The insurance industry is working with consumer group Which? on Government proposals relating to the travel insurance premiums of older people.

As part of the plans, insurers will be required to provide evidence if they are charging higher rates of insurance to those aged 65 or over, rather than assuming that because of their age, they are more vulnerable to having an accident or becoming ill while abroad.

Which? has conducted a survey into what travel polices are available to older people.

It found that 25% of companies offering annual travel policies will not cover people aged 65 or over, while 90% will not provide insurance to those in their 80s.

For older people who want to hop on to a flight from Heathrow or Stansted for a one-off holiday, single trip policies can also be difficult to arrange.

Some 86% of companies have an upper age limit, while just 29% will cover people in their 80s.

Among those firms that do continue to cover people when they turn 65, premiums can triple overnight.

An annual worldwide travel insurance policy with Essential Travel costs £58.72 a year for people who are under 65, but this soars to £205.51 for consumers over this age.

Which? also found that, despite the fact that 60% of over-65s do not use the internet, the best deals were often available online.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: “It’s absurd that you could wake up one morning and suddenly be three times more expensive to insure.

“Older travellers are finding it increasingly difficult to get cover or are priced out of travelling altogether.

“Insurers should take a more common sense approach and look at factors other than age when setting premiums.”

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Cheap flights from UK to Spain may have resulted in a sudden rise in popularity of Mallorca as a holiday hotspot

The number of German people taking holidays to the beach has fallen over the last decade, figures show.

There has been a steady decline from 1998, when around 64.5% of German holidaymakers headed to the beach, to the current figure of 58.5%, according to recent figures from a poll carried out at the ITB Berlin travel trade show.

The German cruise market, on the other hand, has seen a 95% boost since 2002.

Martin Buck of ITB Berlin said: “More and more Germans want to experience something new when they are away and would like to get to know a country and its people.”

Meanwhile, across the channel, Britons are flocking in their droves to rented holiday accommodation in Spain.

There are an increasing number of cheap flights heading out from the UK to Spain such as low cost flights from London Stansted to Mallorca. This is likely to have contributed to some extent to the sudden rise in popularity of the country as a holiday hotspot.

HomeAway Holiday Rentals said it had seen a 39% increase in booking enquiries in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2010.

News of the figures come after property analysts predicted that the Balearic island of Mallorca will be this year’s hottest Spanish destination.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

BAA, the company that owns London Stansted and Heathrow Airport, has announced it is to axe the win-a-supercar firm Best of the Best from a number of airports across the UK.

Travellers have become accustomed to seeing the supercars on display in the airport terminal after embarking from airport transfers or the bus to London Stansted, among others, and checking in for their flights.

Best of the Best, which is part owned by BAA, occupied prime spots at Heathrow, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

But BAA has decided to end the contract with the firm and use the space for airport customers.

After the announcement, shares in Best of the Best halved. As well as running competitions at many UK airports, it had also expanded into the online market, although airport ticket sales made up 79% of its revenue.

BAA, which owns a 13.6% stake in Best of the Best, said it wants to use the space in its departure lounges to provide more seating, signage and information for passengers.

John Holland-Kaye, commercial director of BAA, said: “We have enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Best of the Best.

“However, we are constantly reviewing how we can improve the service we offer passengers and have concluded that the sites currently used for the promotion of cars can be better used.”

He added: “We understand the impact that this decision has on Best of the Best and are working closely with the company in the spirit of our long-term relationship to bring about an orderly termination of its contracts.”

Copyright Press Association 2010

Introducing a “per plane” tax at airports such as London Stansted and Luton airports would “damage competitveness” in the aviation industry, business leaders have said.

Government plans to replace the current air passenger duty (APD) – which is set to rise in the autumn – would be “ineffective” and should use a different method to enforce climate obligations on aviation companies, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

The organisation backed an international “cap and trade” scheme”, which would agree an overall cap on aeroplane emissions and allocate permits to individual airlines. If they go over their allocated targets, airlines would have to buy surplus permits from companies which managed to reduce their emissions instead. 

A tax on planes at airports has been criticised by the Confederation of British Industry

CBI deputy director-general John Cridland said: “The coalition Government should be wary of introducing a domestic, per plane duty to replace APD.

“It would be ineffective, damage competitiveness, and would distract from the important goal of establishing a global cap-and-trade scheme.

He continued: “The best way for the world’s aviation industry to meet its climate obligations is through a global cap-and-trade scheme.

“Such a scheme would include all airlines, removing scope for leakage of emissions from one country to another, and would run with, not against, the grain of this international industry.”

Copyright © Press Association 2010