Best Travel Insurance for Seniors: How to Find What’s Right for You

Later this year, I will, as many of our readers already do, face the challenge of finding affordable travel insurance for seniors.

In my books, travel insurance has always been important. I have never traveled without it. As I age, I consider it even more important.

There are people who choose not to buy travel insurance. In essence, that means that they are self-insuring. Generally, I consider this to be penny-wise and pound foolish. I will get into the rare circumstance when not buying travel insurance does make sense below.

My purpose with this post is to simplify what can be a complicated purchase. While I can't change the rates or policies that travel insurance companies have for seniors, I can share with you some straightforward language to help you buy travel insurance according to your needs without overspending. 

If you are under 70 years of age (65 in Canada) please read Going Alone? Travel Insurance is a Must.

If you're exploring travel insurance you're likely in trip planning mode. You may want to click here for your travel planning checklist.

One quick note. This article contains affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase we'll earn a small commission. This doesn't affect our analysis or your costs, but you will support Solo Traveler.

Top 3 Reasons Seniors Need Travel Insurance

As you age, more health issues arise. It's a fact of life. This also means that there are more reasons for seniors to buy travel insurance.

Here are the most important reasons seniors need travel insurance:

1. An unexpected health challenge causes a trip cancellation. Since seniors tend to have more health problems than younger travelers, it's not surprising that it is more common for seniors to encounter health-related issues that force them to cancel trips.
2. Family responsibilities force a trip cancellation. Whether it's a partner, parent, or child, seniors are responsible to many family members. When something happens to a close relative, your trip might need to be cancelled. You can read about my experience with this in The Trip that Was Just Not Meant to Be.
3. A medical emergency happens while you're traveling. Whether it's a fall, a temporary illness, or a new medical condition, many things can happen while traveling that require emergency medical attention. Read Travel Health Emergencies: Stories of Health Care Around the World.

The bonus of good travel insurance is that you will also be covered for medical evacuation, lost baggage, and possibly more.

Should I Buy Travel Insurance? Is Self-insuring a Good Option?

Trips and falls happen when we travel. On longer trips, it's likely that general health problems could arise as well. This is why it's worth purchasing a “bundled” travel insurance plan that includes trip cancellation, medical emergency, and evacuation coverage.

But is it?

You do have the choice to self-insure. This is the option of not purchasing travel insurance and covering any expenses or losses that arise out of your own pocket.

Let's explore a few scenarios to understand the implications of travel insurance.

• Traveler details. My theoretical traveler is 70 years old and purchased a $6,000, two-week trip to France.
• Insurance purchase. For $339.30 or 5.5% of the cost of the trip, the traveler purchased a bundled travel insurance plan. I took this quote from TravelInsurance.com. The coverage includes:
  • Trip cancellation: $6,000
  • Trip interruption: $9,000
  • Medical evacuation: $500,000
  • Emergency medical: $150,000
  • Baggage loss: $1,500
  • Flight accident: $75,000
  • Accidental death: $25,000
• Scenarios:
  • The traveler can't go due to illness. The trip cancellation insurance will refund all expenses that are not otherwise refundable by the travel companies.
  • The trip is interrupted due to COVID-19 or another reason. The $9,000 coverage of this portion of the policy can be used for extra hotel nights, food, and flights. Should it be necessary to quarantine due to COVID-19, there is ample coverage for the costs.
  • Emergency medical care is needed. Here are three different possibilities:
    • Sprained ankle. The total cost of seeing a doctor, purchasing an ankle brace and supplies is US$75 in France. I lived this myself. It's certainly not a huge risk.
    • Broken leg. It's a simple break and does not require surgery. The cost of medical care in France would be approximately US$4,500. That's getting a bit pricey.
    • Hip replacement surgery. I can't find a definitive price for this but in France it seems to be about US$25,000. This is definitely not the most expensive medical emergency you can face.

Given the above travel details, coverage, and scenarios, I'd say that you would self-insure only if you are wealthy. If you have the money, you can afford all costs out of pocket. You can also afford to pay for a translator to help you navigate the healthcare system and a last-minute flight to get you home or even an evacuation flight. You have the funds to take the risk.

However, if these expenses would affect your life at home and/or your chance for future travels, I believe it's better to have complete travel insurance. $340 seems like a small price to pay to protect your financial future.

Here are a few things that I've received compensation for thanks to travel insurance:

• replacement glasses when mine were lost in the UK: $300.
• the cost of repairing a crown that came off a tooth in Sydney: $272.
• a flight to Peru that I couldn’t take due to my mother’s ill health: $1,100.

Seniors with Pre-existing Conditions Can Get Travel Insurance

The term “pre-existing condition” is probably the most misunderstood aspect of travel insurance. Here's what you need to know.

1. What is a pre-existing condition? It is a medical issue that required you to seek treatment or consultation with a doctor or a change of prescription, whether the issue was diagnosed or not. Please note, that should a doctor reduce a prescribed medication because you are doing better, from a travel insurance perspective, this is a new pre-existing condition and is not stable.
2. What is a stability period? Insurers will usually cover your pre-existing condition if it is stable. The stability or “look-back” period is typically from 60 to 180 days. This is the number of days they look back to see if the pre-existing condition has been stable. If during the look-back period the pre-existing condition has been stable—i.e., there has been no change in prescription, no physician visits, etc.–as per the insurer’s definition, the pre-existing condition exclusion won’t apply.
3. Are you covered for a pre-existing condition? To know the answer to this question, look back six months to see how you have been treated for the condition. If there has been no change in treatment, symptoms, or tests, read the fine print and then contact the insurance company to clarify that you will be covered for your pre-existing condition. If you are not covered, you may be able to purchase a pre-existing condition waiver. Christopher Elliott explains the waiver here.
4. Will you be covered for other medical emergencies? Unless your medical emergency is created or affected by your pre-existing condition, you will be covered for a medical emergency.

In the United States, the factors affecting pre-existing conditions are in the fine print. There is no medical questionnaire required before purchasing travel insurance so your attention is not brought to the matter. However, this does not mean that you are covered for pre-existing conditions. As always, read the fine print.

In Canada, there is typically a medical questionnaire. The information gathered will be used to identify your pre-existing conditions and determine what you are covered for and the cost of your insurance.

Why is this important? If you make a claim, the insurance company will look into the possibility of pre-existing conditions carefully and any found that relate to your claim could nullify your coverage.