Cost of travel insurance for senior citizens on the increase
0 commentsResearch has suggested that Britons are more likely to travel abroad once they have retired. However, a survey by moneysupermarket.com has revealed that the price of travel insurance for the elderly has risen steadily in recent months.
The details of the survey are startling. When a pensioner turns 66, he or she can expect the cost of travel insurance to double. In addition, further price increases are likely to follow once a retiree hits 70. To an extent, the high insurance premiums described above are warranted. An elderly traveler is more likely to fall ill when on holiday compared to a younger traveller. However, researchers at Moneysupermarket believe that these price increases do not reflect the true cost of insuring a senior citizen.
The price comparison website's director, Richard Mason highlighted the problems faced by retirees attempting to navigate the travel insurance market, stating: "Anyone who dreams of seeing the world in their retirement will get a nasty shock after their 66th birthday and find insurers have doubled the cost of travel insurance policies. How can these overnight premium shocks be a fair reflection of an individual's increased risk of making a claim? Older people should not be penalized for going abroad and should be able to find fairly priced travel insurance, whatever their age."
Given the costs involved, it is essential that older travellers choose an insurer which best suits their individual circumstances. In order to keep the cost of purchasing insurance at a minimum, Moneysupermarket advisors urge retired travelers to bear the following in mind when choosing an insurance policy.
- Most senior citizens suffer from sort of pre-existing medical condition. Ensure that your insurance policy covers for all medical eventualities. What is the maximum the insurer is willing to pay for a particular claim?
- Be sure that you declare all pre-existing medical conditions when filling out the relevant forms. If you fall sick due to an undeclared chronic condition, then your insurance provider is unlikely to cover the cost of your treatment.
- Does your insurance policy come with an age limit attached? If you are celebrating a birthday whilst on holiday, confirm beforehand that this will not result in you exceeding the specified age limit.
- Many travel insurance packages include baggage insurance as part of the deal. But do you really need this? It is quite possible that lost belongings will already be covered by your home and contents policy. Given the cost of travel insurance for the elderly, the last thing you need is to find that you have been charged twice to insure the same set of items.
- Under what circumstances will your insurance provider allow you to cancel your holiday? It is vital that you are covered should you find yourself too unwell to go abroad for your holidays. Otherwise, the financial costs involved could be substantial.
These simple steps will help you obtain travel insurance an affordable cost.
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