I RECENTLY received my motor insurance renewal notice from an insurance service and was shocked to find yet another big increase in the premium required. The amount demanded was almost double that paid for the year 1998 and the increase was attributed to the ever rising cost of repairs and was in line with increases by other insurers. I responded by letter requesting the name of any other company who had increased their premiums by almost 100pc in the same two years. I am looking forward to a reply, if any.

It appears to me that insurers are discriminating against, and penalising, elderly drivers, who must number hundreds of thousands, most of whom, like myself, may never have made a claim on their policies, maintain their vehicles to a high standard, display a current tax disc and only drive four to five thousand miles each year.

Having shopped around for a reasonable quote, I became more and more aware of discrimination. One company refused me a competitive quotation because I am over 75 years, in spite of the my clean record dating back to 1963. Another company quoted me such a ridiculous premium that it would have required a major win on the lottery to pay for it, and two other Bolton companies sent me literature confirming their quotations which I felt contained an age penalty. I have now settled for a quotation from a local broker who is readily on hand should I ever require immediate assistance.

The discrimination against the elderly is further highlighted by the credit card companies who ply me, quite regularly, with literature urging me to transfer any balances on my current cards to their company. The information given is very tempting until the small print is read, one of the conditions being that you must not be over 65 years of age.

There is further discrimination against the ladies, particularly with clothing. My wife stands just over five feet and is by no means an XL size. She regularly complains that manufacturers do not cater for the small, elderly ladies because it is difficult to buy dresses or trousers to fit. I can confirm what she complains about as I have to get out her sewing machine quite frequently in order that she can either take in seams of dresses or shorten trouser legs. Her friends have the same complaints.

Other instances I can quote are holiday insurance and driving licence fees and, to cap it all, we receive regular mail shots from people who are very eager to make painless funeral arrangements on our behalf - they can't get rid of us quick enough!

J Holding

Stocks Park Drive

Horwich

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.