The summer holiday Alan Harrison had planned was to explore mainland Europe using his seniors’ Interrail pass.
Like many older people, he’d found travel insurance hugely expensive – his policy bought through Holiday Extras cost him £540.
When he told the company that his blood pressure medication had been changed, it wanted another £560, even though the policy only had 92 days left to run.
“I was gobstruck, that’s more than I initially paid for a whole year’s cover,” said retired lecturer Mr Harrison, 76, of Walsall, West Mids.
“The sum was so eyewatering that at first I thought that they were quoting me for a whole year.
“Insurance companies seem to regard routine adjustments to medication as a major change of risk, justifying price-gouging even at a late stage in the life of a policy.
“What has appalled me is that a minor change of medication, which was too trivial to require a face-to-face appointment with a doctor, could have so drastic an effect on perceived risk."
Holiday Extras did not respond to my questions other than to say that Mr Harrison’s policy has since been cancelled and he has been given a pro-rata refund for the remaining period of his cover.
He has now found a different insurer after wading laboriously through multiple online questions full of "clunky algorithms".
"Declaring glucose intolerance leads immediately to a question about whether I am taking insulin for 'my diabetes', which I have not got - glucose intolerance and diabetes are not synonyms," he said.
“It’s a minefield for the customer, with the constant fear that some long forgotten medical issue could invalidate a pricey policy,” he said.
“I find the whole area a nightmare, and I’m a bloke with three degrees who is reasonably computer-savvy.
"These prices really seem exorbitant, even those from good or ethical companies, and seem to attach high risk to issues which doctors appear to regard as routine, like adjustment of meds.”
Dennis Reed of the over-60s campaign group Silver Voices said that Mr Harrison’s experience was sadly all too common.
“This upsetting case is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the age discrimination rife in the travel, financial and insurance industries,” he said.
“Senior citizens face huge hikes in what they pay for travel insurance when they reach milestone birthdays such as 70 or 80, irrespective of their health conditions.
“And insurance companies seem to think that if you declare drugs taken to reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes, such as statins or beta blockers, this justifies higher premiums.
“Because of the high cost of insurance premiums when you get older many seniors just accept the risk of travelling without insurance.
“Silver Voices has been trying to get these forms of age discrimination taken seriously by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission for years, without success.”
Jenny Ross, editor of Which? Money, said she was very familiar with the problem but is hopeful reform could improve matters.
“We’ve heard from lots of consumers who have been shocked and confused by huge travel insurance price hikes related to medical conditions, and sometimes this can make holidays prohibitively expensive,” she said.
“Medical professionals and insurers can be completely at odds with each other over the level of risk to the customer.
“The Financial Conduct Authority’s upcoming Consumer Duty will hopefully improve the situation by putting a legal obligation on financial firms, including insurers, to be able to demonstrate that they’re charging reasonable prices which represent value for money for their customers.”
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