Travel insurance costs for elderly to be scrutinised

THE practice of charging pensioners double premiums for travel insurance will come under scrutiny just days after car insurers were criticised for refusing insurance to a 77-year-old.

Equality Authority chief executive Niall Crowley said a number of cases where travel agents had charged pensioners twice the standard adult rate for travel insurance had come to their attention.

“It is an issue that has come before us. We will be looking to bring these cases forward to test out what contribution the Equal Status Act can make towards improving the situation.”

Last week, a landmark decision by the Equality Tribunal, ruled that Dubliner Jim Ross, 77, had been discriminated against when refused a motor insurance quote. This effectively ended the practice of insurance companies refusing quotations on a person’s age alone.

Mr Crowley said age limits in the provision of insurance were all too common and insurance companies would now have to review any existing practices where an individual was refused a quotation simply on grounds of age.