Elderly struggle for even break on insurance

While pensioners may boast "you're as young as you feel", insurance companies are increasingly scrutinising the date on the birth certificate. If it's not up to scratch, your claim will be refused.

Age Concern Enterprises' Logan Steele explains: "It can come as a terrible shock to older travellers. They book their holiday, not expecting any difficulties, and are then horrified to find the insurance costs as much as the trip."

But insurers' nervousness is understandable given soaring claims. Nearly a fifth of all injury claims, from sports activities such as diving, mountaineering and skiing, were made last year by Britons aged 70 and over, according to specialist broker Perkins Slade. This compares with 5 per cent in 2006.

David Fieldhouse, sports manager at Perkins Slade, said: "The bottom line is a 70-year-old today is much younger and fitter than they were years ago, but they may still be prone to break bones if they have an accident."

One such unlucky victim was Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who recently broke her leg while hillwalking at Balmoral.

This is why, once you hit 60, you can no longer simply pick up a policy over the supermarket or bank counter and expect it to cover you. Though many organisations will have specialist policies for retirees, Tesco, Argos, Esure, Swift and Santander are among those with contracts excluding 64-year-olds and over.

Equally importantly, you should never embark on any activity which might be described as "dangerous sport" without checking the small print to see if you are covered.

Most policies exclude such activities, but how they define "dangerous sport" or "hazardous activities" may differ widely. If you fancy taking a look at some coral reef at your resort, this could be deemed as scuba diving and, as such, excluded by many contracts. But hillwalking, golf or rambling could also be classed as hazardous activities by some insurers.

Sailing around the world, skiing or mountaineering would definitely be excluded by all but specialist policies.

Fieldhouse explains: "You can always get cover, but it comes at a price. This is not the kind of business which companies are looking to write. If a 71-year-old mountaineer who has spent his life climbing wants a policy for the Alps then he will find one. A 71-year-old who wants to take up rock climbing at this advanced age will find it much more difficult. And the older you get, the more of a headache it becomes. An 80-year-old might be able to find a policy, but it may exclude broken bones, for example."

Getting the right cover is vital not just for your own peace of mind, but to protect you against third party claims should you engage in an activity and hurt someone else. In the US these can run into many millions of pounds.

But there are companies which bend over backwards to help you fulfil your retirement dreams, not least Age Concern Enterprises, the commercial wing of the charity for the elderly, and Saga. These both offer cover without an age limit. Castle Cover is another company specialising in the over-50s, with no upper age limit. Insurance which comes with some of the Royal Bank of Scotland packaged accounts also does not impose arbitrary cut-off ages.

To push the point home, Age Concern's division south of the Border insured First World War veteran Harry Patch to return to the battle fields of France, not long before he died. It also covered his 65-year-old carer.

Steele said: "Whatever your needs, come and talk to us and we will try to accommodate them. We are a social enterprise set up primarily to help older consumers locate the financial products they require."

Another difficult area is pre-existing medical conditions, such as blood pressure and diabetes, which affect many people as they get older. Retirees may also suffer or have suffered from more serious illnesses such as cancer.

Steele adds: "We don't exclude pre-existing conditions, but we ask about them upfront. There is online medical screening, and if this turns up other matters of concern then we will delve deeper into your history. This doesn't mean you won't get the cover. We insure patients suffering from cancer who want to go abroad."

Saga is another organisation which not only has no age limit on its travel policies but which will automatically include a wide range of sporting activities in its standard policy – if undertaken at your resort and with due care and supervision. These include marathon running, hot air ballooning and white water rafting. It also has a winter sports contract which will cover most activities on the slopes.

But this flexibility comes at a price. At Saga, for example, the cost of insuring a couple aged 75 on a one-month cruise in the Far East would be 314 by phone or 298 by internet, assuming one suffered from high blood pressure and the other diabetes, both controlled by medication. The couple would have to pay 687.20 by phone or 652.85 by internet for two weeks' skiing in Canada.

Marks & Spencer also tries to accommodate older travellers, and offers an annual policy up to age 80, although it restricts travel to age 75 in the US, Canada and the Caribbean.

However, its single trip insurance has no upper age limit, and this time it limits travel to the US, Canada and the Caribbean to 80. So if you are facing difficulties, you could opt for a single trip rather than annual policy.

Finally, if you are still struggling to find the cover you need to enjoy sporting activities either at home or abroad, then it may be worth joining a club or association specialising in that field. These often negotiate high-quality cover with an insurer which will allow you to pursue the activity of your dreams in retirement, although, again, it may come at a price.