While the over-65s holiday market is rapidly expanding, insurers are still reluctant to offer affordable travel insurance for older people - if they offer it at all, writes Laura Slattery.
The so-called "grey travel" or "golden holiday" market is supposed to be thriving.
Improvements in health mean the rapidly expanding over-65 age group is increasingly seeking out active holidays as well as laid-back cruises, using pension lump sums and other disposable income to put together personal itineraries. So why haven't insurance companies caught up with this adventurous spirit?
Age Action Ireland says travel insurance companies discriminate against older travellers, making everything from a quick jaunt to Spain to an extended trip to the US that little bit more of a financial migraine.
"We get a lot of angry phone calls," says Age Action information officer Gerard Scully. "Problems begin in earnest at 70. Up to that you may have difficulty, but after that the number of insurers or brokers who will look at you begins to reduce very rapidly."
Even a fit and healthy 66-year-old will be charged a much higher premium than younger adults.
The insurance costs add up because most insurers won't sell the much cheaper annual multi-trip policies to people aged 65 and over. A survey of online travel insurance providers by The Irish Times found that only a handful offer multi-trip policies beyond this age.
Most insurers have a cut-off point of either 64 or 65 on their annual policies. One exception is Bank of Ireland - its standard multi-trip and single-trip cover is available up to the age of 69, according to its website, with people aged 70-74 invited to call for a quotation.
Justcover.ie also offers multi-trip cover up to the age of 69, charging a higher premium for people aged 66-69. A multi-trip worldwide annual policy for someone in this age group who has private health insurance will cost €87, compared to €42 for someone aged 65 or under.
The only provider of multi-trip travel insurance for people over the age of 70 is VHI.
VHI members aged 65 and over pay €149 for its multi-trip annual travel insurance, compared to €49 under its standard policy.
There is no upper age limit on VHI's senior policy, but the private health insurer does impose additional conditions for people aged 80 and over. The main one is that it will not offer this age group any medical cover for pre-existing medical conditions over and above the level of emergency overseas cover that is available under their main VHI plan.
At €65,000 or €100,000 on most hospital plans, this level of cover is relatively low compared to the €5 million medical benefit available under its travel policy.
While trips under its standard multi-trip policy can last as long as 60 days, over-65s must limit themselves to not more than 30 days' travel per trip, and they can forget about winter sports.
Over-80s who want to go beyond Europe must confine their travel plans to a mere 17 days. VHI also imposes geographic limits on this age group: cover for the US, Canada and the Caribbean is out for octogenarians.
Nevertheless, for people aged 79 and under who are VHI members, the insurer's entry into the multi-trip travel market has made a difference. Unlike other insurers, it will cover pre-existing medical conditions (for the under-80s) and it doesn't require people to undergo any new medical assessments.
Perhaps mindful of recent warnings by the Equality Authority about age discrimination, many insurers do sell single-trip policies for older age groups, but again they charge more.
At AIB, a 65-year-old will pay the same price for covering a two-week holiday in Europe as someone aged 18-64 will pay for a multi-trip worldwide policy.
There are still cut-off points on single-trip policies. Simply Mortgages and QuoteMe.ie, who both sell Blue Insurances cover, do not go beyond 67. At other insurers, the cut-off ranges from 69 to 75.
One company that caters for older travellers is Accident & General. It charges a premium of €25 to 18- to 69-year-olds looking for insurance for a fortnight in Europe. This rises to €38 for 70- to 74-year-olds and €50 for people aged 75 and over. The 80-plus age group must buy the cover within six weeks of departure.
Members of certain trade unions should also check if they can secure insurance through their union: some unions offer access to travel policies designed specifically for retired members.
"Even where you get insurance, there are restrictions," says Mr Scully. The limits on the length of a trip is one example: "If you want to go to America for six weeks, you can't."
Even if older people successfully secure affordable cover, once they arrive at their destination they may face additional age discrimination when they try to hire a car.
Insurers say the higher premiums reflect the greater health risks posed by older travellers.
"We think it is discrimination. They say it is down to their actuarial evidence, but they never publish those actuarial tables," says Mr Scully.
And what many people actually want from their travel policies is not extra health cover anyway, but compensation for lost or stolen baggage and travel delays. Some argue that, if anything, older people are more cautious about their belongings and less likely to take risks.
Age Action is in the process of updating its database of travel insurance providers who don't take such a harsh attitude to someone's advanced years.
The group wants insurers to base their underwriting decisions on a person's health record or where they are travelling to, rather than simply taking one look at their date of birth and deciding they're too old.
There are plenty of perfectly fit 76-year-olds out there, says Mr Scully. "At the moment, there's no leeway for individual circumstances."
Travel insurance: top five myths
1. Travel insurance will fix all holiday woes
Holidaymakers frequently discover when they go to make a claim that their policy doesn't include the cover they thought it did, with the result that travel insurance is the most widely complained about financial product, generating a massive 501 complaints to the financial services ombudsman Joe Meade last year.
2. The insurer will compensate you if your flight is delayed.
Insurers will pay out only a small amount in the event of a delayed flight. This amount typically hovers around €15-€40 for each 12 hours that holidaymakers are delayed - hardly sufficient compensation if the delay ruins the holiday. But if a flight is cancelled, under EU rules passengers may be entitled to compensation of €250-€600 from the airline.
3. You must buy the policy sold by your travel agent
Not true. If the holiday is sold as a package by travel agents, they can insist that customers take out a minimum level of insurance. But holidaymakers are free to purchase any policy they wish. People who do buy from travel agents or tour operators cannot seek redress from the financial ombudsman if things go wrong.
4. There's no need to read the small print
As all travel policies are not the same, a quick browse of the booklet before take-off will be a good idea. The most striking difference is between VHI, which covers people under 80 for pre-existing medical conditions, and many of the so-called "copycat" products sold to private health insurance holders, which don't.
5. Health insurance is enough
Irish people are entitled to emergency medical treatment in EU countries, while the Republic has reciprocal healthcare agreements with various other countries. But people intending to travel off the beaten path or to countries with expensive healthcare systems such as the US and Canada will need the millions worth of cover included under travel policies if they have a medical emergency.
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