Travel insurance should reflect how you travel, no...

Travel insurance should reflect how you travel, not your age

Beyond climate issues, grounded flights and pandemics, an unlikely trend highlighting the importance of travel insurance is emerging.

My parents are now older - my father is 90, and my mother is 85 - and they both still travel. My grandparents became physically limited by their mid-60s, and the distance between those two generations tells you more about travel risk than any headline about conflict or climate.

They are part of a generation that lives longer and more fruitfully and, as a result, people now travel later in life. They travel further from home and with more ambition than previous generations. Their personal risk appetite for adventure has increased too. At the same time, trips are costing more and the risks travelers face are growing, so their insurance needs to keep up.

A policy not based on assumptions

When travelers pick a policy, their cover should reflect who they are, where they are going and what they plan to do when they get there. It should not be built on assumptions.

Age is the easiest, but the least reliable assumption to make. A 75-year-old trekking in Patagonia faces different risks from a 75-year-old on a river cruise through Europe, and a 40-year-old who has never left the US may be less prepared than either. A date of birth tells an insurer how old a traveler is, but it says very little about how they travel.

Activities follow the same pattern. A ski day, a snorkeling trip or an afternoon on a zip line can all sit comfortably within a holiday itinerary now, and travelers should tell their agent or insurer exactly what they plan to do, then check the policy covers those activities before they purchase.

The destination matters just as much. For example, Japan is a distant, culturally unfamiliar destination to many US travelers and prone to natural disasters. Mexico City is closer to home and more familiar, but carries different security considerations. Each calls for different coverage, and a one-size-fits-all policy suits neither.

My advice: Three questions before you buy

I ask myself the same three questions before every trip. How far am I going? How different is that place from what I'm used to? And what happens when I get there? The questions that follow are: Are my limits high enough, and have I bought in time?

The average US winter trip now costs $6,137, yet only a third (31%) of travelers check whether their cancellation coverage matches the cost of their trip, according to a survey for Multitrip.com. Medical evacuation is a separate question. Our standard medical evacuation minimum is $250,000, but an evacuation from a remote location can be far more expensive than the trip itself, so travelers heading somewhere hard to reach should check whether a higher limit makes sense and whether the policy covers evacuation in that specific area

Timing also matters as much as the limits. Coverage generally needs to be in place before an event becomes a known threat. Once a storm is named or a travel advisory is issued, it is usually too late to insure against it. The best time to buy is the day you book.

Today's travelers are older, bolder and go further from home than ever. The right policy starts with honest answers about who is going, where they are going and what they are doing. Get the answers to those questions right, buy on the day you book, and the coverage should be there when it matters.

To find out more about World Trips, visit their local website here: https://www.worldtrips.com/