies will refuse to insure drivers over the age of 80 altogether, with only about a quarter of policies open to an 86-year-old.

This is not against the law, and will not even become so when the new European ruling stopping insurers from charging women drivers less comes in later this year.

The world is changing though, with a recent parliamentary report indicating that while only 15% of people over the age of 70 held a driving licence in 1975, this had jumped to 60% by 2010.

And the number of insurers refusing to cover drivers over the the age of 80 or 85 is falling anyway. LV=, for example, removed its car insurance upper age limit earlier this year.

Its John O'Roarke said: "People are living longer and driving until much later in life and now they have peace of mind that they can continue to find cover with LV=."

Other insurance providers that impose no maximum age limits include Saga, RIAS and the charity Age UK.

However, it may also be worth trying The AA, which takes on new customers up to 99, and Virgin Money, which claims to accept motorists up to the age of 120.

The Fixer

Whatever your financial problem, write to themoneyfixer@aim.com and The AOL Money Fixer will get on the case.

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