TRAVEL INSURANCE OVER 70?

I am off to Perth for three months in February. I am 70 years old and healthy. I got a travel insurance quote for R6,900 which I think is a bit expensive. Do you have any wonderful words of wisdom, please? — Evelyn Higgs

To better understand what kind of insurance is available for senior travellers, I approached Flight Centre for a quote. On hearing the rate of R6,900 you have been quoted, the first reaction from the consultant was that it was a good deal.

By way of comparison, Flight Centre, which uses TIC for all its travel insurance, gave me a quote of R8,870 for 90 days of standard comprehensive cover for travellers aged 70- 79.

The cover includes R7,5m for emergency medical and related expenses, R500,000 for accidental permanent disablement, R250,000 for accidental death and R30,000 for lost baggage.

While the TIC quote is nearly R2,000 higher than yours, without being able to compare coverage, I cannot say which is the better deal.

Either way, the crucial thing is to check the fine print and make absolutely sure that you are, in fact, comprehensively covered for any eventuality.

Whatever policy you do buy, check the exclusions very carefully — medical evacuation and/or the cost of medical care in foreign countries can be ruinously expensive. If a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

As with everything, it pays to shop around.