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You’ve committed to that long awaited dream trip to Italy, or France, or Yellowstone National Park. It’s quite the investment, a few thousand dollars or more. You may encounter that box asking if you want to purchase travel insurance.
Do you spend even more money for protection, or do you take a gamble and hope for the best?
I hope this guide to travel insurance for women over 45 will help steer you in the right direction and answer some of your questions. No one enjoys talking about insurance, but even with travel, you need to protect that investment.
Travel insurance is a type of insurance designed to cover the unforeseen problems and financial losses that can occur while traveling. These can range from minor inconveniences like delayed luggage to major issues like medical emergencies or trip cancellations. The major categories of coverage typically include:
Trip Cancellation and Interruption: Reimburses you for prepaid, non-refundable expenses if your trip is canceled or cut short because of covered reasons.
Medical Emergencies and Evacuation: Covers medical treatment and emergency transportation if you get sick or injured on your trip.
Baggage and Personal Items Loss: Provides compensation for lost, stolen, or damaged luggage and personal items.
Travel Delay: Reimburses for additional accommodation, travel, and meal expenses if your trip is delayed.
Women over 45 have unique concerns over younger travelers. I know for myself. Before I get into the reasons we need travel insurance, I have to share a little personal story. The scene is Dublin in 2018.
I was just leaving a U2 concert. I’m on a complete adrenaline rush chatting away with my traveling companion, not paying attention to where I was walking (a problem I have when I travel). My foot got caught up in a piece of strapping tape and I went down…HARD. I fell on my left arm. I got up with some help and insisted I was okay. By the time we got to the hotel, I couldn’t lift my arm above my
head. Looking back, I probably should have gone to a doctor to get it checked out, but I knew it wasn’t broken. I was in pain and couldn’t move my arm for the rest of the trip.
Now, that fall could have been much worse. I could have broken it, or worse. I had purchased travel insurance for that trip. Luckily I didn’t need it, but you get what I’m saying. Anything can happen at any time. The older we get, the more fragile we become.
As we age, the likelihood of a pre-existing medical condition increases, and these conditions can impact travel plans. There are very specific time periods that you have to purchase coverage that provides pre-existing conditions waivers – these are always within 14 or 21 days of your first deposit or payment depending on the policy you purchase. Pre-existing condition waivers will also cover your family members who are covered under the policy but only if you do it within the 14 or 21 days.
Women in this age group might undergo transitions in their health, such as menopause, which could bring about unexpected health issues while traveling. A travel insurance policy that offers coverage for medical consultations, medications, and treatments specific to women’s health is invaluable.
This is where my story fits in. Travel insurance will cover medical costs from unforeseen accidents or sudden illnesses that may happen on your trip. Plus, if you need to be evacuated to other medical facilities or flown back home early, there’s coverage for that.
This is a big factor as well. Many of us have aging parents at this time in our lives. With that comes an added responsibility. I think about my elderly dad every time I sign up for a trip. That goes the same for adult children. Life is unpredictable. Travel insurance can help recover your trip cost if you need to cancel or come home early because of an unexpected emergency of a family member or other covered reason.
Comprehensive travel insurance is the most inclusive option. It covers a wide range of potential issues, including trip cancellation, trip interruption benefits, emergency medical expenses, medical evacuation, baggage loss or baggage delay, and sometimes even flight delays. This type of insurance is ideal for women over 45 who want a broad safety net for a variety of unforeseen circumstances. This is the insurance plan I choose most of the time. It’s an all in one package deal.
Specialized plans are targeted to a specific need.Those individual coverages can include, medical only, activity specific (high-intensity activities such as skiing, scuba diving, hiking in remote areas), luggage reimbursement, travel accident plans, and evacuation plans.
First, you need to assess the trip itself. Your destination(s), activity level, health status, and duration of your trip are just some of the things to consider.
Will you be in an area where medical evacuation and repatriation of you (or your remains) could be necessary?
Many adventure-type tours or tours to more remote areas require that you have a minimum of $500,000 medical evacuation coverage – be sure you know this before purchasing your policy.
Then research different plans and what they cover, including a cap on monetary compensation. Some companies have quite a few plans to choose from, some just have a few tiers of comprehensive plans. Compare prices, read reviews, and if you can, find someone to talk to that has needed to use their insurance. If you are a frequent traveler, think about purchasing an annual plan.
The cost of travel insurance is primarily determined by factors such as the traveler’s age, the total trip cost, the length and destination of the trip, the type of coverage selected, and any optional add-ons. Let’s break it down.
Age: Older travelers face higher premiums due to increased risk of health issues.
Trip Cost: Higher trip costs lead to higher insurance premiums, since the financial risk to the insurer is greater.
Destination: Destinations with higher medical costs can increase the price of insurance.
Coverage Type: Comprehensive plans are more expensive than basic or specialized plans, and adding options like “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR) will further increase the cost.
Be aware that CFAR, never reimburses you for 100% of your costs and isn’t necessarily in the form of a refund to your method of payment. Coverage could be in the form of a voucher that you may never use again. Given the high cost associated with CFAR policies, they may not be in your best interest.
Usually you can expect to pay right around 10-12% of your trip cost for insurance. Most companies have a price calculator on its website. An annual insurance plan for frequent travelers is usually less overall.
Always vet the insurance company and read consumer reviews about their payout policies. It can be devastating when these companies deny claims that should have been paid.
RoamRight offers the most comprehensive packages on the market from a couple tiers of comprehensive coverage to multi trip, to specialized medical coverage plans.
Allianz Global Assistance has many plans to choose from. The Allianz travel insurance plans include different tiers of single trip and multi-trip plan and annual travel insurance plan. They also have a domestic United States plan that essentially just covers trip cancellation.
Travelex Insurance Services has basic, select, and Travel America coverage options and you can add optional travel insurance coverage upgrades if you’d like.
Travel Guard (AIG) offers three basic plan tiers and an annual plan and a plan for last minute travel.
This is just a sample of travel insurance providers. Remember – you get what you pay for. Also, please check your credit card for travel insurance. Some travel cards have it automatically as part of your perks.
Travel insurance is one of the last things we think about when we plan our travels. In fact, we don’t like to think about insurance at all. Travel insurance is something we should have for each trip we go on. Travel is an investment in ourselves. Why take a chance? Travel insurance provides us with peace of mind and a level of comfort. Now, go out and enjoy that dream vacation. Relax, have fun. You’re covered.
Who are our Sisters? Well, we’re you! We value old friendships but love making new ones. We’re intellectually curious and love a unique adventure to parts unknown. We may be single, divorced, widowed, or simply have a partner who doesn’t want to travel. Most of all, We’re kind, compassionate women who look forward to cultural immersion, exclusive adventures, lots of laughs, and the magic of Sisterhood.
