The legislation was passed last April and came into force on June 1, however, dozens of elderly drivers still find it difficult to renew their insurance policies, since insurance companies either refuse to renew their contracts or significantly increase their premiums, with the result that pensioners and especially low-income drivers are unable to cover them.
The phenomenon seems to have intensified in the last two weeks with the Observatory for the Elderly receiving complaints about it almost daily and its executive president, Dimos Antoniou, complaining through "F" that "there must be some intervention in order to inform the citizens about what the law provides".
"The legislation came into force on June 1, but some insurance companies continue to close the door to the elderly and either refuse to insure them against a third party or set premiums that are too high, which they themselves are unable to cover or they still do not know the provisions of the law or do not inform citizens about their customers about what the law provides," said Mr. Antoniou in his statements.
The Observatory for the Elderly, in the last fifteen days, he said, "receives complaints about it almost daily, which shows us that although there is now a law that prohibits refusing insurance or increasing premiums just because of age, insurance companies do not apply it."
"There is no age limit, whether 50, 60 or 80 if it is a person. There must be documentation in case of refusal or increase of premiums which documentation cannot be related to age," he clarified.
"It is unacceptable," said Mr. Antoniou, "and it is not possible for the state to give you a certificate that you are fine and can drive, to pass the tests prescribed by law and for the insurance company to come and tell you I do not insure you or to impose premiums much higher than the rest of the drivers because of your age and not because of your driving behaviour or possible compensations that he was asked to pay."
"In the past we also had examples of people who were at the wheel for 30 years, were not involved in any accident and the insurance company was not asked to pay any compensation on their behalf and yet when they reached certain years of age they were informed that it was no longer possible to renew their insurance contract. Precisely because we had these phenomena, a law proposal was made in which the necessary amendments were made and now there is legislation."
As it seems, said Mr. Antoniou, "some insurance companies have not yet implemented, as they should, the legislation that prohibits the refusal to insure vehicles against a third party and this cannot go unnoticed."
Citizens, said the executive chairman of the Observatory, "should be aware that the legislation that is now in force prohibits the refusal of insurance due to age and, at the same time, prohibits the increase of premiums because a person is elderly".
Unfortunately, he added, "we also had phenomena in which the elderly knew about the legislation and reported it to their insurance consultants who wrongly informed them that 'such a law does not exist', misleading them."
It is recalled that the law was passed at the beginning of last March, however, it was referred back by the President of the Republic due to his specific provisions.
The competent parliamentary committee proceeded with a new study and adopting the recommendations put before it by the Legal Service, the legislation was returned to the Plenary Session of the Parliament and passed into a law that finally came into force on June 1.
The current Motor Vehicles (Third Party Liability Insurance) Act introduced significant changes to the way insurance companies handle vehicle insurance claims in Cyprus. Specifically, the legislation establishes the obligation of insurance companies to provide full, clear and documented justification in any case of rejection of an insurance request, which must be communicated to the citizen concerned.
Particularly important is the provision of the law that explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in motor vehicle insurance, covering all age groups and not just elderly drivers. In other words, age, according to the law, cannot be the sole or exclusive criterion for refusing insurance or for imposing unfavourable conditions, such as very high premiums without sufficient and objective documentation.
