Travel cover for oldies and youngsters

MULTIGENERATIONAL family holidays bring to mind different travel insurance considerations. Who can be included in a policy? And what about family members over the age of 69 who are travelling along on the holiday? Insurers inevitably offer different policies for older folk and it’s prudent to advise clients to inspect what those offerings are. Sanlam Travel Insurance tells Travel News it offers senior cover for travellers over the age of 69 up to a maximum age of 85. While much of the travel-related cover remains consistent with a comprehensive policy, there are important differences when it comes to medical benefits. “The only significant difference relates to the medical benefit. Senior policies exclude cover for pre-existing medical conditions, as well as vascular, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions and the medical benefit limit is lower,” says Karen Botha, Head: Sales and Marketing at Santam Travel Insurance. However, the travel-related benefits (cover for your trip and belongings) remain the same as those on a comprehensive policy and carry the same benefit limits, she adds. Age can also affect how family members are grouped under travel insurance. If a grandparent is under the age of 69, grandchildren may share cover with the grandparent. However, this is not permitted on a senior policy for grandparents of 69 years and over, due to the policy’s medical exclusions. Kiddies’ cover Dependent children who are not yet 21, accompanied by parents, may often share the parent’s limit of liability at no additional premium depending on the product selected. Santam Travel Insurance defines accompanied children as the traveller’s dependent children who are not yet 21, are not employed full-time and are travelling on the same trip and itinerary as the main traveller, including the same departure and return dates, destinations and flights. There is no maximum number to accompanied children that can be added to a parent’s policy and no additional premium is charged. However, families need to consider that the policy’s benefit limits are shared between the parent and all accompanied children listed on the policy. “This means the amount of cover required for travel and accommodation per person should be taken into account when deciding how to insure the family. Families should consider whether the policy provides sufficient cover when its limits are shared between several travellers, or whether separate cover may be more appropriate,” says Botha. As an alternative, a stand-alone policy can be purchased for a child at the normal policy premium. “Not all policies allow family members to share cover, with senior policies as one example,” says Botha. “Understanding who can share a policy, the applicable benefit limits and exclusions is therefore particularly important when arranging insurance for a multigenerational family trip.