65 Travel Insurance has recently obtained quotes from a variety of travel insurers who cater to people over 65 years. The results are listed below:

Date completed: 21st December 2009
Cheapest travel insurance: Staysure.co.uk – GET QUOTE

• Staysure.co.uk (Single trip – Comprehensive) – £15.29
• EHIC Plus – £19.55
• Insure for All – £21.49
• Saga – £28.08
• Direct Travel (Silver) – £39.98

The quotes will be to compare price and is based on the following conditions:

65 year old – male
European holiday
Single trip – 14 days
No medical or pre-existing conditions

PLEASE NOTE: Depending on your circumstances price should not be be sole factor in determining the most appropriate travel insurance for yourself. You should take in to consideration any excess payable, cover for pre-exisiting conditions and you should read the terms and conditions before purchasing any policy.

Even though travelling costs have gone down, for most over-50s people, it’s quite difficult to find the right travel insurance that fulfils their requirements. Elderly travel insurance should be selected very carefully after comparing a lot of policies as their prices increase once you are over 65. Typical annual premiums exceed £100, and this situation will not change for the citizens of UK as the population grows older.

If you are travelling with your elderly parents for more than 45 days on a trip and if they have pre-existing medical conditions, then don’t assume that the senior travel insurance that you have purchased will cover everything. Elderly travellers should always check with the insurer whether they require additional “top-up” payments or not. Many policies contain caveats and exclusions, so besides checking the price, also look for medical, cancellation, and baggage cover. If you don’t take care of these issues at the beginning then you run the risk of your claims being refused later on.

Staysure.co.uk has launched a new travel insurance policy for over-50s age group, which is five times cheaper than the competition. If a 50-year old couple decides to go on a Europe trip for seven days, they’ll have to pay £14 minimum. This policy covers 220 medical conditions, without charging any extra money for it. Those who are up to 85 years of age can go for single policy cover and those up to 81 years of age can go for annual cover.

Age Concern Insurance Services provides customized travel insurance for the elderly, without any restrictions like upper age limits. According to Joe Young from the company, they aim to cover as many pre-existing medical conditions as possible.

As per the travel policy offered by Marks & Spencer’s, a 70 year old traveller who is in good health needs to pay a high premium of £148 that includes the Caribbean, USA and Canada. But it’s worth it as it has a good level of health cover. However, those who apply for this insurance have to go through additional screening, online or over the phone, for serious medical conditions like cancer that they may be suffering from in the last one year. The cover offered by Marks & Spencer’s is definitely much more than a standard policy. Average cancellation cover is between £2,000 and £3,000, up to a maximum of £6,000. Baggage cover is £2,500 and medical cover is £10m.

Rias, Saga, and Age Concern provide travel insurance for the elderly, while Marks & Spencer offers competitive products. So, before picking a policy, it is better to scan the entire travel insurance market for the elderly rather than to opt for a specialist.