A travel insurance firm has stated that older people opting to purchase their travel insurance from high-street banks are receiving a bad deal.
The investigation by the group suggests that older people are getting less holiday insurance than they bargained for if they opt for the travel cover offered within packaged accounts given by some high street banks.
In addition to this, some people aged over 70 are not even eligible for travel cover with certain banks.
For the individuals who are over 50 and plan to travel and do have travel insurance with their bank, the group has advised them to check that their policy includes a high enough level of cover to meet their needs.
Many banks’ travel packages do not offer cover for pre-existing medical conditions unless the policyholder has called to declare this and the bank has agreed to cover it.
It is then the customer’s duty to go back to the bank and to ensure they have adequate cover that suits their desires.
Andrew Goodsell, Executive Chairman at the group, said: “We believe that all over 50s should have access to comprehensive insurance policies. We urge any older people, should they have an included insurance with their bank account, to check that they are fully covered for any pre-existing medical conditions and that there is no upper age limit on that policy.”
Introducing a better deal
It has been revealed that a travel insurance company is to therefore offer cover for over 65s.
The move comes after critics stated that the older generation is getting an unfair deal with travel policies, despite the retired generation being the most likely to holiday.
Many opponents noted that older people often have to pay high costs to get themselves insured or have conditions attached to the policy that get in the way of their holiday.
Annual multi-trip policies have now been made available, with an upper age limit of 74. There are also a number of extras available such as golf cover, excess waiver and extended baggage.
The new scheme was launched by the group, as a study revealed that a fifth of parents aged 50 plus with children who have lived or taken gap years abroad, had visited their child to broaden their horizons.
And the most fearless, were parents aged over 65, half of whom admitted they had gatecrashed a son or daughter's gap year or holiday.
A study by a financial firm announced that there has been a 20 per cent increase in older people going on gap years themselves.
Rachel Croft, head of travel insurance at the firm, said: “We understand that finding affordable travel insurance can prove difficult for older travellers and can lead to people having to take out policies that impose high costs or heavy stipulations, which is why we are extending our multi-annual travel insurance policy to the over-65s.
“We hope this move will signal the end for seniors to have to buy expensive single trip policies every time they go on holiday.”
|