For many, the best way to spend their golden years is to travel the world. As you set out on an adventure to places unseen, there is an inherent risk. As such, travel insurance becomes essential, especially for those with medical conditions.
Seniors have a lot of travel insurance options available to them. Each insurance plan has pros and cons, as well as specific caveats and limitations. As a traveling senior, you must know how to evaluate different insurance plans. In doing so, you can find the best coverage for your travels.
Buying travel insurance is a valuable safety precaution. But finding which one is right for you can be confusing. In this article, we’ll cover some of the best travel insurance plans for seniors with medical conditions.
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What to Look for in a Travel Insurance Plan
Travel insurance offers protection as you travel. Generally, travel insurance plans provide some level of medical or financial security. But the ways in which different providers offer this protection varies greatly.
Before discovering the best travel insurance options for seniors, learn about the common elements of travel insurance plans. After that, you will be ready to begin evaluating plans for yourself.
Different Types of Travel Insurance
To begin with, all travel insurance plans are different.
Each may provide multiple kinds of coverage. Below are some examples of coverage options that are both common and relevant to seniors.
- Emergency Medical Care
- Medical Evacuation
- Trip Cancellation
- Baggage and Personal Belongings
Let’s take a look at each of these forms of coverage. Each section will specifically emphasize how these coverage types are relevant to seniors.
Emergency Medical Care
Seniors are more likely to need medical attention than any other age group. The unpredictable nature of travel does not improve those odds.
This is why emergency medical travel insurance is very important for traveling seniors. The good news is that people of any age can get this coverage, even those over 80.
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Considering travel is a highly active venture, there are many physical risks. All travelers, and seniors especially, may have sudden illnesses or injuries. In these cases, emergency medical insurance can offset your medical expenses.
Medical Evacuation
As with emergency medical coverage, seniors are also more likely to require medical evacuations.
Sometimes you may be hurt or sick but far away from adequate medical help. In those cases, medical evacuation coverage, also known as medevac, is extremely useful.
Medical evacuations typically unfold in one of the following ways.
The person is transported from:
- their location to the nearest hospital
- one hospital to another that has better equipment or specialized care
- their vacation destination to their home.
This transport can be exceptionally expensive. This is especially true when traveling by air.
If you ever find yourself in such an unfortunate situation, you will be grateful to have medical evacuation coverage.
Trip Cancellation
Although not directly related to medical conditions, trip cancellation coverage is also great for senior travelers. This coverage option can cover up-to all of your travel expenses if you cancel your trip unexpectedly.
However, coverage will be dependent on if you canceled for qualifying reasons listed by the provider. Some common reasons include:
- Injury
- Unforeseen illness
- Natural disasters
- Terrorism
- Death in the family
- Death of the traveler
Many of these reasons for cancellation are specifically applicable to those of advanced age. The elderly are simply more likely to become suddenly ill or pass away.
Cancellation coverage anticipates these occurrences and offers varying levels of reimbursement when they occur.
Baggage and Personal Belongings
As you travel, there are numerous opportunities for your luggage to get lost.
Without a doubt, this can ruin your trip. At the very least, your travel insurance can cover the cost of that loss.
But the level to which they will do so will, again, depend on the scenario.
For instance, let’s say your luggage was only temporarily lost. Your insurance will likely cover the essential purchases you needed to make while you were without your luggage.
On the other hand, your luggage may be permanently lost. In those cases, coverage can vary based on the items you lost and how much they are worth. Sometimes, your insurance will cover the entirety of the loss.
Baggage and personal belonging coverage mainly relate to luggage lost in transit. But seniors are also more likely to be the victims of theft. There are coverage options that apply to theft as well.
This coverage typically applies when items are stolen in these situations:
- At the airport
- In a hotel
- When in transit between destinations or travel checkpoints
In addition to being limited to these instances, these coverages also apply a limited monetary level. There will be an upper limit for coverage for specific kinds of items, like electronics and jewelry. This limit is often in the $300 range.
Package Plans
Package insurance plans combine a wide range of coverage types. These plans are intended to be all-encompassing and suitable for any traveler.
