UK travel insurance with COPD and 80 yers old. Who can I get insurance from? Going to Alaska via Vancouver 2023 in

[Welshbird08]

Hi, I'm trying to get travel insurance from my Mum who has COPD. She is not on oxygen and walks well if sometimes requiring a rest. We cruise in May 2023. Who and when would you recommend getting insurance? Thank you

[wowzz]

39 minutes ago, Welshbird08 said:

Hi, I'm trying to get travel insurance from my Mum who has COPD. She is not on oxygen and walks well if sometimes requiring a rest. We cruise in May 2023. Who and when would you recommend getting insurance? Thank you

I wouldn't get insurance until final payment is due.

Personally,  I  think you will struggle to get cover for less than the cost  of  the cruise.

Did you not consider the insurance issue prior to booking ?

Start with Staysure, and see what they quote.  

[lissie]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

I wouldn't get insurance until final payment is due.

Personally,  I  think you will struggle to get cover for less than the cost  of  the cruise.

Did you not consider the insurance issue prior to booking ?

Start with Staysure, and see what they quote.  

Try and get a quote now - but know that most won't cover  her unless she has a medical assessment much closer to travel. My partner has heart issues and at its worst couldn't' get coverage until about 3 weeks prior.   

 

I too think that cover will be about another cruise fare -  if you can get it. 

[Welshbird08]

Thanks for the advice. We didn't consider travel insurance before we booked and our travel agent didn't say anything about it as we paid the deposit. In the worse case scenario and we can't get insurance what happens? 

[ColeThornton]

13 hours ago, Welshbird08 said:

Hi, I'm trying to get travel insurance from my Mum who has COPD. She is not on oxygen and walks well if sometimes requiring a rest. We cruise in May 2023. Who and when would you recommend getting insurance? Thank you

 

 

Here is the forum you want to peruse for good info on travel/cruise insurance.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

[John Bull]

We had a similar quandry (different illness).

 

How serious is her COPD? Does she need her travel insurance to cover COPD ?

More importantly, can you book your cruise much closer to that date, or bring that date closer?

 

Ask her doctor how quickly her condition might worsen, and whether its likely to impact on a cruise booking.

If the risk is low, get quotes which exclude that COPD. They'll be massively lower.

That's what my partner has done for the past five years, knowing that if her cancer returns & even if it is incurable it would be months before she'd be unable to travel. 

 

We've always booked late - always beyond final payment date  and paid in one hit in order to get best prices, a side-effect of that is that our money is at risk for a much shorter period thus the insurers' money is at risk for a much shorter period. 

But do insure at the same time as committing a lot of money - most illness-related claims are made because of the inability to travel, not the need to cut short.

Americans / Canadians'' deposits are refundable, yours is forfeit from the moment it's paid. Bear that in mind with advice from Americans / Canadians 

 

JB 🙂

Edited February 28, 2022 by John Bull

[wowzz]

16 hours ago, Welshbird08 said:

Hi, I'm trying to get travel insurance from my Mum who has COPD. She is not on oxygen and walks well if sometimes requiring a rest. We cruise in May 2023. Who and when would you recommend getting insurance? Thank you

You don't mention where you are cruising. Hopefully it will be in Europe, because, frankly, if your cruise goes to the US or Caribbean you will find the cost of insurance prohibitive.  

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

You don't mention where you are cruising. Hopefully it will be in Europe, because, frankly, if your cruise goes to the US or Caribbean you will find the cost of insurance prohibitive.  

OP stated in the Thread Title, that they are going to Alaska via Vancouver.

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

OP stated in the Thread Title, that they are going to Alaska via Vancouver.

Doh ! Sorry. In that case the insurance cost will be astronomic.

[VMax1700]

Over here we have Private Health insurance (similar to BUPA).  They offer travel insurance including cover those with pre existing conditions providing that their health insurance covers that condition.

Otherwise it is a hard and expensive fight to get cover.

[VMax1700]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Doh ! Sorry. In that case the insurance cost will be astronomic.

I didn't want to say it out loud, but I agree.  

Just wondering, does the Travel Agent have a duty of care to the customer and should have pointed out that insurance may be a problem?

[VMax1700]

I have just checked and they only cover up to 76 years of age.

 

I tried Allianz for a single trip policy for an 82 year old and it seems to be available in Ireland, perhaps they offer it in UK.  You would have to read all the t&c's to see if it suitable for your Mum and her medical situation.

 

[Welshbird08]

Her COPD is well managed, and other than a standard inhaler capsule each morning she does not require any other treatment. My mum has never been on oxygen or hosptalised for her COPD. Perhaps a discussion directly with the insurance companies would be better than a generic online form. She cruised in 2019 with no issues regarding insurance but we are aware that this time she will be 80 during her cruise! 

[Welshbird08]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

I didn't want to say it out loud, but I agree.  

Just wondering, does the Travel Agent have a duty of care to the customer and should have pointed out that insurance may be a problem?

Having read the replies I am wondering too if the travel agent should have checked with us first. She was well aware this is Mum's 80th birthday cruise

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Welshbird08 said:

Having read the replies I am wondering too if the travel agent should have checked with us first. She was well aware this is Mum's 80th birthday cruise

But surely it would have been wise to get an insurance quote prior to booking the cruise ?

The job of a TA is to sell cruises, and no doubt would have thought that you would already have sorted out the insurance issue.

[lissie]

7 hours ago, Welshbird08 said:

Having read the replies I am wondering too if the travel agent should have checked with us first. She was well aware this is Mum's 80th birthday cruise

Your TA is totally responsible for  not alerting you to this - I'd consider a complaint to the relevant authorities myself. 

 

JB has given you good advice above. Also you mum speaking to her regular dr is a good idea. I routinely don't cover my glaucoma and don't declare it. I know that its a progressive disease - but it progresses over decades not a few weeks travelling.  

 

My partner has  heart failure and we've have very full and frank off the record discussions with his family dr about what the odds are for various scenarios.  At the end of the day we  are in some circumstances prepared to go uninsured. Unfortunately the risk of being medivaced to a US hospital is not one of them. 

 

The USA is the issue here - we have got insurance for our next trip because  less than 20% of the trip is in the USA - even though that's weeks because its a 109 day trip.  We plan to do Alaska in a later trip - and I'll probably combine it with Canada and/or Japan to  work around the USA problem.  Just a thought for you. 

[ozscotart]

We’ve had good experiences of Saga, but we are under 80, but with various conditions. I’ve got a screenshot of some of the insurers which suggests for people with medical conditions, we’ve only used Saga and insurance via Manor insurance agents since we’ve developed worse conditions, both fine. And yes, we’ve had to claim twice due to serious conditions.

[ozscotart]

Just now, ozscotart said:

We’ve had good experiences of Saga, but we are under 80, but with various conditions. I’ve got a screenshot of some of the insurers which suggests for people with medical conditions, we’ve only used Saga and insurance via Manor insurance agents since we’ve developed worse conditions, both fine. And yes, we’ve had to claim twice due to serious conditions.

Which consumer organisation 

[wowzz]

On 3/1/2022 at 4:08 AM, lissie said:

Your TA is totally responsible for  not alerting you to this - I'd consider a complaint to the relevant authorities myself

Sorry, I disagree.  

Purchase of insurance is not the responsibility of the TA. 

[ozscotart]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

Sorry, I disagree.  

Purchase of insurance is not the responsibility of the TA. 

Also agree, it’s an individual responsibility to ensure you are insured according to your needs. Saying that, I wouldn’t panic, we’ve got travel insurance under adverse circumstances. 

[Harters]

Check out the Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert webiste. It has a good article on  finding insurance for folk with medical conditions. It led us to Staysure who would insure us (after Nat West's insurance declined to cover us, after years of being OK with us). There's no getting  round the fact that this is going to be expensive and even more so as the USA is involved in the travel plan.

[ShelaghL]

Hi Wowzz - you said it was for your Mum's 80th birthday.  There are changes when you get to 80 but if you buy it when she is still 79 you may still be OK.  I can get annual worldwide cover for my heart condition, brain haemorrhage, diabetes and stroke and my husband's arthritis but I am only in my late 60's and my husband is 77.  Our premium for the coming year is £825.  Yes that may seem alot but it is for multiple cruises and covers the USA, Caribbean etc.

[ShelaghL]

Sorry about post above - I got the wrong W as originator.  I should have addressed t to Welshbird08. Apologies.  By the way we are with Avanti insurance.

[wowzz]

On 3/4/2022 at 2:21 PM, ShelaghL said:

Sorry about post above - I got the wrong W as originator.  I should have addressed t to Welshbird08. Apologies.  By the way we are with Avanti insurance.

No worries.

It was good of you to have posted the infirmation.

[tring]

On 2/27/2022 at 10:37 PM, Welshbird08 said:

Hi, I'm trying to get travel insurance from my Mum who has COPD. She is not on oxygen and walks well if sometimes requiring a rest. We cruise in May 2023. Who and when would you recommend getting insurance? Thank you

 

Your T& Cs will likely say you should have insurance for the cruise and you will have agreed to those when you booked the cruise, though so many people do not read them, so very unlikely to have any liability from your agent.

 

I suggest you look at the T&C's for your booked cruise regards any transfer possibilities and perhaps speak to your agent regards the practicality of doing that.  You may well be able to change to another cruise to a less problematic area regards insurance, (e.g. UK departure to Europe), for a small fee, but you may well have to choose a cruise for the same price as the one you booked originally.  A transfer to a cruise leaving relatively soon may get you a better insurance quote and will reduce the risk of your Mum's health deteriorating prior to the cruise.  Best to  explore insurance options before a transfer though.

 

Any transfer would have to be done via the agent you booked through.