Travel insurance, like all forms of insurance, is complicated to understand and requires both the insurer and the insured person(s) to be fully aware of the fine detail lying within the insurance policy. OAPs and other elderly travellers (or those with long-term health problems) should ensure they disclose all relevant facts that are pertinent to the policy. Any conditions upon which a claim later arises for that were not disclosed will invalidate the policy.

It is often very hard for OAPs (especially for individuals over the age of 65, 75 or 80) to even find cover, and cheap travel insurance is not readily available. The premiums increase sharply for OAP travel insurance. 

The purpose of travel insurance is to protect yourself from any medical or financial losses that you may incur while travelling. This may be either for a trip abroad or within ones own country. 

Most people book temporary cheap travel insurance for just a short length of time. You can either book this with a travel insurance company or with your booking operator. The advantage of booking travel insurance through a travel insurance company is they tend offer a much wider range of cover at a better price. 

There are 6 main types of travellers that may want cover. Namely: Student travel, business travel, leisure travel, adventure travel, cruise travel, and international traveller. 

The most common risks travel insurance cover you for is; medical expense, injury, cancellation, delay, bag loss and personal liability. You must read the details of your travel insurance carefully to know what you are covered for.

Most travel insurers are available 24/7, so you can contact them for questions. Travel insurance varies from provider to provider but often costs between 3-7 % of the total trip cost. Travel insurance tends to be higher for the elderly. Namely over 70 and over 80 tend to have higher premiums due to the increased risk of payout.

Over the past ten years the price of cheap travel insurance has fallen due to increased internet competition. Now many online travel companies offer cheap travel insurance. However terms do tend to be different for different companies so its always worth reading your travel insurance policy in depth as you don’t want to find out after your holiday that the medical treatment for your broken leg isn’t covered in your travel insurance policy.