In most cases, travel insurance is usually relatively cheap compared to other types of insurance. In return for cover you pay what is referred to as a 'premium': the amount you pay for the insurance. The cost of the premium varies based on the type of insurance and the insurance provider you choose. Depending on the type of trip you make and your personal circumstances, such as your medical history, your insurance may be a little more expensive; if you take a golf holiday and require extra cover for your golf equipment, your travel insurance premium will also tend to be higher. In some cases, you will wish to insure a number of people under one policy. In this case, the premium will increase, but often this is still a cheaper option than insuring each person separately.
Excess
As with any insurance policy, your travel insurance provider will ask you to pay a certain amount of any claim you make. This is what is referred to as the 'excess': you will be required to pay the first, say, seventy-five pounds of the claim and the insurer will pay the rest. The amount of excess you are required to pay will vary depending on the policy you choose and the individual insurance provider you have. If you are required to pay excess of one hundred pounds and you make a three hundred pound claim, you will receive two hundred pounds from your insurance provider. Typically, excess on travel insurance will be less than one hundred pounds: often around seventy-five pounds for a basic policy. In some cases, you are able to voluntarily increase the excess you pay in return for a premium reduction.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
If you have a pre-existing medical condition, the cost of your travel insurance is likely to be higher. A pre-existing medical condition is one from which you have suffered previously or are currently suffering. In serious cases, such as if you are suffering (or have suffered) from cancer, insurers will regard you as high-risk, because you are more likely to make a claim, and charge you a higher premium. Ensure that you discuss any medical conditions you have with your insurer: failing to do so may invalidate your insurance. Some conditions will not affect your premium, but those that do may require you to answer more detailed questions before you can be insured. For example, if you have suffered from cancer in the past, you may be asked whether you had surgery, for how long you battled cancer, and whether you are still suffering from side-effects of the disease or any treatment. While some insurers may refuse to insure you, others will simply increase the cost of their standard policy. If you are quoted a higher price, you may wish to ask whether you can pay more excess, which should enable your insurer to reduce the cost of your premium.
Cheap Over-65's Insurance
Many insurers will refuse to cover you if you are over sixty-five years of age. This is because you are considered to be more likely to make a claim, usually because your age is seen as increasing the risk that you will suffer from poor health and require expensive medical treatment when travelling. Nevertheless, many specialist brokers and insurers do offer travel insurance if you are over sixty-five. Often, they will charge you a very high premium for cover, or exclude medical conditions that you have suffered from in the past, or from which you are currently suffering. You may find that annual multi-trip policies are not available to you, and so shopping around for the best single trip policy would be your only option. On the other hand, you may consider contacting specialist insurers, who cater specifically for those over the age of sixty-five. The advantage here is that the cover provided by these policies is usually more suited to your needs, which means that you are not paying for unnecessary cover.
Is Specialised Insurance More Expensive?
Specialised insurance often covers you for a greater number of eventualities. This means that your premium will tend to be higher than that of a standard policy. However, not all specialised insurances will cost you more; some policies have a smaller amount of cover, which would reduce your premium accordingly. For example, if you take out specialised ski insurance you can expect to pay a larger premium because there is a greater likelihood of your making a claim than with a standard policy; an avalanche could cut your holiday short, or your skis could be stolen. However, if you take out student travel insurance, you may find that it is cheaper than a standard policy because the amount of cover is more suited to your circumstances; it is unlikely that you will need $1,000,000 worth of medical expenses cover, nor $500,000 personal possessions cover, and reducing these amounts reduces your premium.
