Your Handy Over 50s Travel Insurance Checklist

Your Handy Over 50s Travel Insurance Checklist

You’ve done all the hard work – you’ve saved up for months on end, made sure to research all the best holiday resorts and even studied up on the most common phrases and questions you might need to navigate a new and exciting city – now it’s time to pack your bags and get going, right? Wrong.

Many people don’t worry about over 50s travel insurance because it’s not something that comes to mind when they are planning a holiday. After all, what could go wrong?

The truth is, a lot could go wrong and if it does, you won’t want an accident to bankrupt you on holiday. With that in mind, this handy checklist will help you to ensure everything’s in order well before you leave home.

Use the Internet When Researching Over 50s Travel Insurance

Did you know that you can sign up for email alerts to get updates on the country you’re visiting? Many government websites allow users to sign up for alerts that will inform them of instability, health concerns and even weather reports for the destinations of their choice and this gives you the chance to fully prepare for the trip.

Having this information on hand allows you to pick the travel insurance that will really meet your needs, instead of a general policy that might leave you wanting.

Locate the Embassy

It is always a good idea to know where your local embassy is when travelling abroad, as well as to ensure you are aware of the services that they provide.

Don’t assume there an embassy in every country you’re visiting either because this isn’t the case. Be sure to take note of the emergency number within the country you’re visiting so that you don’t dial 999 only to be met with a dead dial tone.

With that being said, make sure you put your emergency contact’s details in your passport – this ensures that your nearest and dearest can be contacted if you’re not able to make the call yourself.

over 50s travel

Give Someone Your Policy Details

Just because you have over 50s travel insurance, this does not mean you’ll get the medical attention you deserve, especially if you are unconscious, in a third world country and the medical personal are trying to figure out which facility to take you to.

No one likes to consider the gory details of where they will wind up if they don’t have medical travel insurance, for example, but the truth is that they generally wind up in a third rate facility.

To prevent this, tell someone else about your policy so that they can take charge if the situation calls for it and get you the assistance you paid for.

Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket

Even if you have paid for over fifties travel insurance, having your credits card stolen when you’re in a foreign country might mean struggling to find a place to sleep for the night, so you will likely want to make sure you take along a variety of means of payment, including cash, credit cards and debit cards, and don’t store them all in one place.

That way, if your wallet is stolen along with your credit cards, for example, you can rely on the cash stored in your balled up socks.

Travel insurance provides a measure of protection, but it is still up to you to make sure you do your homework before you leave home and prepare for each adventure accordingly with the right over 50s travel insurance.

Remember, any trip comes with its risks and while you can’t protect against them all, you can protect against many of the pitfalls that would turn your holiday of a lifetime into an absolute nightmare.

Author

  • Stephen

    Stephen is now retired. He spent 25 years in community welfare and is one of the co-founders of life over 50. He has a keen interest in everything concerning this special age group.....and makes valuable contributions to the site. In his spare time, he enjoys photography, cycling and gardening. Also a keen jazz music lover!


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Life Over 50 Monthly Newsletter
Enter your email to receive a monthly round-up of our best posts.
icon