Over 75, retired, free… The perfect time to indulge your wanderlust. However, whether you’re on vacation or looking for an expatriate experience, it’s a good idea to take out travel insurance for peace of mind. We take a look at what’s available for travellers
over 75.
What is travel insurance for the over-75s?
In order to offer you the most suitable package, an insurance company will always ask you your age, your situation and the destination country (or even the duration of your trip). When it comes to health insurance, age is indeed a major factor: we don’t have the same needs at 25 and 75,
whether we’re students, working or retired. Many traditional supplementary health insurance plans set an age limit on their coverage (i.e. you can’t take advantage of them beyond the age of 60 or 70). So what do the others do? Fortunately, there are offers with no age limit, and even dedicated offers for people and travelers over 70-75. Retired people wishing to indulge their travel desires can turn to these more “personalized” formulas, or at least those more suited to their needs. Examples include : AXA Voyageo or visa Schengen, which have no age limit, the Tourist Card offer from AVA, Allianz Travel, ACS or Chapka’s Cap assistance insurance limited to 80 years of age.
Why take out travel insurance?
Whether you’re 25 or over 75, you’re never safe from an emergency, accident or illness. Especially in post-pandemic times. That’s why we recommend that you take out health insurance to cover yourself in case of need, and travel with peace of mind. As French people, we’re used to having all our healthcare costs covered by the social security system. However, this is not the case everywhere, and even less so if you decide to travel outside the European Union, where you can no longer benefit from your French rights. So it’s worth noting that more and more countries are now requiring a certificate of insurance with specific guarantees and cover (particularly in the event of contraction of covid-19) on entry to their territory. For information: for travel within the EU, you can apply for a European Health Insurance Card. This enables you to receive compensation for your healthcare costs abroad (up to the level of French reimbursements). Outside the EU, it is not available. The same applies to trips of more than 3 months or to expatriations: after 3 months, you can no longer benefit from your French rights. So, in this kind of situation, especially for
trips to the USA, Canada or Australia, where prices are high, we recommend that you take out complementary health insurance.
Finding the cover that’s right for you: what kind of cover is offered by senior insurance?
The benefits offered to seniors are similar to those offered to 25-70 year-olds: medical care coverage, hospitalization coverage, medical repatriation assistance (covid-19), civil liability protection in the event of material damage or bodily injury to third parties, other additional benefits (optical, dental, extreme sports coverage, etc.). Ceiling heights can be adjusted according to the country of destination (and the cost of medical expenses in those countries). Private supplementary insurance generally offers 24/7 assistance, which is particularly advantageous when traveling abroad with time zone differences. As we said, the cover offered is similar, the difference being mainly in the cost of the benefit. As older people are statistically more at risk than younger people, insurance premiums are higher. For this reason, we recommend that you pay particular attention to the terms and conditions of your contract.
Beware of exclusions
As with any contract, there may be conditions (called exclusions) in an insurance contract for people over 70. The first is often linked to the duration of the trip, which may not exceed 3 months: some companies accept to cover on condition that the traveler is first covered by French social security (and as we have seen, social security does not cover travelers outside France for a period of more than three months). Coverage from the 1st euro is not possible. Another frequently-repeated contract exclusion concerns
aggravations of pre-existing illnesses or conditions: these are generally not covered. Or, similarly, there may be a time limit after which the insurance company may decide whether or not to cover healthcare costs following a medical procedure or illness (to protect against relapse abroad, for example). For all these reasons, we recommend that you read your policy carefully before taking out insurance. Also, before any intervention abroad, remember to contact your advisor or the insurance company directly, to make sure that the service will be covered. An emergency number or helpline is often available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our Santexpat.fr insurance comparator
There’s no need to start looking for the best deal: our team of health experts can take care of it for you. Simply visit our Santexpat.fr website and enter your age, situation and country of destination. Our team will then put together a selection of the best offers on the market, tailored to your needs
