Travel insurance troubles for silver surfers

Although long-haul travel is now more accessible to older people, due to more choice of airlines and airport routes, it is sometimes difficult for people in advancing years to obtain travel insurance policies, even if they are renewals.

As people become older, they are concerned about the quality of their holiday as well as its length, but travel insurance providers could be blocking the way to pensioners getting a well-deserved break by refusing to cover them.

A spokeswoman for Saga said: "Touring holidays to long haul destinations continue to be very popular. South Africa, New Zealand, China and South America are in the top ten long-haul holidays for our customers.

"So yes, I think having more options about who to fly with and which airport to fly from has encouraged more people to travel long haul."

She added: "Cruising holidays continue to be extremely popular among the over-50s."

Saga's research showed that a third of over-50s are more concerned now about the quality and length of their holiday than when they were younger and the same number said adventure was important when choosing a holiday.

Yet Age Concern's statistics show that 92 per cent of travel insurance companies impose upper age limits, meaning that they won't insure older people under any circumstances.

Lisa Harris, group communications manager for Saga said: "Many travel insurers do offer travel insurance for people up to the age of 65. However, this is quite often the cut-off point at which people find the insurer they have used for many years arbitrarily refuses to continue offering them insurance, regardless of their health or claims history."

Ms Harris added that it was difficult for the over-75s to get travel cover. "Unfortunately, many providers have an arbitrary cut off age on travel insurance which totally disregards the individual's health," she said.

At Travel Counsellors, we take all the hassle out of your holiday. If you need specialist travel insurance, one of our agents will do the shopping around for you. With our award-winning customer service, Travel Counsellors will ensure that you get the perfect break, whatever age you are and whatever your needs. Contact your local Travel Counsellor for the holiday of a lifetime.

Specialist Travel news posted on 19 October 2007

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