Travel with the right cover for senior citizens

As skies open up after the pandemic, travellers are off to favourite destinations again to make up for the time spent in seclusion.

While the travel sector swung back to pre-pandemic levels in no time, travellers are now well-versed with safety measures that go beyond masks and sanitisers. More people are now seeing travel insurance as an integral part of their trip to ensure absolute protection in case they happen to encounter an unforeseen event on their journey. This includes senior citizens who had to practise extra caution, especially during the peak of the pandemic.

Here’s all you need to know before choosing a travel plan for the elderly:

Pre-existing diseases

While a regular travel plan may shield travellers from standard hospitalisation bills, they often don’t cover pre-existing diseases or PEDs. Hence, for senior citizens, it’s always advisable to opt for a plan which provides coverage in case of life-threatening conditions arising out of PEDs.

Usually, the coverage goes up to $10,000, which adequately protects an individual in case of a medical emergency due to an existing condition. Apart from this, there are plans available that provide coverage of $2,500 and $1,500, depending on your requirement and budget.

Usually available for anyone between the age of 61 to 99 years and beyond, these policies consider both age and pre-existing diseases. Moreover, they provide broad benefits such as hospitalisation, ICU cost, doctor visits, and surgeries, apart from baggage loss, flight delays, cancellations, etc.

Longer duration stay

It’s not uncommon for youngsters to move abroad for better opportunities. Often, most of them find stability there and even settle permanently outside of India. In such cases, their parents might need to visit them, and often stay for longer duration.

Senior citizen travel plans come to their rescue in these situations. There are plans that cover the elderly for 180 day. Depending upon the need, these plans can be further extended to an additional 180 days. This gives them a complete year in case they need to be a part of their children’s life milestones like marriage or childbirth.

Plans sans sub-limits

Similar to health insurance, travel insurance plans also come with sub-limits. And just like health insurance, it is advised to not have sub-limits in your travel plans as well. Especially when it comes to senior citizens, these restrictions can limit coverage.

Essentially, sub-limits means capping on the sum assured or the benefits included. It could mean exclusion of a certain kind of medical expense or curtailment of benefits. To avoid such a situation, it’s better to opt for plans that have no sub-limits. In this case, only for a small additional premium, the policyholder will be able to waive off any sub-limit and safeguard themselves against any untoward situation.

Since senior citizens are more prone to health risks, it’s best to prevent an unpredictable financial adversity by purchasing a plan without sub-limits.

Comprehensive cover

Comprehensive coverage is a non-negotiable factor in senior citizen travel plans. It means adequate sum assured and a wide range of network hospitals to keep you secure at all times. Your premium might vary as per your risk profile. For instance, when travelling to countries like the USA and Canada or Schengen countries, the premium will be higher as the medical cost in these countries in higher compared with India or other Asian countries. However, there are plans that require no medical check-ups, covers PEDs and cashless hospitalisation that are ideal for the elderly.

Travel benefits

An ideal travel insurance policy for the elderly should sufficiently cover them on all fronts. Hence, it is essential to examine the inclusions and exclusions of the plan thoroughly. The policy should cover everything from pre-existing diseases to ICU expenses to trip delays and cancellations to passport loss.

Transparency

Travelling internationally uninsured means carrying high health and financial risk. Also, disclosing every piece of information to your insurer is as important as buying the policy. Irrespective of your health condition, be open to your insurer to avoid the rejection of your claim later.

This phase of life is often free from any responsibilities and is considered to be the best time to explore the world. So, don’t forget to cover yourself adequately to make the best of this time. In addition, read the documents carefully and check for exclusions.

Finally, compare the benefits and prices of various policies online to make an informed decision.

(The writer is Head, Health and Travel Insurance, Policybazaar.com)