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Over-65s' travel insurance
If you've booked a holiday but not got travel insurance yet, DO IT NOW, DON'T DELAY. Half travel insurance's value is protecting you BEFORE travelling as that way you've cover in place if something happens and stops you from going, in addition to cover if you do travel – though no policy covers everything. We take you through what to watch out for, then give you our top-pick travel insurance policies.
What is travel insurance for over-65s?

The aim of travel insurance is to cover the cost of the unforeseen – such as illness, injury or theft of your belongings – while you're on holiday. It's also designed to cover you if you have to cancel your trip before you go, or if you need to return early due to an emergency.
While travel cover works in exactly the same way for all age groups, as you get older, insurers see it as an excuse to charge you more – the main thinking being that you're more likely to develop medical issues while on a trip.
And while it covers a lot, travel insurance isn't designed to (and won't) cover every eventuality or every loss or inconvenience that you experience while on holiday. Read this guide carefully so you know what is (and isn't) covered.
What does travel insurance cover?
Sadly not all travel insurance is created equally, but you should expect an insurer to pay out for most of the below.
However, the exact level of cover will vary by policy – so always check the terms carefully before you buy.
Good travel insurance should cover you for...
Reason | Typical examples |
Cancellation as you can't travel | If you're made redundant, have to do jury service, fall seriously ill, test positive for Covid, suffer a bereavement or have a home emergency such as a fire, flood or break-in. |
Medical costs whilst abroad | If you fall ill overseas, including Covid, and require treatment – plus any travel costs if you need to be brought back to the UK for it. Though ALWAYS tell your insurer about any pre-existing medical conditions, or you won't be covered (see our Pre-existing conditions travel insurance guide for full help). |
Cutting your trip short (curtailment) | If an emergency happens that requires you to travel home early, such as death of a close relative. |
Baggage and personal belongings | If any of your stuff is lost, stolen or damaged while you're away. Though there are often limits on the amounts they'll pay out. You may also have cover for this under personal belongings on your home contents policy. |
Sports, excursions and other activities | If you can't make use of your booked activities, though some policies only cover this if the provider went bust. |
Personal liability | If you accidentally hurt someone or damaged their property, such as spilling a drink and staining an expensive upholstered chair. |
You catch Covid | You're generally covered if you test positive for coronavirus before your trip or while on it. |
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Book flexibly and pay on plastic to give yourself extra protection
Travel insurance provides valuable last-resort protection, but it's best used in combination with other ways of minimising the risk of losing money on a trip...
- Book easily cancellable or flexible flights and accommodation. Hedge towards offers with no/low deposits or those that give refunds or let you rebook for free if you find you can't go.
- Pay on plastic. Credit cards offer strong protection, as Section 75 refund rules mean for items costing more than £100, the card provider is jointly liable with the seller – though note that bookings via travel agents may not be covered as it usually only covers payments made directly to the travel provider.
Debit cards also have some protection under the 'chargeback' refund rules (but these aren't legal requirements and firms sometimes challenge them).
Yet for both schemes, you'll only be covered if the service wasn't provided, for example if the flight was cancelled or the accommodation was shut. These card schemes won't cover you if you weren't able to, or didn't want to, go on your trip.
- Package holidays can offer greater protection. If an airline or accommodation provider cancels, you're entitled to a refund. But if the trip or flight is still going ahead but you can no longer travel, such as a new travel warning from the Foreign Office banning all but essential travel, then you have few or no rights.
However, most package holiday providers won't operate holidays to countries where a travel restriction has been put in place, so they are more likely to cancel the trip anyway.
Over-65s' travel insurance need-to-knows
Getting the right holiday cover is a much more arduous task as you age, as statistically you're more at risk of injury and illness. However, besides the extra cost, over-65s' travel insurance is just like cover for younger travellers, insuring against unforeseeable mishaps which may occur before your holiday starts or while you're away. Here are 10 things you should know.
Cheapest single-trip travel insurance for over-65s
These are our cheapest top-pick policies for individuals and families looking for single-trip travel insurance, split into three categories:
- Cheapest, from £21/week. These meet our minimum cover levels and provide basic Covid cover – cancellation if you or a family member catches it. Plus, there's cover if you test positive abroad and need to extend the trip and/or seek medical help.
- Well-rated, from £35/week. These provide higher claim limits per person and have excellent feedback when paying out claims as well as extra cover for events such as airline failure.
- Top for extra Covid cancellation cover, from £48/week. These also provide cover if new UK-based restrictions mean you can't travel, such as Foreign Office travel advisories or local/national lockdowns (how likely that is now is for you to decide). They won't cover you if, for example, the foreign country stops you going.
These are the cheapest regulated policies that we could find that meet our minimum cover criteria. We judge them purely on price, NOT feedback. So these are for those not too fussed about the risk and just see it as a backstop. It's worth noting you may be covered for some delays (UK/EU flight delays has full info) and lost gadgets under your home insurance (do check).
What's the Covid-19 cover like? All the policies below will provide cover if:
You or a family member can't travel as you test positive for Covid-19 or you test positive overseas and need to pay for medical treatment, or extend your stay to isolate.
But there's no cancellation cover if UK Government Covid restrictions mean you can't travel, such as a new lockdown. There's also no cover if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination.
Cheapest single-trip travel insurance policies for over-65s
TABLE_CELL_STYLE | Europe | Worldwide | TABLE_CELL_STYLE | ||
Insurer | One week, individual | One week, couple | One week, individual | One week, couple | Excess |
Avanti (Classic)* (i) | £23.80 | £43.57 | £67.53 | £139.11 | £75 |
Staysure (Comprehensive)* (i) | £26.24 | £43.98 | £98.69 | £198.82 | £65 |
Coverwise (Bronze)* | £28.22 |
£40.10 | £95.04 | £137.23 | £100 |
Admiral* | £31.35 | £55.67 | £106.69 | £189.45 | £100 |
ABTA Travel Insurance* | £41.62 | £84.94 | £116.10 | £216.17 | £99 |
CoverForYou (Gold)* | £54.60 | £71.14 | £119.24 | £178.31 |
£0 |
Correct as of June 2023. All prices will vary depending on your age – prices above based on 66-year old travellers.
(i) Important. You must have had all the Covid vaccinations offered to you by the NHS to be covered for any claims relating to Covid, unless medically exempt.
We know travel's nowhere near as easy as it used to be and many are willing to pay more for greater peace of mind. So we've a few 'premier' travel insurance policies to try with higher levels of cover. All the policies here exceed our normal minimum cover levels and give:
- £5,000 cancellation cover per person
- £10 million medical and repatriation expenses per person
- £2,000 baggage cover per person
- End supplier failure, for example, airline or hotel stops operating
- Travel disruption, for instance, volcanic ash, tsunami or other natural disaster
Though it's worth noting that higher-end policies don't tend to give greater protection for Covid-related claims. As with the no-frills policies above, they provide the following cover:
You or a family member can't travel as you test positive for Covid-19 or you test positive overseas and need to pay for medical treatment, or extend your stay to isolate.
But there's no cancellation cover if UK Government Covid restrictions mean you can't travel, such as a new lockdown. And there's no cover if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination.
Well-rated single-trip travel insurance policies for over-65s
TABLE_CELL_STYLE | Europe | Worldwide | TABLE_CELL_STYLE |
Insurer | One week, individual | One week, individual | Excess |
ABTA Travel Insurance (Gold)* | £34.79 | £105.66 | £50 |
LV (Premier)* with optional baggage cover |
£52.30 | £173.27 | £50 to £90 |
Correct as of July 2023. Prices vary depending on age & number of people insured – prices above based on a 66-year old.
There are a few policies that go further than the rest, providing cancellation cover if you're unable to travel due to a change in the UK Government's travel restrictions - though how likely that is to happen now is for you to decide. All the policies here meet our normal minimum cover levels, with these higher limits:
- £5,000 cancellation cover per person (M&S Bank is £4,000 with optional extra added)
- £10 million medical and repatriation expenses per person
They also offer the following cover for Covid-19:
You or a family member can't travel as you test positive for Covid-19 or you test positive overseas and need to pay for medical treatment, or extend your stay to isolate.
UK Government Covid restrictions, such as a change in Foreign Office travel advice, mean you can't travel and need to cancel.
This isn't complete coverage, though – you won't be covered if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination but you still go there. You're also not covered if you don't have the right entry documents (for example, Covid passes) or if you can't or won't meet quarantine rules on entry and/or return.
Single-trip travel insurance + extra Covid cover for over-65s
TABLE_CELL_STYLE | Europe | Worldwide | TABLE_CELL_STYLE | ||
Insurer | One week, individual | One week, couple | One week, individual | One week, couple |
Excess |
Churchill with optional baggage cover |
£48.16 | £92.64 | £135.28 | £260.14 | £50 |
Aviva with optional baggage and travel disruption cover |
£86.13 | £143.44 | £180.11 | £301.08 | £50 |
M&S Bank with optional baggage cover |
£91.85 | £138.39 | £181.44 | £288.96 | £50 |
Top annual travel insurance via fee-charging bank accounts. These could be significantly cheaper than those above, especially for couples making a worldwide trip, and cover multiple trips, but could require you to open a new current account. | |||||
Barclays Travel Pack | £12.50/month rolling cost (six-month minimum term, so min £75, or £150/year) with cover up to your 80th birthday. It also includes European breakdown cover. You need a Barclays current account to add this on. | £50 | |||
Nationwide FlexPlus* | £13/month rolling cost (£156/year) with cover up to your 70th birthday. It's an extra £65/year (so £221/year total) for an age extension. It also includes European breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance. | £50 |
Correct as of June 2023. All prices will vary depending on your age – prices above based on 66-year old travellers.
If our hand-picked selection of insurers don't provide the cover you're looking for, it's worth doing a full check using comparison sites such as MoneySupermarket*, Compare The Market, Confused.com*, Gocompare and Quotezone*. They allow you to adjust your quote to suit your needs, for example, if you need to add cruise cover and want to compare policies.
However, we can't filter these for you, so always check they have cover that meets your needs. In particular, check what level of coronavirus cover the insurer offers before buying a policy.
Important. These sites are independent of MSE and may include providers we wouldn't.
Cheapest annual travel insurance for over-65s
These are our cheapest top-pick policies for individuals and families looking for annual travel insurance, split into three categories:
- Cheapest, from £42/year. These meet our minimum cover levels and provide basic Covid cover – cancellation if you or a family member catches it before your trip. Plus, cover if you test positive abroad and need to extend the trip and/or seek medical help.
- Well rated, from £134/year. These provide greater cover, higher claim limits per person and have excellent feedback when paying out claims.
- Top for extra Covid cancellation cover, from £120/year. These also provide cover if new UK-based restrictions mean you can't travel, such as Foreign Office travel advisories or local/national lockdowns (how likely that is now is for you to decide). They won't cover you if, for example, the foreign country stops you going.
These are the cheapest regulated policies that we could find that meet our minimum cover criteria. We judge them purely on price, NOT feedback. So these are for those not too fussed about the risk and just see it as a backstop. It's worth noting you may be covered for some delays (UK/EU flight delays has full info) and lost gadgets under your home insurance (do check).
What's the Covid-19 cover like? All the policies below will provide cover if:
You or a family member can't travel as you test positive for Covid-19 or you test positive overseas and need to pay for medical treatment, or extend your stay to isolate.
But there's no cancellation cover if UK Government Covid restrictions mean you can't travel, such as a new lockdown. There's also no cover if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination.
Cheapest annual travel insurance policies for over-65s
TABLE_CELL_STYLE | Europe | Worldwide | TABLE_CELL_STYLE | ||
Insurer | Individual | Couple | Individual | Couple |
Excess |
Admiral* | £41.68 | £68.96 | £115.75 | £191.48 | £100 |
Top annual travel insurance via fee-charging bank accounts. These could be cheaper than those above, especially for couples making a worldwide trip, but could require you to open a new current account. | |||||
Barclays Travel Pack | £12.50/month rolling cost (six-month minimum term, so min £75, or £150/year) with cover up to your 80th birthday. It also includes European breakdown cover. You need a Barclays current account to add this on. | £50 | |||
Virgin Money Club M | £12.50/month rolling cost (£150/year) with cover up to your 75th birthday. It also includes UK breakdown cover, gadget and mobile phone insurance. | £50 | |||
Co-op Everyday Extra | £15/month rolling cost (£180/year) with cover up to your 80th birthday, excluding winter sports. It also includes European breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance. | None |
Correct as of June 2023. All prices will vary depending on your age – prices above based on 66-year old travellers.
We know travel's nowhere near as easy as it used to be and many are willing to pay more for greater peace of mind. So we've two 'premier' travel insurance policies to try, which exceed our normal minimum cover levels and give at least:
- £5,000 cancellation cover per person
- £10 million medical and repatriation expenses per person
- £2,000 baggage cover per person
- End supplier failure, for example, airline or hotel stops operating
- Travel disruption, for instance, volcanic ash, tsunami or other natural disaster
Though it's worth noting that they don't give greater protection for Covid-related claims. As with the no-frills policies above, they provide the following cover:
You or a family member can't travel as you test positive for Covid-19 or you test positive overseas and need to pay for medical treatment, or extend your stay to isolate.
But there's no cancellation cover if UK Government Covid restrictions mean you can't travel, such as a new lockdown. And there's no cover if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination.
Well-rated annual travel insurance for over-65s
TABLE_CELL_STYLE | Europe | Worldwide | TABLE_CELL_STYLE |
Insurer | Individual | Individual | Excess |
LV (Premier)* with optional baggage cover |
£93.52 | £272.72 | £50 to £90 |
ABTA Travel Insurance (Gold)* | £140.05 | £324.19 | £50 |
Top annual travel insurance via a fee-charging bank account. This covers you and your partner up to your 80th birthday, but requires you to open a new current account. | |||
Co-op Everyday Extra | £15/month rolling cost (£180/year) with cover up to your 80th birthday, excluding winter sports. Includes European breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance. | £0 |
Correct as of July 2023. All prices will vary depending on your age – individual prices above based on 66-year old travellers.
There are a few policies that go further than the rest, providing cancellation cover if you're unable to travel due to a change in the UK Government's travel restrictions (though how likely that is now is for you to decide). All the policies here meet our normal minimum cover levels, with these higher limits:
- £5,000 cancellation cover per person
- £10 million medical and repatriation expenses per person
They also provide the following cover for Covid-19:
You or a family member can't travel as you test positive for Covid-19 or you test positive overseas and need to pay for medical treatment, or extend your stay to isolate.
UK Government Covid restrictions, such as a change in Foreign Office travel advice, mean you can't travel and need to cancel.
This isn't complete coverage, though – you won't be covered if the Foreign Office is advising against travel to your destination but you still go. You're also not covered if you don't have the right entry documents (for example, Covid passes) or if you can't or won't meet quarantine rules on entry and/or return.
Annual travel insurance + extra Covid cover for over-65s
TABLE_CELL_STYLE | Europe | Worldwide | TABLE_CELL_STYLE | ||
Insurer | Individual | Couple | Individual |
Couple |
Excess |
Churchill with optional baggage cover |
£119.93 | £212.40 | £311.29 | £551.18 | £50 |
Aviva with optional baggage and travel disruption cover |
£136.69 | £266.94 | £245.82 | £485.20 | £50 |
Direct Line with optional baggage cover |
£142.90 | £245.98 |
£295.77 | £551.71 | £50 |
Top annual travel insurance via fee-charging bank accounts. These could be significantly cheaper than those above, especially for couples making a worldwide trip, but could require you to open a new current account. | |||||
Barclays Travel Pack | £12.50/month rolling cost (six-month minimum term, so min £75, or £150/year) with cover up to your 80th birthday. It also includes European breakdown cover. You need a Barclays current account to add this on. | £50 | |||
Nationwide FlexPlus* | £13/month rolling cost (£156/year) with cover up to your 70th birthday. It's an extra £65/year (so £221/year total) for an age extension. It also includes European breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance. | £50 |
Correct as of June 2023. All prices will vary depending on your age – prices above based on 66-year old travellers.
If our selection of insurers don't provide the cover you're looking for, it's worth doing a full check using comparison sites such as MoneySupermarket*, Compare The Market, Confused.com*, Gocompare and Quotezone*. They allow you to adjust your quote to suit your needs, for example, if you need to add cruise cover and want to compare policies.
However, we can't filter these for you, so always check they have cover that meets your needs. In particular, check what level of coronavirus cover the insurer offers before buying a policy.
Important. These sites are independent of MSE and may include providers we wouldn't.
Still can't get cover or not happy with the price?
Specialist brokers can help you find insurers that cover non-standard trips, or help you if medical conditions mean you're struggling to find an affordable policy. To find one, see the British Insurance Brokers' Association website.
Always double-check the level of cover offered before taking out a policy as well as providers' websites for any info about coronavirus. Your broker should also be able to help you with any questions you have.
How to claim on your travel insurance

Claiming on your travel insurance shouldn't be daunting and – if you understand the terms and the excesses on your policy – you shouldn't be in for any nasty shocks.
Follow the five steps below in the event you need to claim...
- Submit your claim as soon as possible. Contact your insurer as soon as you can. Some parts of your policy may have a short window to submit a claim and it may take a while to be processed.
- Get your insurer to accept a medical claim before you get treatment. If you need to make a medical claim – and it's not an emergency – get your insurer to accept the claim over the phone first, before getting treatment. For example, if you sprained your ankle, call your insurer – if it accepts the claim then, you're less likely to be faced with a rejected claim later down the line. For obvious reasons, don't delay treatment if it's an emergency.
- Notify the police if it's a theft. If something goes missing or is stolen when you are abroad you may need to get a crime reference number or the overseas equivalent to make a successful claim. Report the incident to the police as soon as you can – you often have to do so within 24 hours – to make sure your claim doesn't hit the skids.
- Keep receipts. If you are claiming for lost luggage or delay, remember to keep receipts of essential items you have bought while waiting, such as food and drink. Many insurers allow you to add these expenses to a claim and may ask for receipts as proof.
- Complain if you feel your claim was unfairly rejected. If your insurance company rejects your claim, and you think it has done so wrongly, don't take it lying down. Complain to the free Financial Ombudsman. This independent adjudicator will make the final decision on a claim if you are locked in a dispute with your insurer. For more on how to make a complaint, read our Financial rights guide, or see our section below.
How to complain about your insurance provider
The insurance industry doesn't have the best customer-service reputation and while a provider may be good for some, it can be hell for others.
Common problems include claims not being paid out on time or at all, unfair charges, or exclusions being hidden in small print. It's always worth trying to call your provider first, but if not, then…
You can use free complaints tool Resolver. The tool helps you manage your complaint, and if the company doesn't play ball, it also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
Travel insurance FAQs
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