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Home > Travel Insurance > Travel Insurance Guides > A guide to travel insurance for seniors

A guide to travel insurance for seniors

For many UK residents who have worked their entire lives, retirement is the time to travel and experience the interesting places, people, and landscapes that they have always dreamed about seeing.

If you find yourself approaching retirement or recently retired, you have likely discovered that the world is your oyster. You may feel young at heart and find yourself ready to finally travel and experience a world of adventure, but you could soon find out that insurers may not share the same point of view.

In fact, many providers do not provide travel insurance for those over 65, and some insurance companies do not even provide coverage for anyone over 45.

However, you should not let this discourage you, because there are still many insurance providers who are more than happy to provide anyone in their golden years with the travel insurance they need to finally experience the beautiful mountains, beaches, and people of the world.

Why some insurers do not provide travel insurance for people over 65

The business of insurance is all about assessing risk, and most insurers tend to believe that insuring older individuals is a risky proposition.

Due to your age, insurers will think you are more likely to suffer from an illness or fall down and have an accident than individuals in a younger age bracket, increasing the likelihood that they will have to pay a claim.

Seniors are also perceived as a greater risk when they plan on partaking in sports and activities, such as skiing and scuba diving.

Also, some senior citizens suffer from pre-existing medical conditions, making it necessary for them to bring costly medical equipment or medication with them.

Senior travel insurance coverage options

As is the case with any type of insurance, the level of travel coverage can vary depending upon your needs. Some of the things your senior travel insurance policy may cover are:

• 24-hour emergency support
• Replacement medication
• Mental health conditions
• Mobility aid coverage
• Damage or theft of medical equipment
• Pre-travel medical screening
• One night of intensive care valued at £7,000
• Free coverage for other traveling family members
• Winter sports, and much more

A quality senior travel insurance policy will also provide coverage for lost luggage, medical emergencies, holiday travel cancellations, and other common travel coverage.

Some senior travel insurance policies may also come with valuable additional features, such as personal liability coverage, natural catastrophe coverage, and scheduled airline failure insurance.

The risks of traveling without insurance

If you are in good physical health, you may consider traveling abroad without proper senior travel insurance. However, this is never advisable, because there are numerous things that could go wrong during your travels.

If you are traveling without travel insurance and you suffer from an illness, are in an accident, or need to return home early due to a family emergency, you may be on the hook for paying thousands of pounds in expenses that would have been covered by travel insurance.

Some possible travel insurance claims and the cost of each without adequate senior travel insurance include:

• A night of intensive care treatment in the U.S. would cost you £7,000.
• A night in a private Spanish hospital would cost you £800.
• A jet air ambulance from San Francisco, California back to the UK would cost you £53,000.

As you can see, without travel insurance, you are leaving yourself potentially liable for thousands of pounds in medical costs alone.

Travel insurance may be essential when traveling abroad, but it is also very useful for taking holidays here in the UK or visiting relatives within the country as well.

With senior travel insurance, you will be able to cancel travel arrangements or return home suddenly without having to pay for unused hotel rooms, cancelled rental car fees, and many other possible expenses.

Securing senior travel insurance

The key to securing senior travel insurance is to purchase it as soon as your trip is booked, regardless of whether you are traveling abroad or staying right here in the UK.

If you are only planning on taking one trip in the near future, you should compare single trip senior travel insurance quotes from reputable providers. Single trip senior travel insurance can cover a short trip of only a few days or a long trip lasting up to three months.

If you travel frequently, annual senior travel insurance would be the ideal insurance product for you. This type of senior travel insurance will allow you to take as many trips as you want anywhere in the world throughout the entire policy, providing you with the peace of mind in knowing that you are covered the entire time.

With your senior travel insurance all lined up, you will be ready to pack your bags and travel confidently, knowing that you will be covered if anything were to happen during your travels.

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