OAPs 'struggle to get travel cover'
24 May 2011 09:17
Pensioners are finding it difficult to get travel insurance, says study
Travellers over 65 are being left high and dry by many insurers refusing to cover them and by steep premiums on policies they are offered, according to Which?
A study by the consumer group found that a quarter of insurers do not provide annual
over 65 travel insurance, while nine in 10 do not cover people aged over 80.
Out of the 85 insurance companies assessed, 86% had a maximum age limit for single trip travel insurance.
Just over a quarter (29%) of firms provided a single trip quote for travellers in their 80s.
Once they reach their 65th birthday, older people who do get travel insurance can face a three-fold rise in premiums, the group said.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd stated: "It's absurd that you could wake up one morning and suddenly be three times more expensive to insure.
"Older travellers are finding it increasingly difficult to get cover or are priced out of travelling altogether.
"Insurers should take a more common sense approach and look at factors other than age when setting premiums."
Which? has backed rule changes aimed at preventing travel insurance premiums for older people from being hiked simply because it is assumed they are more likely to suffer illness or accidents while abroad.
Under the Government proposals, insurers will be required to furnish evidence to justify the higher charges.
-
Pollution levels were raised to Health Watch status around tourist hotspots in Arizona after smoke from wildfires was blown into...
[more...]
-
Cruise holidays are finding a new appeal among younger tourists, according to research.
[more...]
-
A new survey has revealed a lack of planning among British holidaymakers, with 70% running out of money five days into a week-long...
[more...]
-
Scores of visitors were taken ill with suspected food poisoning after a tour bus visit to a Buddhist monastery in New York.
[more...]
-
A man from Devon has become one of the UK's oldest type-1 diabetes patients, it has been reported.
[more...]
-
Two golf courses on Vietnam's central coast are locking horns to be named the country's best, which can only be good news for...
[more...]
-
Monarch has stepped up to the plate to replace services normally provided by dying airline bmibaby.
[more...]
-
A clean-up drive is under way across all areas of Zamboanga City following an outbreak of dengue in the Philippines.
[more...]
-
Princess Anne is to set sail to celebrate 175 years of P&O Cruises this July.
[more...]
-
Nurses are being urged to learn a breathing technique for asthma so they can teach it to sufferers.
[more...]
-
Two-thirds of young tourists who get tattoos while on holiday end up regretting it, travel agent sunshine.co.uk found in a poll....
[more...]
-
Tourists at a New Orleans restaurant will be glad they had
medical travel insurance after 14 people fell ill from eating...
[more...]