Travel Insurance

Senior citizen travel insurance is something that all older Americans should consider when traveling abroad. Though there are some trips that you may decide aren't worth paying to insure, there are many cases where spending the extra money can provide piece of mind and potentially even save you tens of thousands of dollars in the event of an illness or injury.

Different senior citizens travel insurance policies offer different protections and carry different rates, but generally speaking, you can usually expect to pay somewhere between 5-12 percent of the total cost of the trip. Policies may offer you financial protection in the event that you have to cancel your trip, they can reimburse you for medical costs incurred overseas and they can provide you with round-the-clock telephone assistance. Depending on which insurer you choose and what protections you want, the cost of your policy will vary.

One of the best reasons to consider travel insurance for seniors is as a form of supplemental health insurance. Medicare and Medicaid only cover you for health expenses incurred in the United States, and many countries either don't have free healthcare or don't include foreigners in their systems, meaning that you could be forced to pay huge bills out of pocket. Though few countries have health care as expensive as in the United States, this could still add up to tens of thousands of dollars in the most extreme cases.

If you have private insurance you should make sure that it covers expenses overseas or outside of your insurance network before you travel. If you're not covered you should certainly consider travel insurance. Seniors can be particularly vulnerable to these expenses since they typically require more medical care than the average person.

To find cheap travel insurance for seniors, you should ask you travel agent or regular insurance provider and ask them to recommend an insurer or a particular policy. Tell them whether you need medical insurance, trip cancelation insurance or both. You can save money by not “double-insuring” yourself, so figure out what you may already be protected against.

Remember, if you schedule a cruise or some other form of structured vacation, anything from weather to illness could prevent you from being able to participate, in which case you could potentially be out the entire cost of your trip depending on who you book with. Ask your travel agent about the cancelation policy on your trip. Will you lose a deposit? How big is that deposit? Will you be forced to pay the full price of the trip? These are the questions you should ask when deciding on a policy.