Age UK insurance policies are aimed to help the over 60s remain independent and secure as they enter the later stages of life. While the policies offered by Age Co (the insurance arm of Age UK) are designed with this age group in mind, they are still available to all, so don’t rule them out just because you haven’t celebrated your 60th! Whether you are younger or older, read on to discover more about the policies offered, see customer reviews and find the Age UK insurance contact number.
Age UK Insurance and charity
Age UK Insurance, now known as Age Co, is part of the financial services offered by the British charity Age UK. Specialising in providing insurance to the over 60s, its aim is to help the eldery in the UK remain independent through financial security and protecting what’s important, such as their house, personal possessions and car.
Before looking into the Age UK insurance policies on offer in more detail, let’s take a little look at the history of the wider Age UK brand. How did it get where it is today?
History of Age UK
Age UK is a charity that aims to improve the lives and well-being of people over 60. The organisation that exists today was formed in 2009, but its roots go all the way back to World War II.
In 1940, with no welfare state, rationing and families torn apart by war, life was hard for everyone, but the elderly were hit particularly hard. As a result, a small group of individuals teamed up with governmental and voluntary organisations to form the The Old People’s Welfare Committee.
In 1961, another charity was set up to help older refugees following natural disasters and the contemporary conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, former East Pakistan and Rwanda. Named Help the Aged Refugees Appeal, it soon became involved in projects in the UK and was renamed to become, Help the Aged.
Both charities developed separately, working hard to improve the lives of the UK’s senior citizens until they teamed up in 2009, forming the Age UK that’s in operation today.
Timeline of Age UK
- 1940 - The Old People’s Welfare Committee is founded to help the eldery during the war.
- 1941 - The organisation changes its name to the National Old People’s Welfare Committee (NOPWC).
- 1961 - Help the Aged Refugees Appeal is set up to aid older refugees.
- 1971 - The NOPWC is renamed Age Concern and becomes independent of the government.
- 1980s - During high unemployment in the UK, Age Concern becomes a national agent for job creation.
- 1984 - Help the Aged opens its first charity shop.
- 1998 - Help the Aged launches its The Heating and Eating appeal, which culminates with the government making winter fuel payments to the eldery.
- 1998 - The charity goes online with its website.
- 2000 - All local organisation operating under the Age Concern name decide to work together.
- 2009 - Age Concern and Help the Aged join together.
- 2010 - The new charity officially becomes Age UK.
- 2012 - Age UK goes abroad with the formation of Age International.
Age International: Age UK abroad
In 2012, Age UK went abroad by launching its sister charity Age International. This charity works hard to improve the lives of those over 60 in developing countries by:
- Reducing poverty
- Improving health
- Protecting rights
- Responding to emergencies
You can find out much more about the work Age International is doing abroad, as well as how you can help or donate if you wish, by visiting age.international.org.uk.
Age Co: what is it?
Age Co is a brand name associated with the charity Age UK that offers lots of different financial services aimed at the eldery, such as insurance, funeral plans and legal services. It also sells products that promote independent living, for example stairlifts, adjustable beds and incontinence products.
The company operates under three main trading principles:
- To provide products and services that are good for older people.
- To have prices that are fair and appropriate.
- To always return their profit to the Age UK charity.
Is Age Co still part of Age UK?
Before becoming Age Co, this arm of the Age UK charity was also simply known as Age UK. The new name was created in order to separate this commercial brand from the charity itself, thus the name Age Co (co equally company or commercial).
Despite the name change, Age Co is still part of Age UK. The name change has simply been made to make the distinction between the charity and the ‘company’ more clear in the mind of the public.
Age UK Insurance: what policies are on offer?
Whilst Age UK insurance policies are aimed at those who are over 60, there is no age restriction on them. In other words, you are just as welcome to buy an Age UK insurance policy if you are 25 or 80.
Having said that, the fact that they are designed for those with a bit more life experience means the cover they offer might not be the best match for those who are just starting out with adulthood, e.g. insuring their first house or car.
You will be pleased to know that a proportion of all Age UK insurance sales is donated to the Age UK charity. In 2019, the company estimates that this amount will be a whopping £3 million!
Car insurance
Age UK offers the three main types of car insurance:
- Third party
- Third party fire and theft
- Comprehensive
The comprehensive policy is advertised as car insurance for over 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, but these are all the same policy, it simply does not have an upper-age restriction. It offers a good standard of cover as standard and an extensive range of extras that you can add on if you wish, such as motor legal protection, key cover and excess protection.
Motor breakdown cover is also offered as a separate policy that can be taken out individually or in conjunction with their comprehensive policy. To find out more, visit our Age UK car insurance guide (coming soon).
Home insurance
The provider offers buildings insurance and contents insurance separately, or as a combined policy under the name Age Co over 50s home insurance. There is only one option when it comes to the level of cover, but this cover is fairly extensive with quite high limits. There is also the option to add additional cover (such as accidental damage cover) onto this base policy to tailor it more to your needs.
Your house must have a rebuild cost less than £500,000 to be eligible for Age UK buildings insurance or a combined home insurance policy.
Jewellery insurance and garden insurance can also be taken out separately or added onto the combined over 50s policy. Want to find out more? Head to Selectra’s Age UK home insurance guide (coming soon) for more details and pricing.
Travel insurance
As of August 2019, Age UK is no longer selling travel insurance. If you have a policy with the company that started before this date, it will still be valid and remain so until the end date specified in your policy documents. Age UK hope to offer travel insurance again in the future. Let’s have a look at the deals it used to offer to give us an idea of what they might offer soon.
Age UK offered both annual-multi-trip and single trip travel insurance. The single trip travel insurance would allow you to stay away for up to 365 days, whereas the annual multi-trip cover catered for an unlimited amount of holidays of up to 31 days (possible to extend to 32 to 45 days) during the year.
Where Age UK’s travel insurance really set itself apart from the rest was (as you can guess) the guarantees it included for those over 50. In particular, their policies included cover for medical equipment against loss, theft and damage. Read more about these policies, including customer reviews, pricing and optional extras in Selectra’s guide to Age UK travel insurance.
Age UK Insurance login
Unfortunately, unlike a lot of providers, Age UK does not have an online account system that allows customers to manage their insurance policies all online. Therefore, there is no Age UK Insurance Login process.
If you are an Age UK policyholder, you must contact Age UK in order to make changes to your policy or make a claim. You can find all the relevant contact numbers in the section below.
Age UK Insurance contact number
Have questions about your policy? Need to make a claim? Let’s take a look at all the Age UK insurance contact numbers you could need.
Make a claim
First things first, if you are an existing policyholder with Age UK and would like to make a claim, the number you need to ring should be listed in your policy documents. Make sure you keep these in a safe but easily accessible place for when you need them.
Issue a complaint
On their website, Age UK advice you to look in your policy documents to find the right number to ring if you would like to issue a complaint. We managed to find some Age UK home insurance and Age UK car insurance policy documents online, in which the following complaints number is listed:
0345 128 7916
There was also an address listed to which you can direct a letter of complaint:
Send documents to:
Customers Services Adviser
Age Co Home/Car/Insurance
Ageas House
Hampshire Corporate Park
Templars way
Eastleigh
Hampshire
SO53 3YA
We also noticed that Age UK reply to bad reviews left on Trustpilot and ask the customer to:
Ring 0800 055 6205 or
Email [email protected]
If you want to issue a complaint to Age UK insurance, we suggest that you check your policy documents first to see if you can find the correct complaints number to ring. If you cannot find it or do not have your documents to hand, give the above methods a try.
Unfortunately we could not find any Age UK/Age Co complaints data online to see how efficient the company is at dealing with the complaints it receives.
General questions and enquiries
If you want to ask a question about your Age UK insurance policy, or are interested in taking out a policy and would like to find out more, you can fill out the Age Co online contact form. On the form, fill out your name, address, outline your question clearly and select how you would like the company to get back in touch with you (phone, post or email). Then click submit and someone will be back in touch with you shortly.
If you just want more information about an Age UK home or car insurance policy, you can request a policy information brochure.
If you would prefer to speak to someone directly, call the relevant number from the table below.
Type of insurance | Age UK insurance contact number |
Home insurance | 0800 323 4430* |
Car insurance | 0800 077 8596* |
Travel insurance (existing policies) | 0345 128 8008 |
*Operating hours: Mon-Fri: 8am-8pm Sat: 9am-1pm
Age UK Insurance reviews
It’s very hard to find reviews of Age UK insurance policies as a whole online; most customers tend to leave reviews of a specific type of insurance, such as home insurance or car insurance.
The only site where we could find reviews of Age UK in general (this is including all the products they offer) was on Trustpilot, but even this is not much to go on.
On Trustpilot, Age UK insurance has a rating of just 1.4/ 5. While this seems very bad, you must bear in mind that there is only a total of 49 reviews left on the site, which is not a big enough sample to base anything on. Of the negative comments amongst these reviews, the overwhelming complaint was Age UK’s prices.
This company was formerly called Age Concern. "Con-men" would be more appropriate. Last year they charged my 89-year old Dad £356 for home insurance - buildings only. This year the renewal quote was £430 !! He has not made a claim for many years. Anonymous customer
Age UK itself admits numerous times on its website that their insurance premiums are not the cheapest out there, but they aim for all policies to be reasonably priced for the quality of cover customers get.
You will likely find a cheaper quote from another provider, but always remember that price isn’t everything and its equally important to look at the guarantees an insurance policy includes.
We have included specific customer and pricing reviews of different Age UK insurance policies in the relevant guides (Age UK home insurance, Age UK travel insurance, Age UK car insurance). In these we also look at how industry professionals rate the policies. Head to the appropriate guide now to find out more!
Data and information correct as of September 2019.
All material on this page and the selectra.co.uk website is for information purposes only and does not constitute any form of financial advice. Selectra.co.uk is not responsible for any consequences that might arise from your use of the information provided.
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