The travel insurance market “still isn’t working” for many travellers in their 60s, 70s and beyond, or those who have medical conditions, consumer association Which? has found.
Travel insurance premiums tend to jump substantially once you reach retirement age, or if you have any kind of health condition, meaning that people often end up paying well over the odds for cover, or are “priced out of travelling altogether”.
The Which? research, carried out among just over 4,000 people who took out an annual travel insurance policy in the past two years, found the average price paid for those declaring medical conditions was £150, compared to an average of £96 paid by those without conditions.
Travellers aged 75 or more are charged the most for travel cover, however, even if they don’t have any medical issues. The average price paid for annual cover by those in this age group was £300, which is 65% (or £118) higher than the average £182 paid by customers in the 65-74 age group. The chart below shows how much prices vary depending on your age and whether or not you have any medical conditions.
How insurance costs vary
Source: Which?
Worryingly, more than a third (36%) of those questioned who had a pre-existing medical condition or a history of one said that in the last three years, they’d had difficulties buying travel insurance because of their condition. Problems experienced included being refused cover for their conditions, premiums being too expensive and issues when making a claim. Nearly one in 10 (7%) of respondents said that they’d ended up travelling without cover due to the high costs involved, leaving them financially exposed in the event something had gone wrong.
Rules introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2021 were supposed to help “signpost” specialist travel insurers to those that need them, but according to Which? are so far only having a limited impact.
Jenny Ross, Editor of Which? Money, said: “It’s really concerning that travellers with medical conditions still routinely face barriers to finding the right cover for their holidays.
“Our research has found that awareness of the specialist directories is too low among those who could benefit from them, meaning some travellers could either assume they can’t get cover, decide not to disclose their condition due to price concerns or disclose them and end up paying more than they should.
“The FCA’s new Consumer Duty must mean that insurance firms improve the visibility of their signposting, and be clearer with customers about how their cover could be limited as a result of their pre-existing conditions.The regulator must be ready to take action against firms not following the rules.”
You can find out more about travel insurance in our guides Travel Insurance for over 50s – Everything you need to know, How to get the right travel insurance policy for you and How to find travel insurance if you have pre-existing health conditions.
Ways to keep costs down
There are several things you can do to make sure you don’t end up paying over the odds for travel cover. Do bear in mind, however, that when it comes to insurance, cheapest isn’t always best, as very low cost policies may not provide you with sufficient protection. Here are some of our tips for keeping costs down.
- Shop around – there are a number of insurance brokers and comparison sites that specialise in cover for over 50s as well as people with pre-existing conditions, or recent medical diagnoses so don’t settle for the first quote you’re offered.
- Do it yourself – if you are booking your holiday through an agency, they will often offer you their travel insurance as part of your package. These policies are often sold at inflated prices, so if you can, it’s best to look for standalone cover yourself.
- Look for bargains – some insurers might offer special discounts on cover, or you may be able to earn cashback on them if you buy through cashback sites such as Topcashback or Quidco.
If you’re looking for travel insurance, we have partnered with Staysure to provide you with first class travel insurance, tailored to suit your needs. There’s no upper age limit and they’ll cover most pre-existing medical conditions. You can also take advantage of their 20%‡ discount, just quote RLESS at checkout.
‡Discount applies to the base premium of the policy only and not to medical screening costs or add-ons where relevant. Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply.
- Consider a larger excess (the portion of any insurance claim you must pay yourself) – as with any insurance, the larger excess you choose, the less your premium is likely to be. However, make sure you’ll still be able to afford to make a claim.
- Check your coverage options – you may be paying more for optional extras like cover for lost or stolen baggage that you may not need or want
- Consider annual cover – If you are making more than two or more trips in a year, a multi-trip annual policy may be more cost effective than buying several single trip policies.
You can find out more about travel insurance in our guides Travel Insurance for over 50s – Everything you need to know, How to get the right travel insurance policy for you and How to find travel insurance if you have pre-existing health conditions.
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