Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Hi everyone. Thank you for such an informative site.
My question revolves around travel insurance for long term stays in France. We have a small flat in Avignon, which we visit from England regularly throughout the year.
Most insurance companies allow insurance for short stay periods of about 30 days, some even allow stays of 60 days, but they restrict the total length abroad throughout the year to 120 days. One company allows a maximum of 183 days, but only if each visit is below 50 days each. It seems a shame that we cannot use our beloved flat for less than six months of the year, and only stay for less than two months at a time. Does anyone have knowledge of any Insurance regime that can extend our stays above 60 days and over six month of the year. We are a couple who are 65 years, who are reasonably healthy, although I have treatment for high blood pressure (pills) which is always declared on our insurance form.
We both work and are resident in the UK, but take our work with us to France by computer when necessary (Graphic Designers).

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

I guess the issue with the 183 day limit is that over 183 days you start getting into grey areas over residency. Most if not all UK insurance companies will only insure UK residents (lose your UK residency and you lose your NHS entitlement, and insurers assume you have a valid EHIC), so that's probably why it's hard to find anyone who will insure you for longer than 183 days. But 120 days seems unnecessarily mean from that point of view. So does 50 days per trip, because under EU rules you can stay in a country as a visitor for up to 90 days.

However in your position I think it would be very wise to limit your trips, because if you spend more than 183 days in France then under French law that is sufficient to meet the criteria for tax residency, and if you also work while you're here that could lead to serious hassle. The fact that you work online and your clients may all be in the UK makes no difference, officially your place of work is where your bum is while you physically carry out your work. Therefore under French law you would be required to register a French business entity, pay into the French social security system, pay tax here, etc., and if you don't do it there could be consequences. Obviously it's not that black and white because there is also UK fiscal law so you might end up in the middle of a tug of war between the two tax authorities. But the law is there and it shouldn't be ignored because it applies to everybody, not just millionaires and jet setters, and the authorities take these things seriously. So to be honest I would say that for the sake of a few extra days in France, it's not worth the stress.
https://www.service-public.fr/partic.../vosdroits/F62
"L'administration considère que votre domicile fiscal est en France si c'est le lieu de votre séjour principal, c'est-à-dire que vous y séjournez plus de 6 mois au cours de l'année."

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Thanks EuroTrash for your speedy reply. The 183 day thing seems to be a popular subject of discussion on this forum.
That being the case, not all the time we spend in France is 'work-related', but that probably would not wash with the French authorities! So I have already planned my stays in France next year to accommodate the 183 day rules.
No... the difficulties arise from annual days spent in France versus number of days spent in each session, as previously stated.
I think EHICPlus may be one solution, and StaySure may offer up to 50 days to a limit of 183 days in the year. Saga only offers 120 days in the year, but we can't be the only travellers who wish to spend more that 2 months abroad at a time. Does anyone else have a similar travel schedule and how do they cope with the insurance problem?

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Thanks EuroTrash for the quick reply. The 183 day problem seems to crop up quite a lot on this forum. I have already made plans to accommodate the 183 days for next year, so no problems there. Concerning tax, we don't spend all our time in France at work, but I assume that would not wash with the French Authorities, if we strayed over the allotted days. So better safe than sorry, as you say!
The main problem is between the total annual days spent (under 183) against the time spent per trip. EHICPlus may be a solution, and StaySure can accommodate 183 days, if the single journeys are under 50 days (less that 2 months!). Saga Insurance only allows up to 120 days in the year!
I can't believe that we are the only people who want to spend more than 2 months at a time abroad, travelling around or in holiday homes.
Does anyone have a similar system, and if so, how do they work their travel insurance policies?

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

I suppose it does. But then, it's an expat forum, and residence issues tend to be a big part of the expat process.
Sometimes you find you can get insurance as an add-on from your credit card provider or your bank.
Or if you take a few long trips rather than a lot of short ones, as your post suggests, you could arrange single trip insurance for each trip; it's a five minute job online.
Happy travels and enjoy the sunshine!

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Thanks again, EuroTrash. One-off insurance deals for each trip? That's something to think about, although it might be more expensive. Maybe choose different insurers for each trip otherwise, they may get suspicious at all the accumulated policies! I notice InsureandGo offers up to 90 days per trip, which suddenly drops to 31 days over the age of 66. Wow!
Looking forward to coming over later this month. 30°+ in Avignon and the annual Festival? Love it!

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Bundled insurance products tend to be cut-down versions of the insurers own products because the credit cards or banks tend to shop around for the best (cheapest) deal.
If you choose different providers for each trip remember that the insurance company can ask you to prove your travel dates to verify that you have not outstayed their insurance period.

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

We live a few kms from Avignon and the city is the very last place we go to in July and August. The temperature has been up to 36C here - up in the hills and most Avignonaise leave the city, especially at the weekend, unless they are in the hospitality/tourist/ festival trade. This year there is added problem of the tramway construction. Give me our quiet hameau any day. But to each his/her own, so enjoy you summer

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Ahh, the native Avignonais are always complaining. I was back there a just few weeks ago and they were mentioning how unusually cold and rainy it was. We stay just outside the walls, quite close to the tramway, within easy reach of the hustle and bustle if we want it, but facing south. We cannot hear a thing, no traffic, no roadworks, just the sound of birds and the odd dog barking. When we want to cool down we take a trip over the Rhone to Barthelasse island and picnic under the shady trees, overlooking the river with just the cicadas for company. The heat is all relative, once you get used to it.

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

It's not just the native Avignonnais complaining - after a cold, wet Spring, it became hot and dry virtually from one day to the next here in the Languedoc and every one found it very difficult to adapt to the change. Have to agree with GrannyB - DD1 performed at the Festival twice and it was undescribably awful when we went there.
But hey ho, chacun à son goût!
Can't help on the health insurance front - hope you manage to sort it out.
P.S. Just noticed that you take your work with you - be very careful to keep a low profile. If you're caught working in France without being salaried or with a business structure, the URSSAF (and Fisc) will be after you! ;)

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

It seems that the rules dictate that you can only have one residence. Not sure who decided that or why. I guess that means you have to choose whether you are resident in France or in Britain.

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

This what we do: HSBC Jade customers have built-in travel/health insurance (excluding pre-existing conditions) for up to 90 days per trip and 180 days per calendar year. Since these are identical conditions to those for our UK car insurance, it works for us: (these days, usually 3-4 trips per year with the longest one in summer being ~90 days.

ETA: No work involved now, although I admit there was a bit before I retired.

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Well, you can have as many residences you like. You can only have one main residence because the authorities concerned obviously all need to agree on where you are tax resident. The rules for determining your main residence are as per national rules or as per tax treaties. So you can choose where you will be resident in the sense that you can plan your life in advance so as to meet certain criteria, but you can't choose to be tax resident in a country if your lifestyle meets different criteria.

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

Thanks for the tip about HSBC Jade, Novocastrian, although their membership criteria are a bit rich for our income, but we will re-check out HSBC Premiere's policies. I'm sure there must be other companies out there with a similar policy.
Reading the UK "Statutory Residence Test" booklet, the 183 days test seems to be acceptable. Our residency has always been in the UK and we are not going to spend more than 183 days in France, this year or the next, to be safe. Once we get over 66 years of age, the number of insured days allowed abroad gets much smaller, so we will consider moving over permanently in 2019 or 2020, Brexit permitting, so then all our income tax would be going to France.

Thanks to everyone for your help. If I find out about any more 'oldie'-friendly insurance brokers I will post more news.

Re: Travel Insurance for over 65s
 

It's nothing to do with income, but rather the amount on deposit in HSBC managed investments. If you're already a premier client then have a chat with your Relationship Manager. It can be done without Jade membership but you'd need to pay a relatively small fee.

On edit: On checking the Terms and Conditions, the "free" travel insurance is actually connected to the Premier Credit World HSBC Mastercard. available to Premier Clients for £200 a year, but free to Jade clients.

You also get free access to Lounges in airports all over the world (hence, perhaps, the name of the card).