Travel Insurance Trebles Overnight

Research has shown that travel insurance policies can treble overnight when potential customers hit the age of 65.

Consumer group Which? revealed figures showing that one in four insurance companies were refusing to offer cover to new customers who are 65 or over, and one in ten will not insure anyone over 80.

Many Older Travellers Are Being Penalised With High Insurance Premiums

These companies include Swiftcover who ironically use 64 year old Iggy Pop in their advertising campaign but will not cover new customers who are 65 and over. Added to that, if companies do agree to insure travellers over 65, they triple the premiums, and to make matters even worse, the best prices are usually on the internet and Which? also discovered that over 60% of over 65’s do not use the internet.

The consumer group is working closely with the government to bring about a proposal to ensure that insurers must have evidence to justify charging higher premiums. They should not be allowed to just assume that because travellers are older they are more likely to have an accident or take ill whilst on holiday.

A spokesperson for Which? 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.” He concluded “Insurers should take a more common sense approach and look at factors other than age when setting premiums.”