Insurance after 70: the Cyprus parliament moves to protect elderly drivers

The Cyprus parliament is preparing two amendments aimed at limiting the rise in insurance premiums for drivers over 70 and banning age-based discrimination. Both bills, drafted by MP Alexandra Attalidou, are expected to be put to a vote in January at the plenary session of the House of Representatives.

The first initiative prohibits insurance companies from directly or indirectly discriminating against people aged 70+ when concluding, renewing or pricing car insurance policies. Age cannot be the sole criterion for refusal or an inflated premium, and insurers may adjust premiums for this group only if there is real data showing increased risk. Violations may result in a fine of up to €100,000.

The second amendment requires insurers to provide clients with a written and substantiated explanation when refusing to conclude a contract. If they fail to do so, the Insurance Supervision Authority may impose an administrative fine of up to €3,500.

The state’s legal department and the Bar Association point out that age alone cannot justify additional financial burdens on customers — such practices are not permitted in most EU countries. Exceptions, besides Cyprus, are noted only in the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

At the same time, the insurance supervisory authority stresses that its task is to oversee the stability of companies, not to settle individual disputes, warning that excessive pressure on insurers may harm their financial resilience.

The Insurance Companies Association maintains that there is no problem of “mass refusals” for elderly drivers: of 74,000 drivers over 70, only about 3,000 ended up in Koinopraxia (the common pool after at least three refusals), or roughly 1 in 29. The industry warns that if premiums for the 70+ age group are forcibly reduced, it will almost inevitably lead to higher policy costs for other drivers.