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.

There is some good news for travellers over 65 years of age who wish to travel around the world but cannot do so because of pre-existing medical conditions. Most over-65 travel insurance plans, especially, for people with pre-existing medical conditions are priced higher than regular travel insurance policies, just because of the risks involved for the cover provider.

However, with the new over-65 pre-existing medical condition travel insurance policy from Essential Travel, you may not have to cancel or curtail your travel plans any more. The new policy allows over-65 travellers to avail of a travel insurance policy that takes care of them while on a trip abroad. It is almost like a boon for travellers who have pre-existing medical conditions. With an easy online screening process in place to identify existing medical conditions and map a policy accordingly, seniors now only have to worry about packing their bags and getting the tickets!

Also, with a whopping £10 million being available as medical cover, as well as a considerable flexibility in choosing the policy or medical cover one wants, Essential Travel has literally opened the gates to the over 65 travel enthusiasts. Families now do not have to worry about leaving their grandparents behind while on a trip to Egypt, as Essential Travel makes it a cakewalk to obtain a travel insurance for the seniors, even with the severest of pre-existing medical conditions such as a chronic or terminal illness.