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Travel Insurance options for an 83 year old lady.

Every year my aunt flies to Sydney, Australia to spend three months with her daughter. She has a good deal from Qantas @ £894.50 (all-in) for the return flight but at the present rate she is looking to pay almost the same amount again for travel insurance. Previously she has also insured through Qantas and last year the premium was just £200.00 but now Qantas say that they are no longer able to offer cover.
The cheapest quote she has found by conventional means is £740 from Age Concern. I have also checked the obvious choices online, such as SAGA who were uncompetitive at £992.74, and M&S who were even worse at £1300.00:eek:

Resorting to the comparison sites (Comparethemarket.com) I have tracked down an apparently good deal @ £475.84 from a company called Columbus Direct which offers £5million Medical cover, £1500 Baggage, £3000 cancellation together with insolvency cover. Visiting the company website (Columbusdirect.com) it also appears that my aunt could confirm final details and buy the policy over the phone.

The only problem is that I have never heard of Columbus Direct, then again I can't find any horror stories either and they seem to have a good review on this site: (financemarkets.co.uk/columbus-direct-travel-insurance-review).

So my question is has anyone else had dealings with them and are they any good?

PS. Apologies for the plain language links but it appears that I am 'not allowed' to post hyperlinks.:rolleyes:

Comments

  • Spruance, lets start again, what Past Medical History does your Aunt have?
    Does she have a actual "diagnosis", and/or is she under investigations for any medical problems that have yet to be identified, by either her GP or Consultant?
    Campaigning to recycle Insurance Policies into Toilet Paper :rotfl:

    Z
  • Spruance
    Spruance Posts: 70 Forumite
    edited 1 October 2009 at 2:00PM
    She is in generally good health and has recently undergone, and passed, a full medical (at her own request and for peace of mind) at her GP's surgery. She takes statins for moderate high blood pressure but that's about it.

    What strikes me is the huge disparity in premiums between those organisations prepared to offer cover for a three month trip by an 83 year old. She has been making the same trip every year for some 15 years now and has not previously had to search around for cover as this has always been provided by Qantas at a very reasonable rate.

    The main difficulty appears to be that whilst many companies will cover the over 80s, they seem to apply an abitrary limit of just 45 days which is of no use as my aunt will be away for 89 days in all. This in turn is why the Columbus Direct seems such a good deal as it ticks all the boxes. Hence I am trying to find out more about them.
  • wynnvegas
    wynnvegas Posts: 1,377 Forumite
    Mortgage-free Glee!
    Hi,

    I'm afraid I can't be of too much help.

    We got our travel insurance from Columbus last year for our American trip and found them to be very responsive in getting all the documentation and supporting evidence to us. Fortunately, we didn't need to claim (as we've never needed to claim on any insurance) so I'd rank them up alongisde every other insurer out there but obviously the real proof is in the claiming!
    Mortgage Free: 28/10/2010
    Time / Interest Saved: 18.5 years / £61,866.50
  • Spruance
    Spruance Posts: 70 Forumite
    That's just the sort of thing I wanted to hear Wynnvegas. Thanks very much.;)

    My aunt has never had to claim in all her years of travelling around the world and for a member of the older generation she is fairly well travelled as her daughter previously lived in Singapore and at one time her son lived in the USA.

    I like to help her out by booking her air tickets online but when it comes to organising personal insurance I think it would be best if my aunt can speak to someone directly, which she is perfectly capable of doing. It's just that not having internet access she is limited otherwise to what she can get locally, and in our small town the choice is somewhat limited.
  • How about contacting a local broker?

    http://www.biba.org.uk/ConsumerHome.aspx
    Campaigning to recycle Insurance Policies into Toilet Paper :rotfl:

    Z
  • That's a ridiculous premium! Blimey! I would have expected something along the lines of £50 but then again I've never been to Australia!

    Hope you get a decent quote
  • luci
    luci Posts: 5,960 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Columbus are a well-known name in travel insurance. However as has been said, you don't know how good an insurance company is until you have to claim, but that can be said of all of them.
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