Travel insurance for over-70 travellers: stability periods, trip-length limits and what it costs

A traveller over 70 can buy emergency medical insurance for a trip to India, Pakistan or the Philippines, but every carrier asks a questionnaire, the stability period lengthens, some plans cap the trip at 45 or 60 days, and the premium climbs. Manulife CoverMe requires 6 months of stability from age 59 and a questionnaire from 60, per its product summary; TuGo requires 180 days from 60 to 74 and 365 days from 75, per PolicyAdvisor. The Government of Canada’s older travellers page warns that insurers may significantly increase premiums or deductibles over 65.

This page is for Canadian residents over 70, usually parents who are now permanent residents or citizens, flying home for a visit. A parent visiting Canada on a super visa is a different product; see what happens at 65, 70 and 80 for that side.

What changes at 70 and again at 75?

The stability period, the trip-length cap and the price. The thresholds sit at 60 and 75 at most carriers, so a 70-year-old is in the middle band and a 75-year-old moves into the strictest one.

Verify at quote time; plan names and limits change. The practical effect for a 76-year-old planning ten weeks in Kerala is that the all-inclusive package plans are out, and an emergency-medical-only plan with a 365-day stability test is the product.

What does it cost over 70?

Several times the under-60 price, and the spread between carriers widens. PolicyAdvisor’s 2026 tables give Manulife sample premiums for a 15-day trip of $188.10 at 55, $256.80 to $652.80 at 65 and $574.20 to $1,455.90 at 75; its TuGo review prices the annual plan with a 15-day limit at $241.50 at 65 and $501.40 at 75.

Premiums seen in PolicyAdvisor tables, 2026, illustrative and plan-dependent; verify at quote time. The range at 75 reflects the questionnaire: a traveller with no conditions sits at the bottom, one with stable heart disease and diabetes near the top. A deductible reduces the premium; the discount differs by plan, so ask for the price at $0 and at the deductible the family could pay abroad.

What must be stable, and for how long?

Every condition on the questionnaire, for the full period before departure. Manulife’s summary defines stable as no new or changed treatment, no medication change, no worsening, no new or more frequent symptoms, no hospitalisation, no specialist referral, no pending tests and no planned treatment. The what is stable page works through the common cases.

Buy the policy before the pre-trip clinic visit the older travellers page recommends about six weeks out, so a prescription change at that visit does not land inside the window.

Why is evacuation the biggest line for an older traveller?

Because a stroke or hip fracture at 75 rarely ends with a scheduled flight home in economy. ITIJ quotes an operator putting an air ambulance to the patient’s home country at up to US$150,000. Ontario pays up to $400 a day for intensive care abroad and nothing for a transfer to an Ontario hospital.

The Government of Canada’s travel insurance page lists evacuation to Canada or the nearest suitable facility with a medical escort as the first thing a policy must cover, with pre-existing conditions confirmed in writing and repatriation after death. Older travellers also face higher deep-vein-thrombosis and heat-stroke risk, per the older travellers page, both of which become claims on a long flight to South Asia.

What should an over-70 traveller do before departure?

Six steps.

1. Buy the policy, with the questionnaire answered from the pharmacy printout, before the clinic visit.
2. Confirm the trip length fits the plan’s age-based maximum, and add a top-up before leaving if it does not.
3. Pack medication in original containers, enough for the stay plus delays, in carry-on, with a copy of each prescription, and check the drugs are legal at the destination and transit stops.
4. Carry the policy number, assistance line and a one-page list of conditions and medications in English.
5. Put a health directive and power of attorney in place, and travel with a companion where possible, as the older travellers page advises.
6. Count the days against OHIP’s 153-day rule; see PR parents.

If something happens, call the assistance line before treatment or within 24 hours; the claims guide sets out what to collect. Families making more than one trip a year should compare annual multi-trip plans, remembering that the 365-day stability test at 75 applies at every departure.

SuperVisaDirect is operated by Super Visa Direct Insurance Services, an independent Ontario life and accident-and-sickness insurance agency licensed by FSRA (licence [FSRA-LICENCE]), serving Ontario residents; British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are planned for 2028. Designated licensed agent: Cameron Hayes. Email [email protected] or request a callback, Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm Eastern Time.