Travel Insurance For Seniors (2024)

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Updated: Sep 5, 2024, 1:35pm

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The good news is, as long as you shop around for your travel insurance, you should be able to find affordable policies at any age.

To help, we’ve analysed the offerings of our panel of insurers to find what we consider to be the top five policies for the over-65s. We compared key factors such as policy price, excess (the amount each policyholder must pay on each successful claim they make), and whether the policy offers the option to waive the excess by paying an additional premium.

For more information on how we scored the policies, refer to the Methodology section.

We used data (July 2023)from our travel insurance partner CYTI to review single trip travel insurance policies for a couple (two 67-year-olds) travelling to Spain for seven days.

We’ve assumed they have no pre-existing medical conditions.

All policies include at least £2 million in medical and repatriation cover and £2,000 in cancellation cover, which extend to risks related to Covid-19, as well as 1,500 in baggage and belongings cover.

We scored each policy on the following factors:

• Price: we awarded policies points on a scale of one to five. Those offering more competitive prices scored more points
• Excess: (a set amount that the policyholder must pay on each claim): we awarded policies points on a scale of one to five. Those levying a lower excess on medical claims earned more points
• Excess waiver: we awarded policies five points if they offered the option for policyholders to waive the excess levied on claims by paying an additional premium (that is, paying more towards the cost of the policy).

The scores for each policy were totalled, and converted to Forbes Advisor star ratings out of a potential five stars.

Policies with matching scores were ranked based on price.

Seniors travel insurance is available to people aged 65 and over from both mainstream and specialist insurers.

Some insurers set an age limit for their mainstream travel insurance policies. However, this is rarely as low as 65 – with 70, 80 or 90 being more typical.

Insurers that specialise in older travellers are less likely than mainstream insurers to impose any age limit at all, and often quote more competitive premiums.

Just because you have reached the age of 65, doesn’t mean you will be restricted on the kind of travel cover you can get. Indeed, for many people retirement age is exactly when they start to travel more.

The following types of policy are available to travellers aged 65 and over:

• single trip cover
• annual trip cover
• single person
• joint or couple
• family
• cruise cover
• winter sports cover

You will also be able to add on cover for adventures while on holiday (such as white-water rafting), or trips of longer than 31 days.

Find out more about travel insurance for Covid-19 related risks.

The age of 65 tends to be an important threshold for travel insurers when it comes to premiums. They’ll charge one price for those aged 18 to 64, while those aged 65 or over – seniors – will pay a higher premium.

This means the cost of travel insurance can jump when you hit 65, even though nothing has changed with your health.

Travel insurers say that, statistically, the older people get, the more likely they are to make a medical claim on holiday.

A comprehensive travel insurance policy will typically cover:

• Possessions: including luggage, personal effects, travel documents and cash up to a certain value, if it’s lost or stolen.
• Medical treatment: including emergency medical treatment if you become ill or have an accident. Pre-existing conditions will only be covered if you declare them to the insurer when you buy the policy.
• Hospital expenses: this includes vital costs such as for food and drink, and excluding treatment, while hospitalised abroad
• Disruption: covers events like delays, missed departures, cancellation and curtailment of your trip.
• Repatriation: if you need to be rescued from a mountain or sea, or transported back home after falling ill, transportation to the UK will be covered.
• Personal liability: for example, if you cause an accident or incident, and someone else makes a claim against you.
• Emergency assistance: most insurers provide a 24/7 contact number

Protection for gadgets may come included, or as an optional extra at an additional cost. It can cover devices ranging from smartphones to fitness trackers and SatNavs.

Specific over-65s travel insurance might also offer extra cover for:

• medicines and medical or mobility equipment
• travel companions on the same policy

How much more costly travel cover is for over 65s varies from insurer to insurer. But it makes it especially important to shop around for cover.

Here is a general idea of what you can expect to pay by destination for a single trip policy:

Source: Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited

An annual trip policy is likely to cost the following:

Source: Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited

Premiums generally hike again when you hit 70, then, 75, 80, 85 and 90. The older you get, the more likely you are to need to approach an insurer that specialises in travel insurance for older travellers in order to find reasonably priced cover.