Why insurance matters for older travellers
I’ve just returned from a trip to New Zealand where I had one experience that left me fearful for my life – or at least my hip. Not a bungee jump. Not paragliding. Just getting on and off a water taxi when it would have been very easy to take a leap straight into the water between boat and landing stage.
While my bones were my immediate worry, I realised afterwards how glad I was that I took out medical travel insurance. If anything had happened, then treatment and maybe even repatriation could have been enormously expensive.
Yet a recent report from travel insurance provider Staysure looking at its own statistics has found that 1 in 3 Brits are travelling without insurance. And while it can be expensive, especially if you have pre-existing conditions, it could still be cheaper than putting your life savings at risk.
To insure or not to insure?
According to the report, among those over 75, 1 in 3 cite affordability as the main reason for skipping cover – but data reveals the average UK household has only £12,500 in savings, and repatriation can cost upwards of £150,000.
That’s because repatriation is a complex, high-stakes process involving medical evaluations, air ambulance coordination, and securing an NHS hospital bed for a smooth transition home.
And importantly, your free Global Health Insurance Card or old-style European Health Insurance Card does cover you for emergency treatment while away, but is not a substitute for travel insurance.
Real costs of repatriation
Last year, a 79-year-old British traveller paid just £280 for a travel insurance policy – a fraction of the £44,853 repatriation bill from Lanzarote they narrowly avoided.
Another, aged 76, spent £436 on insurance, preventing a catastrophic £84,372 expense from Florida.
Another example is that the average cost of an air ambulance from popular holiday destinations like Spain, the US, and Thailand was £53,393* in 2024. Repatriations from Spain have surged by 18% in the past two years, with Staysure arranging 33 air ambulance flights from the country in the last year. And this is just one cost factor if you need to return to the UK in an emergency.
In one case, a medical repatriation cost £177,929 from India, while flights from the US (£159,675) and Thailand (£152,895) also racked up eye-watering costs – all excluding additional medical costs for hospital treatment abroad.
Choosing insurance
If you do decide to take out medical insurance, then there are a few tips worth remembering:
- You may find your bank or similar institutions offer free travel insurance as part of a service you have already bought. Check whether this would work for you
- If you’re over 60 or have pre-existing medical conditions, you may find it worth looking at specialist insurers and comparing prices and conditions
- The screening questions can seem quite repetitive but do answer them all
- Be honest in your answers – if you forget to mention a condition it may invalidate your insurance
- If you’re unsure, there are assistants and human beings who can help
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash