Are you past your sell--by date for cheap cover?

AF F O R D A B L E travel insurance is becoming more and more difficult to obtain if you are elderly or have a medical condition.

While premiums drop for household and car insurance once you pass a certain age, for travel they normally double when you reach the arbitrary age of 65.

And, to keep claims down, underwriters are becoming far choosier about whether to insure someone who has undergone a heart bypass and those with far less serious conditions.

Insurers justify loading premiums for the greying brigade by saying that the older you are the more likely you will fall ill while abroad - and therefore require expensive medical treatment or even repatriation.

To make matters worse, underwriters are increasingly washing their hands altogether of providing cover for the elderly by reducing the upper age limit on policies.

Roger Lakin, travel insurance specialist at Holiday Which? magazine, isn't happy with the situation. 'Refusing cover, or charging blanket higher premiums to the elderly, is discriminatory,' he said.

'We have a growing ageing population with more leisure time on their hands. The insurance industry should not be putting them off travelling with cover.'

A similar story is emerging for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Dianne MacKenzie-Ross, from Stamford, has diabetes, but is in good health and able to control the condition by diet alone. Yet when she called to renew her travel policy with Club Direct, she was told that before they would consider reinsuring her she would have to speak to their specialist medical screening arm, Mediquote.

'I was then subjected to what I can only describe as the most intrusive interview I have ever had to undergo. It felt like Big Brother gone mad,' says Dianne.

As well a host of medical questions, they even asked her whether she did her own housework and gardening.

Brent Escott, managing director of Club Direct, is unapologetic, arguing that this kind of screening is the best approach. 'Ten years ago, insurance companies relied on doctors' notes to establish fitness to travel. But GPs are rarely knowledgeable about travel medicine, and from their point of view, it didn't matter whether their patients died at home or in Florida.

'From ours, however, the difference can be £50,000.'

In the mid-Nineties, Escott explains, insurance companies started using screening instead. Some employ a points system. They run through questions generated by a software system and if you score above a certain number of points the premium increases or cover is refused. Others, such as Club Direct's Mediquote, use a looser interview system, with questions posed by nurses.

'As well as trying to establish clients' physical fitness, nurses also highlight the health implications of travel to a particular country,' says Escott.

'For example, they might warn that care in Greek hospitals might be worse than in the UK.'

Here are some examples of the cost of travel insurance for people aged over 65, followed by costs of cover for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Single-trip policies

MANY insurers double premiums for over-65s - for example, with Thomas Cook three weeks' cover in the US for a 64-year-old costs £59.99, for a 65-year-old: £117.99 - and many impose a maximum age limit, typically of 74. However, there are more accommodating companies offering competitive rates.

The following prices are for two weeks in Europe/three weeks in the US for an 80-year-old.

Insurers which impose no age limits include: Flexicover Direct (Gold policy £19/£37), Matthew Gerard (£26.36/£58.24) and Perry, Gamble & Co (£27.96/£73.55). Club Direct (£38.50/£77.22) and Nationwide Building Society (£24.16/ £52.63) cover those up to 99.

While Age Concern and Saga, specialists for the elderly, offer single-trip policies for those of any age, premiums can be astronomical. For three weeks in the US for an 80-year-old, Age Concern quoted £239.40 and Saga £200.22.

Multi-trip policies

ANNUAL policies that let you make as many trips a year as you want are ideal for retired people. However, many big names - including Direct Line and Thomas Cook, to name but two - refuse annual cover outright to over-65s.

One reason, say insurers, is that retirees, with time on their hands, can take too many trips to make the cover cost effective from the insurers' point of view. Another is that elderly people's health is more likely to deteriorate significantly during the course of a year.

Notable exceptions are the Nationwide, whose annual worldwide cover costs £79 for anyone from ages 65 to 99, and Flexicover Direct. Its annual worldwide Gold policy costs £63 for those aged 65-69, and £126 for those aged 70-plus - there is no upper age limit.

Club Direct, Perry, Gamble & Co, and the Travel Protection Group also offer keenly priced annual policies for over-65s, but only for those through to their mid-70s.

Note that Age Concern offers annual policies without upper age limits, but again premiums can be very high. Saga dropped its annual policy 18 months ago.

You can cut costs further by taking out a couple's policy, covering you and your spouse/permanent live-in partner. For example, Nationwide offers annual worldwide cover for couples, with both over 65, for £119 and, unlike some other policies, you're covered even if you travel separately.

On all policies, check levels of cover, as they vary between insurers. Bear in mind that those above a certain age may be automatically subjected to medical screening.

Medical problems

INSURERS say around one-in-10 travellers has a medical condition that should prevent them from travelling, or that will inflate the cost of insurance. It is vital to declare any such conditions. If you don't, and have a medical problem while abroad, any claim for medical costs may be rejected. Note that if your travel plans would be affected by the ailing health of a close relative and their health is questionable, you need to tell the insurer about them, too.

Some mainstream travel insurers are better than others in considering cover for pre-existing medical conditions. In a recent survey, Which? magazine flagged Club Direct, Go Travel, Norwich & Peterborough Insurance and Primary Direct as good for covering pre-existing medical conditions.

You could also turn to travel insurers such as Free Spirit and MediCover. These specialise in insuring those with medical problems who might not get cover elsewhere. Another is Leisurecare, which will insure only under-65s for travel within the EU and mainly deals with people with cancerrelated conditions.

Expect to pay higher premiums than normal - Free Spirit quotes £58 for two weeks in Spain for a 60-yearold who had a heart bypass three years ago - and phone around for quotes as rates vary significantly.

Contacts

AGE CONCERN 0845 601 2234, www.ageconcern.org.uk; Club Direct 0800 074 4558, www.club direct.com; Flexicover Direct 0870 990 9292, www.flexicover.net; Matthew Gerard 01483 730900; Nationwide Building Society 0500 302012, www.nationwide.co.uk; Perry, Gamble & Co 020 8542 1122; Saga 0800 056 5464, www.saga. co.uk; Travel Protection Group 02890

320797.

Free Spirit 01483 255888; Leisurecare 01793 750150; Go Travel 0870 243 6006, www.gotravelinsurance. co.uk; MediCover 0870 735 3600, www.medi-cover.co.uk; Norwich & Peterborough Insurance 01394 605100, www.npib.co.uk; Primary Direct 0870 444 3772, www.prim arydirect.co.uk.