Age UK Travel Insurance: Reviews & Policy Details
Want to know if Age UK Travel Insurance is right for you? Are you struggling to find an insurer that will offer comprehensive cover at a reasonable price and with no upper age limit? We’ve put together this guide to bring you reviews from customers, professionals, and our own helpful tips throughout. Read on to find out more...
For insurance purposes, Age UK is now known as Age Co, but in the interest of our readers we will use Age UK in this article as we have found most people still refer to the provider using its old name.
As of August 2019, Age UK is no longer offering travel insurance to new customers. If you have a travel policy that started before this date, your policy will still be valid until the end date specified in your policy documents. Age UK hope to offer travel insurance again in the future. We will keep you updated on this so check back regulalry for more information.
Age UK Travel Insurance Policy Details
It’s really important that you pick a travel insurance policy that suits your needs. Have a list of criteria ready before you start searching and rank them by importance.
One that should be near the top (if not the top) of everyone’s list is medical bills. According to Age UK, “more than seven out of every ten claims are the result of medical issues that either lead to having to cancel a trip, or to needing medical attention abroad, and fewer than one of every ten claims is to do with baggage or money.” Furthermore, medical claims for travel insurance cost the highest, so you need to have adequate coverage. Age UK travel insurance shines in this aspect.
Age UK Travel Insurance offers the two most common policy types:
- Single Trip: you can be away for up to 365 days for one holiday, this a great option for backpackers and students going on gap years.
- Annual Multi-trip: you can choose to be covered for under 31 days each trip, or 32-45 days. If you choose an annual policy, Age UK also offers a generous 17 days winter cover included at no extra charge. That could save you a whole lot on your premium, leaving you more money for a massage after a hard day skiing!
Age UK does not have an option for level of cover, whereas other insurers may offer two or three choices. Despite this, industry professionals rate both its single and annual policies as excellent, with comprehensive cover.
Here are some of the key benefits you will receive with Age UK:
| Section | Cover | Sum Insured | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| If your trip is cancelled | Cancellation | £5,000 | £50 (£15 for loss of deposit or for holidays under £100 total cost) |
| Missed excursions | £200 | ||
| Additional expenses if your carer is taken ill | £500 | ||
| Medical | Medical and other expenses | £10 million | £75 (£150 per family) |
| Hospital benefit | £500 (£25 daily) | £0 | |
| Personal accident | Death | £15,000 | £0 |
| Loss of a limb/sight | £25,000 | £0 | |
| Permanent disability | £25,000 | £0 | |
| Personal Belongings | Personal belongings total |
£2,500 |
£50 |
| Any one item, pair or set | £300 | £50 | |
| Valuables* | £600 in total | £50 | |
| Sports equipment | £500 | £50 | |
| Medical equipment | £1,000 in total (£500 any one item, pair or set) | £50 |
* Age UK considers valuables to be the following categories: Audio, visual, video, photographic, computer and portable navigation equipment, jewellery, furs, gold and silver items, watches, binoculars, musical instruments, tablet devices, MP3 players and electronic games.
Optional Extras
Age UK Travel Insurance does not offer as many add-ons as most insurers. For example, if you are planning a cruise, there is no option to add this protection. Let’s take a look at what you can upgrade with Age UK.
Winter Sports
If you’re heading to a ski resort you need cover. This is true whether you’re just walking from your fondue dinners to your hotel, or skiing each day. A slippery sidewalk in a resort can be as dangerous as an icy blue run.
If you take out a single trip policy you will need to pay an additional premium for winter sports cover, but remember it’s included with the annual policy (up to 17 days). Bear in mind that industry professionals do not rate ski insurance that highly with Age UK travel insurance, so check the policy details first to ensure it is sufficient for your needs. We’ve provided an overview below of what is covered:
| Winter Sports Cover | Sum Insured | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Winter sports equipment | £600 | £50 |
| Winter sports equipment (hired) | £150 | £50 |
| Ski pack | £300 | £0 |
| Piste closure | £300 (£30 daily) | £0 |
| Avalanche closure | £300 | £0 |
Additional Options: Group Travel, Kids for Free, and Excess Waiver
There are three other options you may want to consider with Age UK travel insurance:
- Groups - if you are travelling with 10 or more adults in the United Kingdom, you can receive a special discount. All you need to do is insure all the adults under the same policy, so make sure you include everyone when you get a quote.
- Kids for Free - under 18’s can be included on your policy for free, with some conditions (i.e. no pre-existing medical conditions), so make sure you read the fine print.
- Excess Waiver - for an additional sum you can waive your excess completely. If you did have to make a claim then there would be no cost for you to do so.
Age UK Travel Insurance for Over 70s
There’s an old adage: “you’re only as old as you feel”, but insurance companies will still go by your birthdate. If you’re lucky enough to be experiencing the later years (especially if you’re retired) then travel insurance can be tricky. Insurers base their premiums on a wide range of factors, but age and pre-existing medical conditions are always up there.
With most travel insurance providers, you will see premiums generally go up for over 65s and again for over 70s. By spending a little extra time researching you can find a policy that suits your needs and won’t break the bank, even if you have a few grey hairs. Age UK travel insurance is one of the best out there for the over 65s and offers the following benefits that you won’t find with most insurers:
- Tailors plans for over 50s.
- There is no upper age limit (yes, you can go to your granddaughter’s wedding in Thailand).
- Policies include cover for medical equipment against loss, theft, or damage.
- A free pre-travel phone line for advice on visas, passports, inoculations, local holidays, and more.
- Some of your premium will go towards supporting Age UK’s charitable activities (win, win).
Age UK Travel Insurance Reviews
There is no end to the amount of information available online and it certainly can be both daunting and overwhelming. We have searched the internet for you to provide a well-balanced and sincere review of Age UK Travel Insurance.
Customer Reviews
We always recommend scanning customer reviews online. Did you know that 97% of people search for reviews online first before buying? It can be a great way to get a feel for a product and identify any areas that give you cause for concernor that feeling of comfort. However, don’t take everything you read online as gospel because unhappy customers are more likely to leave reviews so it’s never 100% representative.
Based on the customer reviews we have read, customers have highly contrasting opinions about Age UK Travel Insurance. If we had to summarise, it seems the biggest positive is around the pre-existing medical conditions allowed. On the other hand, a negative theme tends to be customer service.
Interestingly, cost featured almost equally on customers’ list of complaints and praises for the company. This just proves, there is no one policy that fits all. It pays to shop around. The price is dependent on so many factors - especially when age and medical conditions creep in - that you really need to compare apples to apples (or arthritis to arthritis, as the case may be).
Below, are customer Age UK travel insurance reviews from three different websites:
| Website | Average Rating | Number of Reviews | Customer Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| TrustPilot | 1 Star | 1 | An anonymous customer had used Age UK with no problems before and received great service. The last time they felt they were treated poorly on the phone and received an exorbitant quote. The customer ended up going elsewhere and found a better price for what they were looking for. |
| Feefo | 4.7 stars | 2,279 | “Clear advice, common-sense attitude towards health aspects and good value for money.” |
| Review Centre | 3.9 stars | 12 | “Excellent value for money considering the various medical conditions. The so called senior citizens insurance companies advertising on TV were, in fact, three times the price of Age UK travel insurance. I would recommend them highly.” |
Industry Professional Reviews
Now that you know how customers feel about Age UK Travel Insurance, let’s take a look at what the industry professionals are saying.
Defaqto is an organisation comprised of 60 experts who have worked extensively in the financial services industry. Its goal is to provide information to support important decisions for consumers like you. It independently reviews travel policies in the UK based on quality and policy features, rather than price. Here are the ratings it gives Age UK Travel Insurance:
- Single Trip Policy = 5 stars
- Annual Multi-trip Policy = 5 stars
That’s the highest rating any provider can attain, implying that both policies offer very comprehensive cover.
Fairer Finance offers free research and guidance for consumers. They are completely independent and don’t accept any advertising or commission from the companies that they recommend. Here are the ratings it gives Age UK Travel Insurance:
- Single Trip Policy = 5 stars
- Annual Multi-trip Policy = 5 stars
- Winter Sports (add-on cover) = 2 stars
Like Defaqto, it also gives the highest rating possible to Age UK’s single and annual policies. However, the winter sports add-on cover only receives two stars, suggesting it only offers a basic level of cover.
Fairer Finance also collates customer reviews from a wide range of sources to understand how people feel about a company. Below, we will provide you with a table that’s focused on customer experience. This is different from Fairer Finance’s rating above, which is only concerned with what the specific product, or policy, offers.
| Customer Experience Type | Rating |
|---|---|
| Customer Happiness | 58% |
| Customer Trust | 63% |
| Complaints Performance | 66% |
| Transparency Rating* | 31% |
| Fairer Finance Score | 54% |
*The transparency rating is all about how good a company is at telling customers what they need to know in clear language.
To give you an idea of how Age UK Travel Insurance fares compared to its competitors, it is ranked 20 out of the 59 travel insurance companies rated on the above attributes.
Bought by Many has been around since 2012 and has extensive knowledge in the insurance field. It lists Age UK’s single trip travel insurance as one of the top 10 travel insurance products for 2019. All in all it seems the professionsal think rather highly of Age UK Travel Insurance!
Age UK Travel Insurance Prices
We’ve run some price comparisons between Age UK Travel Insurance and other insurers. As you would expect, Age UK is not in the budget end of the market, but it’s not the most expensive either. The pricing information here is correct as of July 2019. Quotes can change on a daily basis and vary between different websites or phone lines you use, so keep this in mind when you’re ready to purchase a policy.
The following quotes are for a single traveller, Europe only, with no pre-existing medical conditions:
| Age UK vs indsutry average | Single Trip (Seven Days) | Annual Multi-Trip (31 Days Maximum) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 Year Old | 70 Year Old | 35 Year Old | 70 Year Old | |
| Age UK Premium | £18.80 | £41.72 | £57.83 | £128.51 |
| Premiums with other insurers | £4.59 - £49.54 | £12.34 - £70.66 | £8.25 - £98.10 | £37.06 - £214.72 |
The main differences we found between the different insurers were medical, cancellation and baggage cover. Surprisingly, the Age UK Travel Insurance cheapest policy still had a good level of medical cover so if you’re not taking any valuables, this could be a good option for you. Trip cancellation cover was poor with the cheaper policies and generally increases with policy price.
Can I Cancel My Age UK Travel Insurance Policy?
To cancel your policy you need to phone Age UK Travel Insurance on 0345 128 8008.
Things to note when cancelling your policy:
- You can cancel your policy within 14 days and receive a full refund.
- You will not receive a refund after the 14-day period or if a claim has been or will be made.
- You will only receive a refund for a single trip policy if the time from the date of issue to the date your trip is scheduled to end is greater than 28 days. Therefore, if you book a seven day trip last minute (e.g. to leave in two days) and you want to cancel, you would not get a refund.
Age UK Travel Insurance Emergency Assistance
An emergency while on holiday will usually involve some sort of medical intervention. You might be too sick to fly home and stuck in the hospital. If you’re travelling with friends or loved ones, they will need accommodation for the additional, unplanned nights. If you end up in a hospital abroad and you are likely to stay in for 48 hours or more, or need to come home early, someone must phone Age UK Travel Insurance on your behalf. Always try and call as soon as possible.
If you need emergency assistance, please call Age UK on +44 23 8064 4633.
The information you will need to provide is as follows:
- Your name and address, and your phone or fax number abroad.
- Your policy number.
- The details of your booked outward and return journeys.
- Details about what help you need.
Age UK Travel Insurance Complaints
If you are unhappy with the service or treatment you have received from Age UK Travel Insurance, you have the right to complain. If your complaint is about the sale or administration of your policy, you should phone customer services on 0800 085 3741. If you have a complaint regarding your claim, please phone the number shown on your claims documentation.
Age UK Travel Insurance Claims
To make a claim under any section of your policy with Age UK Travel Insurance (other than ‘end supplier failure’, see below) please call +44 (0)345 685 1059. Claims should be notified as soon as possible, but always within 31 days of your return from your trip.
If your claim is relating to end supplier failure (e.g. insolvency or other financial failure), phone +44 (0)20 8776 3745, or write to the address below:
Send a letter to:
International Passenger Protection Claims Office
IPP House
22–26 Station Road
West Wickham
Kent
BR4 0PR
If you are making a claim under end supplier failure, please do so as soon as possible, and always within 14 days . For this reason, we recommend phoning, even if you choose to send a letter as well.
If you want some suggestions on what to do before you travel, read our guide that explains how to be prepared in case you need to claim.
Want to know more about how Age UK operates? Head to Selectra's Age UK insurance guide (coming soon) to find out all you need to know. We also have separate guides on Age UK car insurance (coming soon) and Age UK home insurance (coming soon).
Data and information correct as of July 2019.
All material on this page and the selectra.co.uk website is for information purposes only and does not constitute any form of financial advice. Selectra.co.uk is not responsible for any consequences that might arise from your use of the information provided.
Other providers are available and the best deal for you will depend on your individual circumstances. Please do your own research and seek professional advice if necessary (moneyadviceservice.org.uk offers free, independent advice on all financial issues).