Best Travel Insurance for Seniors

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Best Travel Insurance for Seniors Main Takeaways

• The best travel insurance for seniors — much like the best travel insurance companies overall — offers comprehensive trip protection, coverage for medical expenses and baggage protection.

• Most travel insurance plans have a generous upper age limit — up to 99 years of age. However, certain benefits (adventure sports coverage, for instance) may have age caps.

• Senior travelers may benefit from travel insurance policies that offer comprehensive medical coverage, including coverage for preexisting conditions.

Our Top Picks for Best Travel Insurance for Seniors

• Nationwide – Best for Cruise Travel Insurance
• Seven Corners – Best for Group Travel Insurance
• Travel Insured International – Best for Multi-Trip Travel Insurance
• HTH Travel Insurance – Best for Medical Coverage
• IMG Travel Insurance – Best for High Dental Coverage
• Faye – Best for 100% Digital Travel Insurance
• John Hancock – Best for Trip Delay Coverage
• WorldTrips – Best for Upgrades & Add-ons

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Why we chose it: We chose Nationwide because it offers travel insurance plans with exclusive benefits for cruise travel.

Nationwide stands out for offering three cruise travel insurance plans: Universal, Choice and Luxury. In addition to trip cancellation and medical coverage, all three plans include cruise-exclusive benefits such as missed connection coverage, shipboard service disruption coverage and prepaid excursion reimbursement.

If you're concerned about unexpected incidents causing you to miss a prepaid excursion after your departure, Nationwide provides a prepaid excursion reimbursement of $250, $500 or $1,000, depending on the plan tier. This coverage applies to missed excursions due to fire, mechanical failures or other covered issues.

You may claim your trip cancellation or interruption coverage if inclement weather prevents you from reaching the cruise's point of departure or if you must work during the trip.

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Why we chose it: We picked Seven Corners as the best option for group travel insurance because it offers both trip protection and medical-only insurance plans for groups of 10 or more.

Seven Corners offers comprehensive travel insurance for groups of 10 people or more. You can choose between comprehensive trip protection plans or just medical coverage, with the option to customize one or more traveler’s coverage based on their needs. Both options include trip cancellation, bag delay and medical coverage.

Seven Corners also offers optional benefits such as “cancellation for any reason” and “interruption for any reason," which cover up to 75% of non-refundable trip costs.

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Why we chose it: We selected Travel Insured International as the best multi-trip travel insurance option for seniors because it offers frequent travelers an annual plan that includes trip protection and medical coverage that is valid on multiple trips.

If you plan on making several trips in the coming year, Travel Insured International’s annual multi-trip plan offers trip protection and medical coverage, saving you the hassle of having to purchase insurance for each trip.

The company offers $100,000 for accident and sickness expenses per trip and $100,000 for medical evacuations. The plan also allocates $2,500 per trip for bag loss or theft and has a trip delay benefit of $5,000 per trip ($200 per day) for delays of 12 hours or longer.

The cost of the base annual multi-trip plan is $94 a year and increases with any upgrades you add.

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Why we chose it: We picked HTH Travel Insurance as the best medical coverage travel insurance because it includes full coverage for doctor visits, diagnostics labs and X-rays.

HTH Travel Insurance offers two travel medical insurance plans — one for travelers with a primary health insurance plan and one for travelers who don’t have health insurance. Both plans allow customers to choose between four medical benefit options ($50,000, $100,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000) and four deductible options ($0, $100, $250 or $500).

A highlight of its travel medical coverage is that it includes a benefit of up to $25,000 for hazardous activities, which covers skiing or scuba diving accidents.

Besides travel medical coverage, HTH Travel Insurance offers three trip protection plans — TripProtector Economy, TripProtector Classic and TripProtector Preferred. All three plans include trip cancellation, trip delay and trip interruption coverage. The trip interruption coverage covers up to 200% of trip costs, the highest percentage out of all the companies on our list.

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Why we chose it: IMG Travel Insurance offers comprehensive travel insurance and excellent health care benefits that include $1,000 in dental coverage with every plan. This dental limit is somewhat of a rarity, as most of the plans we surveyed cap dental coverage at $750.

IMG Travel Insurance sells plans for both airline and cruise travel, as well as plans tailored to adventure sports enthusiasts and budget-conscious travelers who just need the essentials.

All of its travel insurance plans cover up to $1,000 for dental injuries abroad (like infections or broken teeth) as well as take-home prescriptions and supplies.

All of IMG's insurance plans offer round-the-clock non-insurance services, including but not limited to:

• Emergency cash transfers
• Medical referrals
• Help with lost passports or travel documents
• Emergency translation services
• Embassy or consulate referrals

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Why we chose it: Faye travel insurance offers a highly customizable travel insurance product with a fully digital claims and reimbursement process, supported by a user-friendly webpage and a mobile app to manage your policy on the go.

Faye Travel Insurance streamlines the process of buying travel insurance through its digital platforms. Older travelers comfortable with technology can purchase and manage their policy and file claims through the mobile app, with the option to chat with a live representative 24/7.

Another standout feature is Faye Wallet, a digital wallet within the Faye app that connects to your Google Pay or Apple Pay accounts for a faster reimbursement.

You can further customize this travel plan with the following add-ons that cover veterinary or kennel costs, rental car damage and theft, travel inconveniences (closed attractions or inclement weather, for example), adventure and extreme sports (regardless of age) and accidental damages to your rental residence.

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Why we chose it: We selected John Hancock Travel as the best travel insurance for trip delays because policyholders can file a trip delay claim if their travels are delayed for as little as three to six hours.

While most insurers require that you wait 12 hours or more for trip delay coverage — especially if you purchase a budget plan — all three of John Hancock's travel insurance options offer solid trip delay coverage for short delays.

The Gold plan can reimburse you up to $1,000 ($200 per day) if your travels are delayed for three hours or more. The Silver plan, on the other hand, can reimburse up to $750 ($150 per day) with the same time requirements. Lastly, the Bronze plan offers the lowest coverage limit ($500) and has a slightly longer minimum delay requirement of six hours.

Finally, policyholders can upgrade any of John Hancock's travel insurance plans with these add-ons:

• "Cancel for any reason"
• Rental car collision
• In-flight accidental death & dismemberment

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Why we chose it: WorldTrips stands out for its supplemental coverage options. Policyholders can upgrade the basic travel insurance plan with over 10 add-ons and add new covered events to boost their coverage.

Customers can enhance any WorldTrips travel insurance with coverage upgrades for adventure sports, rental cars, increased baggage protection, rental accommodations, pet care, destination weddings and "cancel for any reason."

We found that the best plan for older travelers is the Premier plan due to its high medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation coverage. The Preferred plan offers secondary medical coverage up to $100,000 and $1,000,000 for emergency evacuation and repatriation. You can, however, pay an additional $7 to make this coverage your primary health insurance plan while traveling.

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Other insurance companies we considered

The following companies didn't make it to our top picks, but they are still worth considering if the coverage and benefits suit your traveling needs. Read our full reviews to learn more:

• Allianz Travel Insurance Review
• Trawick International Travel Insurance Review
• Generali Global Assistance Travel Insurance Review
• Tin Leg Travel Insurance Review
• TravelSafe Insurance Review
• Travelex Travel Insurance Review
• Berkshire Hathaway Travel Insurance Review
• AXA Travel Insurance Review

Travel Insurance for Seniors Guide

How much does travel insurance cost for seniors?

Travel insurance costs can vary widely. According to Generali Global, travel insurance costs between 4% to 12% of the total trip cost.

We surveyed 20 travel insurance companies and found that premiums ranged from $150 to $630 for a two-week trip to Spain. Costs vary based on the plan you choose and what it covers. The plans with the highest coverage limits for medical expenses, personal property and trip protection had the highest price tag.

Here's a quick look at the cost of travel insurance from some of the companies we surveyed.

How to get travel insurance as a senior

Travel insurance for seniors is the same as travel insurance for any other age group, but there are some considerations for individuals aged 65 and above, mainly regarding medical benefits:

• A recommended minimum of $50,000 in medical coverage if you're traveling abroad

• Preexisting condition coverage

Older travelers should note that there’s a time limit for getting a pre-existing conditions waiver. Insurance providers often require individuals to select the waiver (and purchase their policy) within 14 days of making their initial trip payment.

Read on for a breakdown of the steps to get travel insurance.

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1. Assess your travel insurance coverage needs

When planning your trip, consider both your health conditions or specific needs and the activities you intend to engage in. Additionally, take stock of any credit card travel benefits and evaluate the coverage you'll need depending on the destination.

For instance, international travelers should seek a plan with medical coverage, as domestic health insurance does not apply when traveling abroad. Conversely, domestic travelers who already have medical insurance may prioritize coverage that reimburses prepaid trip costs, such as airfare, hotel and excursions.

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2. Request and compare travel insurance quotes

Request a quote from several companies and review the plan documents, paying close attention to the policy's fine print. In particular, look into each provider’s benefits for medical expenses, bag delay or loss, trip cancellation or interruption and medical evacuation.

You can expedite this process by using a marketplace website like Squaremouth or TravelInsurance.com.

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3. Declare any preexisting conditions during the application process

Next, disclose any preexisting condition to the provider to ensure coverage for flare-ups or emergencies related to it. Stable conditions like asthma are typically not considered preexisting.

For travel insurance providers, a preexisting condition is an injury or illness that prompted medical diagnosis or treatment during the policy's lookback period — usually 60 to 90 days prior to the policy's effective date, but sometimes up to six months.

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4. Carefully read policy details, conditions and exclusions

Read the plan documents closely to ensure the policy aligns with your needs. As companies have strict definitions of coverage, you’ll want to make sure that you understand exactly what’s covered and how to properly use benefits when needed. Learning about the policy will also help you make a well-informed decision.

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How We Chose the Best Travel Insurance for Seniors

We gathered sample quotes from 20 travel insurance companies, reviewed the benefits of each plan option and selected the best travel insurance plans based on the following factors:

• Medical expenses coverage: Our top picks offer at least one plan option that covers $100,000+ for medical bills and $500,000+ for emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains.

• Travel delay coverage: Delays are common in air travel, and waiting hours to file a claim is highly inconvenient. We prioritized insurers with short delay time requirements and excluded those requiring delays of at least 12 hours before accepting a claim.

• Baggage delay coverage: Luggage delay is common during air travel. We included providers allowing claims within 12 hours, excluding those requiring travelers to wait up to 24 hours. This coverage is crucial as it helps mitigate the inconvenience of having to repurchase or go without essential travel items.

• Baggage loss or theft: Our top picks offer at least one plan option or upgrade that covers baggage loss or theft for up to $1,000 or higher.

• Trip cancellation and trip interruption: Our top picks cover 100% of prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses in case you need to cancel your trip as well as 100% to 175% of these expenses if your trip is cut short.

• Add-ons: We took special note of add-ons such as "Cancel for Any Reason" (CFAR coverage), adventure sports and car rental collision coverage as well as upgrades to existing coverage levels.

• Non-insurance services: We favored insurers that offer additional assistance services for inconveniences and emergencies that can take place during a trip, including multilingual translation and concierge services.

Summary of Money's Best Travel Insurance for Seniors

• Nationwide – Best for Cruise Travel Insurance
• Seven Corners – Best for Group Travel Insurance
• Travel Insured International – Best for Multi-Trip Travel Insurance
• HTH Travel Insurance – Best for Medical Coverage
• IMG Travel Insurance – Best for High Dental Coverage
• Faye – Best for 100% Digital Travel Insurance
• John Hancock – Best for Trip Delay Coverage
• WorldTrips – Best for Upgrades & Add-ons