What is Age Concern Travel Insurance and Why Do You Need It?
Are you over the age of 65 and about ready to enjoy the life of travel and leisure? If so, congratulations; this can be one of the best times of your life. Before you embark on your first trip, though, take care to purchase age concern travel insurance.
Whenever and wherever you travel, you need travel insurance. If you’ve ever traveled extensively outside of the country previously, you have probably bought travel insurance with no difficulty. If you’re over the age of 65, though, you specifically need a type of insurance called age concern travel insurance. How does this differ from ordinary travel insurance?
Age concern travel insurance is specifically geared for older travelers, who usually cannot simply buy a regular travel insurance policy as younger travelers do. That’s because older travelers usually have more health 
concerns than younger travelers do, and they may have medical emergencies or other infirmities abroad that require them to be treated. You’ll also need it if you plan to do something pretty risky and daring, like going skydiving, scuba diving, rock climbing, etc.
Fortunately, although it used to be hard to find this kind of insurance, you’re in luck. Today, older people are living longer and healthier lives, and their relative wealth as compared to other age groups can mean that they travel more. Insurance companies are therefore stepping up to the plate and are offering specific policies geared toward the older traveler, namely, age concern travel insurance.
What a policy will cover for you
Every policy is slightly different, depending on the type of traveling you’re doing, but in general, you can expect the following:
Coverage for medical expenses
Coverage for legal expenses
Coverage for baggage that’s been damaged or lost
Coverage if your passport has been lost or stolen
Coverage if your trip has been canceled or delayed
Expenses related to covered policyholders’ death, injury or sickness that occurs on your trip
Other considerations
The type of coverage you’ll get will depend on what you will be doing. If you’re going on a standard sightseeing tour, you shouldn’t need a specialized coverage, but if you’re going to be doing particularly risky or adventurous activities like whitewater rafting, scuba diving, cliff climbing, skydiving, or other similar activities, you’ll need to make sure that the policy you choose covers these risks.
Other considerations to keep in mind
Even healthy seniors often have preexisting conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or osteoarthritis. These conditions, too, require specialized travel insurance, as do other more debilitating conditions like osteoporosis, heart disease, or limited mobility requiring a wheelchair or walker. The policy you choose should cover everything you need to get medical treatment in the event you need it, and should also cover repair or replacement of equipment as necessary in case it gets lost or stolen.
What kind of policy?
The type of age concern travel insurance policy you get will also depend on how much you’ll be traveling. If you plan on going on just one trip, a single policy should do fine. Single policy insurance covers the specific dates of one trip, from start to finish. However, if you travel a lot, it’s better to get an annual plan. For this, you don’t pay one flat fee; instead, you pay an ongoing fee. However, this insurance is a very good idea – and much cheaper than single policy insurance – if you travel a lot. Annual age concern travel insurance gives the peace of mind if you travel a lot because you never have to worry about whether not you are covered. Simply keep up your payments, and you know you’re covered whenever you travel, without worry.
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