My batchmate’s father wanted to visit him in the US, so he was running around fixing things such as visa, tickets and also shopping for his grandchildren, son and daughter-in- law.
Amid all this, a critical issue bothered him — difficulty in getting travel insurance. He had only recently recovered from an acute asthma attack that had required hospitalisation for a few days.
As he knew the cost of treatment in the US was prohibitive, he wanted to be prepared for any expenses arising from an emergency which might lead to hospitalisation while on the trip. He did not want to become a financial burden on his son if something happened to him while in America.
But because of his pre-existing disease (asthma and some other complications) he was finding it difficult to get travel insurance. He requested me for assistance and I spoke to few friends in the industry on the matter.
Here is a small report on what I found. Although a must-have requirement for a senior citizens travelling abroad, insurance companies are not enthusiastic about covering people above 60 years of age. I spoke to quite a few insurance brokers active in this area and one person who agreed to be quoted was V Sithapathy, principal officer of VIG India Insurance Brokers and secretary of the insurance brokers association.
“PSU insurers are reluctant to provide overseas mediclaim policy for persons above 70 years,” Sithapathy said. Even private companies are reluctant. Obviously, the higher risk attached to senior citizens make it less attractive for them. They normally insist on a detailed medical examination for people above that age, which, Sithapathy said, “may not be practical for their age”.
Most large insurance brokers are able to get the policy for their specific clients on the basis of their relationship with the insurance companies, but this is a case-by-case approach which does not help the population at large.
In almost all the cases, hospitalisation arising from pre-existing diseases is not covered. Even where the cover is available, it is limited to $25,000-50,000 which is insufficient for any major hospitalisation that may occur.
Another option is to purchase overseas visitor policies from the US companies, but even they do not cover pre-existing diseases and provide only limited cover up to $50,000 for people aged 70 and above. Besides, they are quite expensive as compared to the overseas mediclaim policies available from Indian companies.
Medical costs abroad are very high as compared to India, and a medical emergency abroad may not only result in loss in health but also may cause major damage to finances, if you are not insured properly.
Thus, travel insurance becomes the most essential item on your shopping list if you are planning to travel abroad. Please keep the following things in mind while buying a travel insurance policy:
- Any pre-existing disease comes under permanent exclusion of the policy. So if you have had any pre-exiting disease before travelling, any hospitalisation cost arising from it will not be covered, except for a very limited extent as stated earlier in the article - Any treatment which can be reasonably delayed until the insured’s return to India will not be covered under. The decision will be jointly taken by the physicians and qualified personnel, as the case may be - For medical coverage, the most important thing to remember is that most policies cover to a maximum of $100,000 per sickness. However most insurance companies provide only up to $50,000 ($25,000 in some cases) for senior citizens, making it extremely risky for them to travel to advanced countries where medical costs can be prohibitive. So, in case you get admitted in hospital due the same illness and the costs cross $100,000, the policy won’t cover you for the same. If you take a sum assured of $500,000 then utilising it for one illness is not possible.
Is this scenario, where seniors pay more for travel insurance because of their older age, declining health, and pre-existing health conditions fair? No. But unfortunately, it is legal.
There is very little you can do about the age bracket you are in, but you can do your part to make sure that you find the insurance you need for your trip, at an affordable rate.
So you should start looking early. Since you know that you are likely face a harder time finding insurance, you need to allow yourself more time to look for it. Don’t delay, else you’ll likely end up not finding any coverage or paying way too much for it.
If you currently have insurance, then check with those providers to determine whether or not they offer seniors travel insurance.
It is much easier to obtain cover with an insurer that is already familiar with your health and medical history, then to look for a brand new one. Talk to the insurance broker of your company.
And what happened to my friend’s father? Well, we managed to get him a travel policy for $50,000 (of course, asthma not covered). He consulted his family doctor and decided he could indeed take a small risk and undertake a 30-day trip to visit his grandchildren.
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