Travel Health Insurance for Senior Travelers

When we first started wandering and cruising the world after retirement, one of our first worries was about travel insurance. After a 25-year career of writing ads and sales promotion campaigns for a major insurance company, I was well aware of the need for anticipating the expected and unexpected.

As we booked our first cruise, while the travel agent was adding up the many expenses involved, she just seemed to mention casually, "And, of course, you'll need our very comprehensive travel health insurance. That'll be another $250. (long pause) Each."

Oh, sure. We could visualize one of us falling off the gangplank as we departed the ship, or being hit by a Tijuana taxi, or eating some tainted food and being hauled off to the hospital. Wait a minute. The travel agent's words sounded familiar. She was giving me the same kind of sales pitch I once created so our agents could peddle our products?

I told the travel agent not to add the charges until I could check with my insurance agent. Sure enough, my regular coverage was already adequate to cover any misfortunes or hospitalizations throughout our trip, thus saving us $500. I'm a bit sorry that our travel agent lost her $100 sales commission, but we didn't need what would have been duplicate health coverage.

Therefore, before you start loading up on all kinds of extra insurance of any kind before your next cruise or foreign trek, check with your insurance agent. If you want to delve into it further, peruse the many sites on the internet that offer senior travel health insurance info, such as government agencies and other neutral resources. You may also want to talk to travel-savvy senior friends and family members about their experiences with those kinds of travel insurance needs.

Of course, because of any special physical conditions and other factors, your current insurance coverage may not be adequate in some travel planning. Do some homework with your doctor on possible needs that may affect your insurance coverages, such as pre-trip innoculations, on-trip medications, allergy cautions and other concerns.

Also, be aware of the two categories of travel insurance for seniors. One, which is sort of like a Las Vegas bet, is single trip insurance. Regardless of other insurance in place, this one-time premium payment will give you extra coverage in such categories as what insurance companies call AD&D. Accidental death and dismemberment coverage is sort of a health insurance for disasters, but if your doctor and/or family may believe you need it, buy it. Just figure you placed a bet at Caesars Palace, and hope you do NOT win.

The other, primarily for seniors who travel frequently, is an ongoing insurance policy paid for annually. As discussed previously, before you buy any extra insurance, make sure you're not duplicating health and other coverage you already have. Rather than being talked into buying any kind of insurance from a travel agency, airline, cruise line or other travel-related source, check it all out with your own insurance agency.

Another form on trip coverage is cancellation insurance. It has little to you with your physical health, but can be devastating on your emotional health. This may seem like the usual extra travel agency commission rip-off, but we've experienced it first-hand. We arrived at the airport on time in the early December morning, expecting our flight to get to Miami so we could board our cruise ship in the late afternoon.

However, because of severe winter ice conditions in Chicago, our flight was cancelled. We couldn't get another flight because the weather had caused all kinds of airline problems countrywide. We were offered flights the next day involving three changes of planes, which would have taken us to the cruise ship two days late into the eight-day voyage.

We refused, and because we had cancellation insurance, we got a full refund and a free cruise offer for a month later. Of course, the insurance had cost us originally an extra $500, but with all the other goodies involved, we finally profited by more than $4,000, greatly improving our emotional health.

However, this kind of story doesn't always have such a happy financial ending. Considering all the factors, maybe you should buy cancellation insurance, especially if you're flying during winter months. There are many kinds of extra coverage you may need, including baggage loss or damage, stolen clothing and jewelry and others. Discuss it all with your insurance agency.

Whatever your travel plans, you'll feel considerably more confident and relaxed if you know your blanket of insurance, especially involving your health, covers you all the way.