Travel insurance for seniors (2024)

A wee while ago I was on radio for an hour chatting about travel with the many callers who phoned in. We got onto the topic of travel insurance for seniors as several callers explained they wanted to take a cruise or visit family or take that once-in-a-lifetime holiday but couldn’t get travel insurance because of their age and their pre-existing conditions.

I promised to do some research and here are my findings on who covers the grey gallivanters as they seek to see the world!

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to assume the automatic insurance cover they get on their credit cards by paying for at least 50% of their travel will cover them in full. It might do, but the pre-exisiting condition rule still applies and if you haven’t informed them of any relevant health issues, you might find your claim is rejected. To be safe, just give your bank a call and make sure you have in writing that your pre-existing medical conditions are covered. You may have to pay an extra levy for this.

There are some great tips in the comments below from readers, so have a read of them too.

World Nomads, of which I am an affiliate seller, covers travellers up to 69 years of age. So if you’re reading this over 70, they’re not the one for you. But they do sell 15% of the world’s travel insurance so would be well checking out if you are under 70. You can get a free quote on this widget and if you do go ahead and purchase, they will be pay me a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

1 Cover
As another disclaimer, I am also an affiliate seller of 1 Cover travel insurance. That means if you click on to their website through this site and you go ahead and book, I will get paid a small percentage. However, I called them to ask about insurance for seniors (not telling them I also sold their insurance) and said I’d heard they were one company who wouldn’t cover one of my callers that day.

“I’m reaallllly sorry,” said the girl on the end of the phone “but it’s on a case by case basis.” She didn’t offer any more info, so I dug a bit further and see they have a section on their website saying they cover 34 pre-existing medical conditions which you can read here >>Hover your mouse over ‘Travel Insurance Products’ on the left you will see a category for Seniors.

Worldcare
This company proudly promotes their insurance coverage of the “grey nomad”. They let you fill out your application form online using an online medical assessment tool and allow pre-existing conditions without having to visit your doctor. From memory, this company did cover one of the listeners who texted or emailed in to let us know they were successfully covered. Of course, you are going to pay more with each ailment, but that looks like it’s clearly spelt out as you go through the application.

Southern Cross Travel Insurance
Their website says that pre-existing conditions are excluded from their cover, however I have included the link above (in their name) where conditions are clearly spelled out and you can fill out an online medical assessment during the application process and if you name a condition that they cover, you’ll be able to provide more information and be presented with an answer (and an additional cost) right away.

Cover More
This link takes you straight to the seniors cover which includes 35 conditions including some cancers, gout, diabetes and unlimited overseas medical cover. Certainly worth adding to your list as you research the best coverage for yourselves. If your conditions aren’t in the list, they advise to call them anyway as you might still be covered.

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I hope you get some joy from these websites, but if all that fails – and you are in New Zealand – have a look at www.comparetravelinsurance.co.nz where they’ve also done a bunch of research for senior travel insurers for you.

You might also like to read my recent post on Things to be Aware of when Buying Travel Insurance. It gives you lots of things you need to consider and what to look for in the small print. (It turns out I hadn’t been insured for cruises I’d been on for the last few years!)

Since writing this post I was contacted by US based ConsumerAdvocate.org who have a ton of in-depth advice and also recommend some travel insurance providers, so click on their link if you want to read more.