Older travelers have a hard time trying to get adequate insurance to cover them on their foreign holidays, the insurance watchdog warns.

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) says that 9.5 million over-65s in Britain are turned away by many insurers or are forced to pay over the odds. The watchdog fears this will lead many to travel without any form of insurance.

It found that people over 65s will be not be considered for 30 of the 140 annual travel policies but when they get to 70, they will be rejected by more than 100.

Single trip policies are slightly easier to obtain but over-65s will still be excluded from 30 of the 150 policies on the market. Those over the age of 70 will be rejected from more than 80.
Insurers claim that older people make bigger and more expensive claims to cover medical costs and this pushes up the premiums.

Peter Staddon, head of technical services at BIBA, said: "Older travellers need the protection offered by travel insurance as their claims can be more severe. Travel insurance is as important as their suitcase and they should always attempt to arrange cover.

"The over-65s need help and advice to find the best policy for them. A broker will save them time and money by doing the shopping around," he added.