Senior side to some travel insurance

February 06, 2005|Going Strong, William A. Davis, Globe Correspondent

As the Indian Ocean tsunami tragically demonstrated, disaster can strike without warning and with terrible consequences. Almost all of the more than 150,000 victims were residents of the affected countries, of course, but a few thousand were vacationers, including some from the United States.

There is no sure protection for travelers against natural disasters, accidents, illness, or other perils. However, it is indicative of these nervous times that the percentage of travelers taking out trip insurance is estimated to have almost tripled in the last few years.

Many travel insurance plans cover just trip cancellations, date changes, lost or delayed luggage, and the like, but travel insurance that also includes the cost of emergency medical treatment and air evacuation back home or to the nearest good hospital can literally be a lifesaver. There usually is no age restriction for such insurance, but seniors sometimes have to pay higher premiums.

One of the largest companies specializing exclusively in medical travel insurance is MedjetAssist (www.medjetassist.com), which protects policyholders who fall sick or are injured almost anywhere in the world, as long as they are more than 150 miles from their home. If they are hospitalized, doctors based at company headquarters in Birmingham, Ala., and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center work by phone, e-mail, and computer with the medical team treating them. When able to be moved, the patients are flown to the hospital of their choice aboard a medically equipped and staffed airplane.

An annual policy, or membership, as MedjetAssist calls it, is $205 for an individual and $325 for a family. A membership good for a single trip starts at $69 for one week.

Recognizing the growing numbers of grandparents who vacation with their grandchildren, the company recently introduced a special "grandfamily" rate. Holders of MedjetAssist annual memberships can now add grandchildren 18 or younger to their policy for a charge of $75 per grandchild.

Air Ambulance Card (www.airambulancecard.com) is another company offering medical evacuation and repatriation insurance. For an annual $295 for a family and $195 for an individual, members traveling 150 miles or more from home are flown to any hospital they choose in a fully equipped ambulance plane.

Tour companies usually don't include any sort of medical coverage in their basic trip package price but generally offer policies covering trip cancellation and medical emergencies for an additional charge. An exception is Elderhostel (www.elderhostel.org), the Boston-based nonprofit organization specializing in educational travel for older adults, which includes a travel assistance and insurance plan in all its programs at no extra cost.