Reaching your golden years doesn’t mean your adventures have to end. In fact, in this stage of life, you’ll hopefully have more time and resources to travel. But as a senior citizen, you’ll want to ensure you’re covered if any health-related issues arise while you travel — which is where having the best travel insurance comes in.

Having the right travel insurance will give you peace of mind while you travel and cover any losses incurred if you need to cancel your trip due to health issues. If you’re 60+ years old, check out our top picks for senior travel insurance below.

Best Senior Travel Insurance

• Allianz Travel Insurance: Best Overall
• John Hancock Travel Insurance: Best for Expensive Trips
• World Nomads Travel Insurance: Best for Exotic Trips
• Travel Guard: Best for Annual Insurance

Best Overall Travel Insurance for Seniors

Allianz Travel Insurance

Allianz Travel Insurance is one of the most widely recognized names in travel insurance, and it stands out as one of the top travel insurance providers for seniors. It offers a wide range of policies covering medical treatments overseas and emergency medical transport.

Allianz also provides options for varying trip lengths. Its annual multi-trip policies, for example, cover any trip you make during your policy period, even if they aren’t yet planned, making it an excellent option for seniors who vacation multiple times per year.

Allianz Travel Insurance Review

Best Senior Travel Insurance for Expensive Trips

John Hancock Travel Insurance

John Hancock Travel Insurance plans for seniors offer some of the best coverage available. It provides generous maximum benefit amounts while still offering affordable prices.

Each plan includes coverages like trip cancellation, emergency accident, and emergency medical, with the option to add benefits like CFAR (cancel for any reason). Plus, getting a free online quote is a quick and straightforward process.

John Hancock Travel Insurance Review

Best Senior Travel Insurance for Exotic Trips

World Nomads Travel Insurance

World Nomads Travel Insurance is a great choice for active senior citizens under 70 who want comprehensive travel insurance. The key difference between World Nomads and many other providers is that it covers 200+ adventurous activities like scuba diving, mountain biking, surfing, skiing, and even bungee jumping. In addition, World Nomads’ trip cancellation and emergency medical coverage includes COVID-19-related issues. Many other insurers are excluding that type of coverage now.

For adventurous senior citizens over the age of 70 years young, World Nomads suggests working with its partner, TripAssure.

World Nomads Travel Insurance Review

Best Senior Travel Insurance for Annual Policies

Travel Guard Travel Insurance

Travel Guard offers comprehensive insurance plans for shorter and longer trips. One of its more unique offerings is its Travel Guard Annual Plan.

This annual travel insurance comes with standard coverage benefits (trip delay, baggage loss, etc.) and substantial coverage amounts, which is important for seniors who travel multiple times per year. Travel Guard also offers a preexisting medical condition waiver, meaning those with certain medical issues can still gain coverage.

AIG Travel Guard Insurance Review

Understanding Travel Insurance for Seniors

Before diving into the specifics, it’s essential to understand what travel insurance is and why it’s particularly important for senior travelers. Travel insurance offers financial protection against unexpected events affecting your trip, such as trip cancellations, medical emergencies, or lost luggage.

Types of Coverage

• Medical Coverage: Ensures your medical expenses are covered in case of illness or injury.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Coverage: Provides reimbursement if your trip is canceled or cut short due to unforeseen events.
• Baggage Coverage: Covers loss, damage, or theft of personal items during your trip.

Benefits of Travel Insurance for Seniors

• Peace of Mind: Knowing you’re covered in case of emergencies can make your travel stress-free.
• Financial Protection: Shields you from potentially overwhelming medical costs and trip cancellations fees.
• Assistance Services: Many plans offer 24/7 assistance services, providing help whenever and wherever you need it.

Making the Most of Your Plan

After choosing a plan, it’s crucial to understand your policy fully and know what services are available to you in case of an emergency.

Understanding Your Policy

• Read the fine print and understand the claims process to avoid surprises.

Emergency Assistance Services

• Familiarize yourself with the emergency assistance services offered by your plan and keep all necessary contact information handy.

How to Pick The Best Senior Travel Insurance for You

It’s wise to compare several different travel insurance policies for the best coverage and pricing, as premiums vary widely between insurers and depend on factors like your age and travel destination.

That said, some of the more essential coverages to look for if you’re a senior citizen include:

• Travel medical coverage – This coverage will pay for your medical bills outside the US.
• Medical evacuation coverage – If you’re injured or become sick while traveling, this coverage will transport you to the nearest hospital or even back home if your condition necessitates it.
• Preexisting conditions – Coverage for known health conditions.
• Cancel for any reason (CFAR) – The name says it all! It’ll cost extra, but it’s the most comprehensive trip cancellation coverage you can get.
• Trip cancellation insurance – This coverage provides reimbursement for your prepaid and nonrefundable costs if you cannot make your trip due to an unforeseen event.
• Baggage delay insurance – This coverage will reimburse you for essentials like toiletries and clothes if your bags are delayed.
• Lost luggage insurance – This coverage will reimburse you up to a specified amount if your bags get lost en route.

Of these, the most critical to note are whether or not your policy covers preexisting conditions and the limits for travel medical insurance and emergency medical evacuation.

Some insurance companies offer a waiver that will cover preexisting conditions. You’ll have to follow the requirements for adding a waiver to your policy, like insuring the entire cost of your trip. Or purchase the policy within a specific time after making your first trip deposit payments.

You’ll also want to find a policy with high maximum limits for travel medical and emergency medical evacuation coverage. These types of expenses can be substantial, so you want to have appropriate coverage.

Senior Travel Insurance Tips

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Chose the Best Travel Insurance for Seniors

When comparing senior travel insurance options, we looked at the following factors to evaluate each travel insurance provider:

• Coverage limits: We looked at each travel insurance company’s coverage amounts for benefits like medical emergencies and trip cancellation.
• Coverage for preexisting conditions: Preexisting conditions are one of the more critical factors for travel insurance for senior citizens, so we looked at travel insurance companies that offer the best coverage for preexisting conditions.
• Price: We compared travel insurance providers offering reasonable basic and comprehensive coverage rates.
• Benefits geared towards seniors: We compared travel insurance companies that offer solid coverage for senior citizens, like medical evacuation, COVID-19 coverage, and trip cancellation.

You can find more details in our methodology for evaluating insurance companies.