Brace yourself... for sky-high premiums
OLDER travellers with serious health problems face being priced out of their adventure plans because of insurance charges that in extreme cases are up to 100 times the usual cost.
There are 11.4million people in the UK over the age of 65, compared to 9.4million 15 years ago. This figure is expected to swell by 40 per cent over the next 17 years.
Although travel is the most common retirement aspiration among the over-50s, the high price of insurance could stand in the way of them ticking off items on their bucket list – a term made popular by the 2007 film of the same name.
It featured actors Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman whose characters escape a cancer ward to embark on an action-packed road trip.
Tomorrow’s pensioners seeking similar high-thrill adventures might find they cannot afford travel cover that costs more than the holiday itself.
A high price to pay
RETIRED grandmother Dee Marquette-Slight, 63, says travel is ‘in her blood’. But she was quoted a travel insurance premium of £1,500 – 50 times more expensive than that of a standard policy – because she has a rare type of cancer.
She was looking to cover a ten-day cruise to Cork, Guernsey and Northern France. Dee has neuroendocrine tumours that started in her small intestine. They are abnormal growths found in nerves and glands. Although the tumours spread, her illness is under control.
Known as NET, it also affected Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and the BBC Radio 4 Today presenter Nick Robinson. Some can be surgically removed, while others can only be alleviated through ongoing medical treatment. But to some travel insurers, they are an excuse to ramp up premiums.
Research by The Mail on Sunday uncovered travel insurance quotes covering Dee’s condition on comparison websites for more than £3,000.
Dee, who is married to Graham, 65, was diagnosed in October 2014.
When she was still undergoing investigation for the root cause of her declining health, the couple had to cancel eight planned holidays – including trips to China, Italy, Iceland and the US.
At the time insurance linked to Dee’s credit card covered the cost of the cancellations.
But after her condition was revealed, treated aggressively and an ongoing plan recommended – involving an injection every four weeks – her travel insurer did not want to keep her custom.
It was an exhausting journey to find one which would take her on, despite her cancer being stable.
Dee says: ‘I ended up speaking with insurance company advisers who didn’t have a clue what I had. They always asked the horrible question: “Is it terminal?” It was so upsetting. We’re all terminal in some way.’
She adds: ‘Doctors always say you need to take a holiday to relax and recuperate. But then you’re stymied by insurance firms that say they can’t help you. It felt like I was being penalised for having had an illness. Companies which did offer me cover were quoting silly sums – one for £700, another for £1,500.’
Last year, a travel agent eventually recommended a specialist company that could help and the Slights ended up with a £327 policy with Free Spirit.
This insurer has gained a reputation for addressing the travel insurance needs of the elderly. Last year, it stepped forward to insure veterans from the Second World War who wanted to return to the Netherlands for a commemoration ceremony marking the Liberation of Arnhem in 1945. The trip was part funded by a charity run by London’s cab drivers. Free Spirit abandoned the usual medical screening process to cover 306 veterans, carers, drivers, medical support team and other guests. All returned safely without needing to claim.
Dee, who recommends those affected by the same condition as hers to seek help from the NET Patient Foundation, adds: ‘Insurers need to stop looking at us as if we’re about to drop dead.’
How you are screened
DECISIONS on cover by mainstream travel insurers and comparison websites are often based on the ‘Healix’ system for medical screening. It is a database of disorders and asks a series of questions related to those conditions.
Peter Hayman, of Free Spirit, says: ‘In terms of cost, it makes a difference as to how you answer the questions and where you are travelling to. For example, medical costs are higher in countries such as Spain, the US, Japan and South Africa.’
He adds: ‘If you have a serious condition, a comparison website is unlikely to be a suitable way to buy cover because the medical questionnaire is not intuitive.
‘The higher your risk score, the fewer providers will appear, to the point where there are none at all.’
The scoring system is broad – someone with cancer that has spread could end up with a risk score of
Millions of older travellers want to go on adventure holidays – but they are being held back by insurers who are charging them up to 100 TIMES the usual cost
anywhere between 30 and 300. Someone with diabetes and no further complications could score below three. Most insurers stop offering deals at a score of around six or seven.
Hayman says: ‘It’s a blunt tool but we overlay it with common sense. People with serious conditions are not well served by the general travel insurance market.’
How to find cover
THOSE declined or priced out of cover will probably have approached a mainstream insurer which does not want to deal with customers suffering medical problems.
Specialist insurers are a better route. They include Free Spirit, AllClear, Avanti, Able2Travel, Insure Cancer and Good togo insurance.
Garry Nelson, head of marketing at specialist provider AllClear, says: ‘There have been examples of major insurers refusing to renew premiums because a policyholder’s circumstances have changed and the insurer has decided the risk is now too great.
‘Bundled insurance as part of a bank account or credit card is also unlikely to cover a medical condition unless you have specifically declared it.’
Nelson warns against travelling uninsured. He says: ‘The cost, both financially and emotionally if something goes wrong, could be disastrous.’
Comparison websites can help find cover – but for more complicated illnesses they are likely to throw up eye-watering prices.
Anyone with something unusual to declare will find it less time consuming and potentially less upsetting to use an insurance broker.
They work on behalf of the customer, who only has to run through their medical history once. It then becomes the broker’s responsibil- ity to find the best-priced insurer willing to provide cover. For help contacting a professional, use the British Insurance Brokers’ Association’s ‘find a broker’ service by visiting website biba.org.uk or calling 0370 950 1790.
Graeme Trudgill, executive director at the association, says: ‘We have many members who are ready to help and specialise in different medical conditions, even the most advanced cancers.
‘Many conditions such as asthma, gout, glaucoma, diabetes or high blood pressure are often accepted at normal terms if they are stable.’