The age limit is largely determined by where in the world you want to hire the vehicle, how long for, what cover you want and what is already covered by the hire company. Driving history, if it's ok with the car hire company, is ignored. Age, however, is taken into consideration, mostly by exclusion by stating lower and upper age limits for the policy.
We are seeing an increasing number of policies written for specific age bands targeting younger and older drivers, which is why we ask you for your date of birth on our comparisons. Key ages are:
There are also differences between insurers about how they measure when your birthday falls. Most insurers take your age on the day you buy the policy. So, if the upper limit was 84 and you bought the policy when you were 84 that would be fine. Other policies cover you until you reach the upper age limit and then stop. You wouldn't want to buy an annual policy a month before your birthday takes you over that limit.
There are some companies who charge higher premiums for drivers towards the younger or older end of the bands. The easiest way to check whether you are affected is to input a request into our comparison service, which will take into consideration the age of the insured when comparing prices. The competition between insurers does however mean that policies are available at a reasonable cost for all those between 21 and 25.
Drivers under 25 should be aware though that their car hire company will often levy additional fees for younger drivers.
So especially if you are 74, 75, 84 or 85 years old, do check the policy wording to ensure you will be covered when you really need it - when you are hiring the car.