OVER 65'S TRAVEL INSURANCE
Making sure that you have the right travel insurance for you can be difficult. When you are over 65 it becomes much more so.
For a start many insurance providers will simply not insure you if you are over the age of 65. As for the rest they may well insure you but usually at a much higher price than before.
In fact over 65’s travel insurance will often be at least two or three times more expensive than it would be for an average 35 year old.
This is because, according to the insurance companies, that the over 65’s are much more likely to have an accident or illness whilst on holiday than a younger person.
So the cost of the insurance premiums needs to be higher to cover the cost of expensive overseas health care and medical treatments.
However there are still a great array of insurers and policies that you can choose from and the prices they offer can differ tremendously. By following our advice you can find the best value for money policy that suits your needs.
Don’t buy your insurance from your tour operator or travel agent.
Your travel agent or tour operator is not an insurance provider and the companies that they select to underwrite your insurance plan probably wont be the best or most trustworthy.
You will be much better off to go to a specialist travel insurance provider who you have researched. That way you will get specific insurance suited to your needs and your over 65’s travel insurance is very likely to be much cheaper too.
Remove policy options that are not required.
Many standard policies come with cover for some things that you will not need. For instance if the policy covers undertaking extreme sports you can remove that option of the policy, unless of course you intend to do these activities, thereby reducing the overall cost.
Single-trip policies are usually better value.
Unless you are planning to take several holidays or trips abroad in one year you will probably find that single-trip insurance policies will be cheaper and better value than multi-trip policies for over 65’s travel insurance. The opposite of this is true for everyone under the age of 65, where multi-trip policies represent better value.
Always declare pre-existing medical conditions.
If you have any medical conditions or history it is vital that you declare them when purchasing over 65’s travel insurance, however minor they seem to you. Insurance companies are always reluctant to pay up on claims and if you are not completely honest and upfront with them they may use that as an excuse not to pay up.
Also by stating any medical problems you will know that you have the right amount of insurance cover and protection, even if you do have to pay a bit more on your premiums.
Always take an EHIC card if travelling in Europe.
Our government has an agreement with several other European countries to provide free or low-cost health care to Britons travelling in their countries. By showing your EHIC (European Health Insurance Card), which is a replacement to the old E111 card, you will be able to take advantage of this arrangement.
However this doesn’t mean that you wont need any other travel insurance, as the EHIC doesn’t cover all costs. For instance costs such as travel, rescues or transport for you or other family members back home will not be provided.
Find the best deals online.
There are now many specialist insurance companies online that will provide travel insurance for the over 65’s. To get the best value for money on your travel insurance policy you should shop around and use the internet to your advantage. You can now use comparison websites to find the cheapest over 65’s travel insurance and with a bit of your own online research you can choose the best value policy for you.
If you think that it is unfair of insurance companies to discriminate against the over 65’s then don’t despair as there is, potentially, a bright point on the horizon. The government wants to stop inequality and age discrimination in the provision of goods and services and has proposed an Equality Bill.
The Bill, if it is passed as expected in Autumn 2010, will mean that insurance companies will not be allowed to increase their prices just because someone is over the age of 65. They will also not be able to refuse to provide insurance for anyone based simply on their age. This should mean cheaper and much wider availability for over 65’s travel insurance.
However some sceptics to the Bill say that this may mean some companies withdrawing all over 65’s travel insurance policies. This will mean that there will be less competition for senior travel insurance and may still lead to higher prices.