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Finding travel insurance for pensioners is "ageism" (16.06.08)The inability to find cheap travel insurance for pensioners has been called "ageism" by one newspaper columnist.Writing earlier this month in the Guardian, Jackie Ashley called on the government to tackle the problem of prejudice against the elderly.Ms Ashley cited the opinion of one Age Concern campaigner on the issue of travel insurance for pensioners, saying: "The effect of insurance companies refusing even to give a quote to elderly people is like walking along the high street and finding eight out of ten shops with a sign reading 'no old people here'."Rather than searching for travel insurance, another article in the Guardian has revealed that many British pensioners may soon be "exploiting a tax loophole" by transferring their retirement pots abroad.Retiring overseas rather than simply holidaying there could cost the UK taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds as wealthy pensioners escape paying British tax rates.This news story was written by Adfero Ltd
Finding travel insurance for pensioners is "ageism" (16.06.08) | Age Concern England
* Patrick Collinson * The Guardian, * Friday June 20, 2008 * Article historySimple saverBuy car hire insurance in the UK before you leave. The alternative? You arrive at the airport and the car hire desk presses you to buy an additional policy, sometimes costing £10 a day. They say that if you have an accident, you're liable for (say) the first £1,000 of any damage unless you buy a "super-CDW" (that's Collision Damage Waiver) policy.But there is a much cheaper way of insuring your hire car. Buy an annual policy back in the UK - they cost around £50 for Europe, or £110 including North America - which covers your liability for the car hire excess, not just if the car is stolen but also for some damage. Find policies at insurance4carhire.com, worldwideinsure.com and dailyexcess.com.Advanced saving tips1. Avoid paying pointless travel insurance step 1Obtain a European Health Insurance Card from ehic.org.uk or at your local Post Office. This has replaced the old E111 forms and gives you reduced-cost or free medical treatment in EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.Step 2Check your home insurance policy. Many have clauses that already cover personal belongings (eg your suitcase) outside the home.Step 3Check your private medical insurance policy, if you have one. These frequently cover the cost of treatment incurred abroad. For most holidaymakers who travel to southern Europe once a year, the only real benefit that travel insurance brings is cancellation cover. Ask yourself if that is worth paying premiums which are often £100 or more for a family.2. Buy an annual policy If you are travelling outside the EU, it's essential that you buy insurance. Annual worldwide multi-trip policies always make sense if you go on more than one trip a year. Buy at one of the comparison sites, and aim to pay no more than £40 (individual) or £60 (family). That's about what many companies charge for insurance for a fortnight in Spain! But don't just opt for the cheapest policy - those tend to have a limit on baggage claims of £500 or even less, and are hardly worth buying. In a recent Which? test, the best buy was TravelPlanDirect's £23 Europe-only policy for an individual under 65 (£45 family), or £38 for worldwide cover (£59 family) from Travel Insurance Web - both deals are only available online.Single-trip policies are only worth buying if you are traveling just once or maybe twice a year, and not going to the US - although they can be better value for older travelers (see below).3. Don't buy insurance from a travel agent, or your bank estate agents' travel insurance offers are nearly always ludicrously expensive: you can do much better online. As regards banks, customers with "premium accounts" such as Lloyds TSB Platinum have travel insurance included in the cost - but this is an expensive way to buy it. Ditch the account (they can cost upwards of £300 a year) and, again, buy online instead.4. Check those definitions one of the more common complaints to Guardian Money is that an insurance company has refused to pay for a cancellation caused by the serious illness or death of a close relative. Many insurers exclude anyone but immediate family from the cover, and will also refuse to pay out if the holiday was booked when the person already knew that their relative had fallen ill.5. Older travelers, beware Travellers over 65 and with pre-existing medical conditions have the thorniest travel insurance issues. It's crucial to declare any information, such as a pre-existing illness, that an insurer might use to calculate your premium. One tip: don't assume that the businesses or charities which specialize in the over-50s market are always the cheapest. They rarely are. Prices for insurance start to rise once you hit 65, and become alarmingly expensive past 75, even if you are fit and healthy. Travelers making several trips a year should still aim for an annual policy - but the savings over several single-trip policies are marginal, particularly if you visit America.The Which? survey's best buy for the over-75s was from Intune (intunegroup.com), a wholly- owned subsidiary of the charity Help The Aged, and any profits go to support charitable activities. The Intune policy has no upper age limit, and will cover many pre-existing medical conditions. Companies recommended by Which? for single-trip insurance include Columbus Direct and Golfguard. Both companies have upper age limits of 79.6. And if you do have a medical condition ...Cover My Travels (cover my travels.co.uk) has been praised, but will only give you a good price if the condition has been stable for more than 12 months. Others worth trying are 24DrTravel (24drtravel.com), Freedom Insurance (freedom insure.co.uk) and Medici Travel (medicitravel.com). If you have recently been in hospital, try Bradford & Bingley at bradford-bingley.co.uk/insurance/travel.Of course, if you travel in Europe only, the free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is useful for anyone with a pre-existing condition (ehic.org.uk).Quick stats Recommended levels of cover you should take out on a typical travel insurance policy ...£2 million medical expenses£1 million personal liability£3,000Trip cancellation£1,500Baggage lost or damaged£250Stolen cash source: money supermarket.com planet saver Climate sure, the insurance arm of Climate Care, a carbon-offsetting company, offers travel cover which promises to cut your carbon footprint. It uses part of your payment to offset emissions created by your journey. Contact climate sure.co.uk.
How to save money: Travel insurance | Money | The Guardian
