Travel insurance for a 74 year old.

[diadem01]

I want to make a simple trip to France to visit relatives. I intend to go by rail. My doctor says I am fit to travel ( I am very fit for my age) but I do have to take a low dose tablet to counteract blood pressure (which is not that high compared to some).

I am careful by nature and always travel insured … but I am having great difficulty getting insurance now that I am on these tablets. Worse, many insurers do not want to discuss an individual case and simply raise the price as a deterrent. For this basic single trip I have had quotes varying from £15.91 to £176.00 … utter nonsense in my opinion.

Can anyone recommend a sensible insurance company who will quote on the nature of the trip and the traveller rather than regard me as a freak, for that's how I feel.

[boxtops]

make sure you register for the EHIC card, diadem, so you can get basic free healthcare in the state hospitals in France - this isn't intended to replace travel insurance but it's a good backup for emergencies.
Which companies have you tried? you may need a specialist insurer who has a good track record on the medical cover, generalist insurers may indeed hike up the price if you have any level of cardiac/circulatory risk.

[craft1948]

The lady I go on holiday with is in her 70's..............she uses MoreThan.

[diadem01]

Thank you everyone (so far).

#Boxtops. Yes, I am EHICS registered. Did a Confused.com check which turned up the figures quoted in my initial post. The cheapest quotes looked dodgy to me. Mine is not in my doctor's opinion a serious blood pressure problem - and the low dose tablet has corrected it, the blood pressure remaining on target for the past year.

#EDDIE51 Age UK came back with £75. Still too high in my opinion considering 70% of medical costs are covered by the NHS anyway and I need no other cover.

Perhaps I simply need to come to terms with the fact that I am becoming a risk!!

[bednobs]

your other option of course is to not take insurance out, if you are sure that your risk of ANYTHING happening is so low, then take on the risk yourself. The other option might be that you ask them not to cover you for your condition, but for all other riskd

[joannie10]

my parents have used Saga, Age UK and Norwich Union over the past few years for insurance. They are currently 75 and both diabetic - good luck, but hopefully you will find something suitable with one of those mentioned.

[237SJ]

You could always take out insurance and exclude the medical condition. The EH1C would cover medical treatment if anything happened healthwise.

[whiskeryron]

Check this one out,haven't used them myself but looks reasonable.Ron.
http://www.secure-ins...=OMGAFF&responseCode=

[PurpleParis]

You could try a company called P J Hayman, they do travel insurance and also Accident & Health Underwriting?

[Buenchico]

This specialist broker might be able to help:
http://www.able2travel.com/
but my own instinct would be to not bother with insurance anyway.

Chris

[maclarencat]

My Mum is 82 with all sorts of problems but she uses EH1Cplus who are very reasonable. They simply insure you for the things not covered by your EH1C.

[diadem01]

This is the first time I have used AnswerBank … and very successful it has been. A big, big thank you to all who have contributed, indeed it is difficult to mark any single answer as 'Best Answer' because all were thoughtfully offered. But I will report the final decision though it may be a couple of weeks hence.

Thanks again to all.