Martin Lewis Travel Insurance: Cheap Recommendations & Tips

If you’ve ever stared at a travel insurance quote and wondered why it costs more than your flights, you’re not alone — and Martin Lewis has spent years explaining exactly why. His MoneySavingExpert site breaks down how to get solid cover without paying over the odds, especially if you’re over 65 or have a pre-existing medical condition. The good news: decent travel insurance for seniors doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but the catch is knowing what to filter for and which providers actually cover what you need.

Top Recommendation Source: MoneySavingExpert.com · Key Focus Areas: Cheap single trip, annual multi-trip · Medical Conditions Covered: Pre-existing like aneurysms, ear infections · Senior Options: Over 75s recommended · Trusted Providers: Post Office, Admiral, Tesco

The table below summarizes key facts and figures from MoneySavingExpert and specialist insurers to help you navigate senior travel insurance in 2026.

Who does Martin Lewis suggest for travel insurance?

Martin Lewis doesn’t endorse a single provider — he points readers toward comparison tools and specialist routes depending on their health profile. For standard trips without serious medical conditions, his advice is blunt: use comparison sites, but filter properly. For travellers with pre-existing conditions or those over 65, he recommends specialist insurers that actually cover what mainstream providers exclude.

Post Office travel insurance

The Post Office offers travel insurance guides specifically for seniors, including tips for travelling with grandchildren. Its policies cover a range of pre-existing conditions, though coverage limits vary by policy tier. The Post Office is a familiar high-street name, which appeals to older travellers who prefer walking into a branch rather than buying online.

MoneySuperMarket travel insurance

One of the three major comparison sites Martin Lewis highlights (alongside Compare the Market and GoCompare), MoneySuperMarket lets you filter by medical conditions and coverage limits. The key is setting the right minimums — MSE recommends at least £1m medical cover and £2,000 cancellation. Without these filters, the cheapest quote shown may offer dangerously low protection.

Tesco Travel Insurance

Tesco’s travel insurance offers straightforward policies for members of its Clubcard scheme, with options for single trips and annual cover. While not a specialist senior insurer, Tesco provides competitive rates for travellers without complex medical histories, and the loyalty points add small value over time.

Admiral travel insurance

Admiral (best known for car insurance) has expanded into travel cover, providing another option for comparison. Its policies suit travellers seeking straightforward cover without pre-existing medical conditions, though seniors with health concerns may find specialist providers offer more comprehensive protection for declared conditions.

What is the best travel insurance for seniors?

The “best” senior travel insurance depends on two things: your age band and whether you have any pre-existing medical conditions. Martin Lewis breaks this down clearly on MoneySavingExpert, distinguishing between bank account bundles (for healthy over-65s), specialist senior insurers (for those with health conditions), and comparison tools for everything in between.

Travel insurance for over 75 Martin Lewis

Finding cover for over-75s used to be difficult and expensive, but the market has shifted. Staysure covers over 1,300 pre-existing medical conditions with no upper age limit, making it one of the most recommended options for older travellers with health conditions (Staysure). AllClear also offers tiered policies — Gold with £10m medical cover up to Platinum with unlimited medical and £25k cancellation (AllClear Travel).

Best for seniors in 2026

For healthy over-65s without declared conditions, bank account bundles offer exceptional value. Virgin Money Club M provides worldwide family multi-trip cover up to your 75th birthday for £14/month (£168/year) with a £50 excess (MoneySavingExpert). Nationwide BS FlexPlus costs £18/month (£216/year) with no maximum age limit and the same £50 excess (MoneySavingExpert). Both beat standalone annual policies for healthy travellers who qualify.

What does travel insurance not cover?

This is where many travellers get caught. Travel insurance policies have specific exclusions, and failing to understand them before you need to claim is an expensive lesson. Martin Lewis stresses reading the small print, particularly around pre-existing medical conditions, activities, and timing of purchase.

Pre-existing medical conditions

If you have a medical condition and don’t declare it, your policy will not cover claims related to that condition — or potentially any claim at all if the insurer discovers you withheld information. The MSE pre-existing conditions guide makes this clear: always declare everything, even conditions you consider minor. Failure to do so invalidates the policy per AllClear’s medical warranty (AllClear Travel).

Ear infections and flying

Ear infections create a double problem for travellers: they may affect your ability to fly safely, and if you do fly with an active infection, any resulting damage may not be covered. Standard policies typically exclude complications from flying with known medical issues. If you have chronic ear conditions, declare them explicitly when buying cover and check whether the policy includes specific provisions for ear-related claims.

Can I get travel insurance with an aortic aneurysm?

Aortic aneurysms are serious cardiovascular conditions, and travellers with this condition face genuine challenges getting appropriate cover. The good news: specialist insurers like Staysure cover a wide range of cardiovascular conditions, and declaring an aortic aneurysm doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be declined — it means the insurer will assess your specific situation and price accordingly.

Aortic Abdominal Aneurysm (AAA) and travel

An Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) is a bulge in the aorta, the main blood vessel in the body. If you’ve been diagnosed and treated (with surgery or monitoring), you need specialist cover that explicitly includes cardiovascular conditions. Staysure covers heart conditions among its 1,300+ pre-existing conditions (Staysure), and AllClear also assesses cardiovascular conditions on a case-by-case basis.

Does flying affect an aortic aneurysm?

Cabin pressure changes during flights are a genuine concern for travellers with aortic aneurysms. Most insurers and medical guidance suggest consulting your doctor before flying with an unrepaired or large aneurysm. This isn’t about insurance exclusion — it’s about whether flying is medically advisable. If your doctor clears you to fly, declare the condition when buying insurance and ensure the policy covers emergency medical treatment and repatriation.

Does travel insurance cover an ear infection?

Ear infections present a specific challenge because they touch both medical coverage (the infection itself) and aviation safety (whether you should fly). Understanding how insurers view ear conditions helps you buy the right cover and avoid a situation where you’re both unwell and uninsured.

What ear conditions can you not fly with?

Medical guidance generally advises against flying with active ear infections, particularly otitis media (middle ear infection) or severe cases of otitis externa (outer ear infection). The pressure changes during ascent and descent can cause significant pain, ruptured eardrums, or worsen the infection. If you fly despite medical advice and suffer damage, your insurance claim may be affected if the policy requires you to follow reasonable medical guidance.

Airplane ear risks

“Airplane ear” (barotrauma) affects many travellers even without infections, but pre-existing ear conditions increase vulnerability. Standard travel insurance covers emergency medical treatment abroad, but if your ear condition was known and undisclosed, claims related to that condition will likely be refused. If you have chronic ear problems, declare them when buying cover and ask specifically about otological exclusions.

What happens if I don’t declare pre-existing medical conditions?

This is Martin Lewis’s biggest warning, repeated across his travel insurance content: failing to declare pre-existing medical conditions can void your entire policy. It’s not just about the condition you forgot to mention — insurers can treat non-disclosure as misrepresentation, giving them grounds to refuse any claim, even ones unrelated to the undeclared condition.

High blood pressure and tablets

High blood pressure is one of the most commonly missed declarations because many people don’t consider it a “medical condition” — it’s just something they manage with tablets. But insurers do consider it a pre-existing condition, and failing to declare it means any claims related to cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke) won’t be covered. AllClear explicitly lists blood pressure conditions among those requiring declaration (AllClear Travel), and Staysure covers high blood pressure among its 1,300+ conditions (Staysure).

List of pre-existing diseases

Common pre-existing conditions that must be declared include diabetes, heart conditions, cancer (current or in remission), stroke, epilepsy, kidney problems, arthritis, and respiratory conditions. The list isn’t exhaustive — any condition diagnosed, treated, or monitored in the past requires declaration. When in doubt, declare it: insurers will tell you if something is irrelevant, but they won’t tell you what you should have declared after you’ve made a claim.

How do the best senior travel insurance policies compare?

Three distinct tiers of senior travel insurance serve different traveller profiles: bank account bundles for healthy over-65s, standard comparison tools for straightforward cover, and specialist senior insurers for those with health conditions or older age groups.

This comparison table maps providers against their key strengths, medical limits, and typical costs to help you narrow your shortlist.

The implication: bank bundles win on price for healthy travellers, while specialist insurers win on breadth of condition coverage — and the right choice depends entirely on your health profile.

How to buy the right travel insurance in 5 steps

Following Martin Lewis’s framework, here’s how to navigate the senior travel insurance market systematically — whether you’re heading to Spain for a week or booking an annual policy for multiple trips.

1. Assess your health profile first. List any pre-existing conditions, medications, and recent medical treatment. This isn’t optional — it’s your baseline for the entire search.
2. Choose your route based on health. No pre-existing conditions and healthy over-65s: start with comparison sites or bank bundles. Any health history: use specialist insurers (Staysure, AllClear, Saga, Medical Travel Compared) who assess and cover conditions mainstream providers exclude.
3. Set minimum filters on comparison tools. Never accept the first quote shown. Filter for £1m+ medical cover, £2,000+ cancellation, and £1m+ personal liability before sorting by price.
4. Compare at least three specialist providers. Premiums vary significantly between insurers for the same traveller profile. Medical Travel Compared and Payingtoomuch specialize in serious conditions where standard comparison sites struggle.
5. Buy ASAB — As Soon As you Book. Cancellation cover starts the moment you pay for your trip, not when you depart. Waiting until departure day leaves you exposed to missed flight reimbursements and trip cancellation losses.

Martin Lewis’s travel insurance advice cuts through marketing noise with a consistent message: comparison tools work, but only if you know what to filter for. The senior travel insurance market has matured significantly, with specialist insurers now covering over 1,300 pre-existing conditions and bank bundles offering exceptional value for healthy over-65s. The catch — and it’s a significant one — is that none of this works without declaring everything upfront.

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For medical conditions such as aneurysms or ear infections and cover for seniors over 75, Good to Go Travel Insurance offers specialist policies tailored to those needs.

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