Older travelers left out in the cold

Very few insurers offer policies to those over 80 years old

Travel Insurance News - 02/06/2008

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A recent survey indicates that as many as 97 per cent of travel insurance companies impose age restrictions on the policies they offer clients which exclude older jetsetters from safe travel.

Intune, the financial services section of the charity Help the Aged, conducted a survey of the insurance market to determine what options were available for travellers over the age of 80.

The survey examined 495 travel insurance policies and discovered that 97 per cent of the policies had strict upper age limits. A quarter of the policies did not cover anyone over the age of 65. Over 70 per cent of the policies would not cover anyone over the age of 75.

Despite the lack of insurance options, older travellers are more actively jet setting now than ever before. Intune’s research indicates that seniors over the age of 80 to a total of 121,000 trips abroad last year of a duration between three to six months.

“We have found that older people holiday more widely than younger age groups, and for longer at a time,” says Stuart Castledine, Intune's managing director. “Many people are electing to work until 70, leaving it even later in life to make the most of their retirement and leisure time through travel. But while the older generation flock to the sun or visit relatives abroad, insurance is getting harder to find.”

Statistically speaking, travellers over the age of 85 are eight times more likely to make a claim on their insurance than those under the age of 35. Those over the age of 65 are three times more likely. Despite these figures, Castledine says that older people should not be discouraged.

“The over-80s traveller has particular requirements which may need accommodating,” he says, “But they do not want a system which writes them off at a time when they should be enjoying life to the full.”

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