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by: Steve Cogger
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| While travel medical insurance for senior citizens generally carries a higher premium and a lower maximum level of coverage it is still widely available. In fact, some carriers offer travel medical insurance for senior citizens no matter what their age. One carrier we found offered travel medical insurance for senior citizens over 80 years old, with no maximum age. The maximum coverage for those older than 79, however, is a low $10,000.
Another was a little more generous with its ceiling for elders through 79 years, although premiums for this travel medical insurance for senior citizens was still costlier than those for younger travelers. With this insurer a couple between the ages of 65 and 69 can still purchase up to $1 million of emergency medical coverage with their travel insurance, and as low as a $250 deductible. For this senior citizen couple travel insurance coverage for this single trip would cost $438. At age 70 the maximum drops way down to $50,000 and each policy must be purchased separately. The per-person cost for the same trip is now $219 each for only $50,000 of travel medical insurance for these senior citizens. Now, let’s assume these folks are 80 years old. What a costly difference in this travel medical insurance for these senior citizens! Now the most coverage this couple could purchase is $10,000 each, at a whopping $518 each for the same $250 deductible. The deductible can be increased to $2500, which lowers the premium to $350.70. The best course of action for senior citizens who contemplate overseas travel and are considering travel medical insurance is to first peruse their current medical coverage. Seldom do these plans cover overseas travel but do check your policy and call your insurer if you are unsure. While your Medicare coverage will not help you outside of the United States, your Medicare supplement coverage might - or at least for some situations. If you’re wanting to save on your travel insurance premium the two best things you can do for yourself are to first book your trip with a travel agent you trust, and then choose an airline, cruise or other vacation vendor that is well known and not in financial distress. |
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by: Steve Cogger
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| If you are an expatriate planning on long-term residence in Japan you can, after a one-year stay, become a part of Japan’s national health program. Until that time, however, you’re going to need Japanese overseas travel insurance.
Some of the Japanese overseas travel insurance options include not only trip or annual medical emergency coverage for travel but also disability insurance, personal liability coverage and term life insurance. Japanese overseas travel insurance’s medical coverage with some plans offers full (100 percent) reimbursement for prescription medicine, medical care for diagnostic purposes, hospital stay and even surgery. You’ll also be covered in case of terrorism and an evacuation to your home residence in the event of medical or terrorist emergency. One firm whose Japanese overseas travel plan we perused offered coverage for those over 80 years old, difficult to find. The minimum coverage time period for this plan is one week (seven days) with a one-year maximum, although it can be renewed for a total of three consecutive years of coverage. Coverage varies according to your age. You must be at least two weeks old for any coverage. If you are under 70 years of age you can choose coverage limits that range from $50,000 to $1 million. Folks between 70 and 79 are excluded from coverage that exceeds $50,000, while those 80 or older can only be covered to a maximum of $10,000. Let’s look at a couple of quotes to see the variation in cost for age, children, number of travelers, and participation in sports. We’ll also look at the cost for non-U.S. citizens. The first quote is for a single U.S. resident 18-29 years of age traveling along for one year and not wanting the rider for sports coverage. A $1 million ceiling for Japanese overseas travel insurance coverage, with a $250 deductible, is $576. Reducing the ceiling doesn’t seem like nearly as good a deal - the premium is $504, although increasing the deductible to $1000 reduces the cost to $403.20. That same Japanese overseas travel insurance coverage for non-U.S. citizens is several hundred dollars more. For a couple both 30-39 years old with two children traveling with them, Japanese overseas travel insurance does not come cheap. Assuming U.S. residence and a $500,000 ceiling with $500 deductible the hefty price tag for this coverage is $1814.40. While this may seem excessive, consider the cost of medical coverage for one or more of you, or for emergency evacuation. You’ll probably come to the conclusion that Japanese overseas travel insurance is inexpensive as compared to the alternative. |