Travel insurance is a must-have for anyone that travels overseas. But finding travel insurance for seniors over the age of 70 can be easier said than done. Many travel insurance policies have age limits, while other providers impose a higher excess, higher premiums or restrict the cover available to senior travellers.
Travel insurance for seniors becomes even more complicated if you wish to purchase an annual policy covering multiple trips. This is generally better value if you make several short overseas trips throughout the year. Unfortunately, almost all travel insurers place age limits on annual policies – and these tend to be even lower than the age limits for single-trip travel insurance.
If you’re just after single-trip insurance, the good news is that there are a range of travel insurance options for seniors. In our members’ experience, the credit card travel insurance offered in conjunction with both ANZ and Westpac cards covers travellers up to 80 years old.
Fully endorse the ANZ credit card insurance. ANZ basic platinum card – $79 annual fee – provides comprehensive travel insurance for trips up to 6 months duration. Must activate coverage before 81st birthday (so need to book at 80 years and 364 days, travel can be up to a year after that).Very low $250 activation, which can be on anything – including the taxes on an award ticket. Or even just a connecting flight somewhere.
My Westpac credit card insurance covers up to and including 80.
You may also be interested in our guide to getting a credit card in retirement.
Several Australian travel insurance providers have no age limits at all on some or all of their single-trip policies. Some of these include:
- 1cover – no age limit on comprehensive and domestic single-tip policies
- Fast Cover – no age limit on Comprehensive, Standard Saver, Basics or Domestic Plus cover if purchased before leaving Australia
- QBE – no age limit on single-trip international and domestic policies
- Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) – no age limit on the TravelCare policy
- Simply Travel Insurance – no age limit on Comprehensive single-trip policies
Although these policies do not have age limits, most do impose a higher excess for travellers over a certain age. For example, Fast Cover has a $2,000 excess for 80-89 year olds and a $5,000 excess for over 90s. The available cover is also more limited, with a maximum payout of $40,000 for any claims relating to injury or sickness for people aged 80-89, or $30,000 for those over 90 years old. Other insurers have similar restrictions.
Something to check though is that lots of brands have an increased for people or limited cover for older people (two that I know of are Zoom and 1Cover – great brands unless you’re over 80, at which point they have an excess of $2000 for medical claims).
Very few insurers offer annual multiple-trip travel insurance for seniors. But InsureandGo will cover anyone aged up to 100. And Southern Cross Travel Insurance (SCTI) has no age limit on annual travel insurance.
Please note that this information could change at any time. To ensure that you’re covered, it’s very important to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before purchasing any insurance. The PDS will outline if there is an age limit or any other restrictions on cover for people over certain ages.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Travel Insurance for Over 70’s
