Grown-up gap years drive medical insurance claims spike

Travel insurance claims for medical treatment are up by 400%.

Travel Insurance News - 22/08/2011

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Claims against travel insurance for medical expenses have risen almost four-fold in the last few years as increasing numbers of older travellers head abroad on exotic holidays. The increasing interest in gap years for the grown-ups has generated a huge increase in medical claims made on travel insurance policies.

The Association of British Insurers, or ABI, says the cost from overseas illness skyrocketed to £275 million last year, from just £74 million in 2004. Over the same period, the number of claims has gone up from 120,000 to 370,000.

At the same time, the increase in medical costs has also outpaced most types of inflation. The ABI, however, says that the age of travellers was also a major component in the increase cost of claims.

Malcolm Tarling, spokesperson for the ABI, explained that longer life expectancy means people have more time to travel to more-distant destinations but older people are statistically more likely to get ill.

People older than 65 years have a 300-per-cent higher chance of claiming on travel insurance than people aged only 35. People above the age of 85 are 800 per cent more likely to claim.

The average claim submitted by someone older than 65 is almost 3.5 times pricier than a claim from someone under the age of 50. The USA is the most expensive place to get sick, with the average medical bill costing more than £4,700.

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