Travel Health Risks for Senior Citizens and importance of India travel insurance basis

Indian older travelers abroad, Travel Health Risks for Senior Citizens

Despite the slowdown due to rupee fluctuations, the Indian outbound numbers have been growing at an average annual growth rate of 10-12% over the last several years. India, a growing, consumption-driven economy, a large and increasingly affluent middle class, and the ongoing liberalization of air transportation have contributed significantly to this growth in international outbound travel.

Very importantly, even senior travellers have now decided that saving their hard earned money is no longer the right approach, they are now preferring to utilise their savings to travel across India and the world and have new and enriching experiences. As per the latest data, almost 30% of all outbound international travellers are more than 45 years of age, out of which 15% are more than 55 years. Almost all countries have recorded a growth of inbound visitors in the age category 50-80 years and this is a welcome sign. Parents’/ Senior Travel travel can be two fold. One is the more traditional form of travel where parents travel on long trips to US/UK/Europe/Australia etc to support their own children in raising their grandchildren while their children are both employed abroad. The second form of Parents’ Travel is where the parents would like to take a much needed international holiday for sightseeing or taking a break from their routine and these trips are funded by their savings or gifted to them by their children.

With this growing Travel Market for both Domestic and International travel, the risks (both medical and non medical) associated with this growth is bound to catch up with the India traveller. And hence it is recommended that every trip be insured against unforeseen exigencies which can set back the traveller emotionally and financially. With an increasing senior population travelling, one must realise that the propensity of a medical claim does increase with age. Given this, Senior Travellers must keep in mind the following important facts:

• Cost of Medical Treatment abroad – The cost of medical treatment in a foreign country can be prohibitively expensive and without an insurance cover, one could end up spending all their hard earned savings for such treatments, be it as a result of sickness or accident. Hence a Senior traveller should ensure they have sufficient coverage for Accident & Sickness, atleast $250,000.
• Longer Recovery Time – Due to advancing age, the traveller could also end up taking longer to recover from an accident or sickness and hence spend more time in the hospital resulting in higher expenditure for treatment. Similarly, since they travel for longer durations, exposure to multiple climatic conditions, could lead to unexpected illnesses. This makes India travel insurance for senior citizens a must have.
• Coverages for Pre Existing Medical Conditions – Given that, with advancing age, most persons end up with medical conditions which are pre-existing in nature, a senior traveller should ideally opt for a best senior citizen travel insurance coverage for Pre Existing Medical conditions. Without these coverages, the insured could end up paying for any medical expenses that come up unexpectedly.
• Inpatient Cashless Treatment is Available Abroad – Another important fact that all Senior Travellers should remember is that in Indian Travel medical insurance plans also, they can avail Cashless Treatment for inpatient treatment and hence they need not be out of pocket or make any advance payments for medical treatment.
• The Trip could be cancelled unexpectedly – While one has made all arrangements for a wonderful trip with the family, an unexpected hospitalisation or illness could come up and force the trip to be postponed/cancelled. But these days most of the bookings (air,hotel, sightseeing, cruise etc) are paid for in advance and if one cancels their trip, they could stand to lose these deposits. An insurance policy with a Trip Cancellation benefit could come in handy in this case.