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

[babs135]

OP, May I suggest that you find an insurance broker who will take all your details and then do the leg work for you. It may cost you on top of any insurance policy but a good broker should know who to ask and it saves you ringing multiple companies and repeating ad nauseum your situation. 

Please let us know how you get on and good luck.

[edinburgher]

So sorry to read this, but travel  insurance as one ages becomes much more difficult to find and much more expensive.

 

I do think you will find cover for your mother somewhere, although sadly the cost is likely to be very high especially if you include COPD cover and someone has already advised you try to exclude that to keep the cost down to a more reasonable level, although "reasonable" to one person is perhaps less "reasonable" to another, and if your mother is likely to need medical care for COPD related issues during her trip, it would be a false economy to exclude it, especially in the USA where medical costs can be astronomical.

 

We are finding it is age rather than any medical condition which makes it so tricky. And others we know are finding the same. When the insurance  quotes cost more than the trip itself, some hard decisions need to be made and you may eventually decide to either pay up, or forfeit your deposit, or,

as the US, Canada and the Caribbean are the most expensive areas to insure for, (for Brits) perhaps your cruiseline will let you switch to a cruise in an area which is cheaper to insure.

 

 

As an aside, why is the Caribbean so expensive to insure for?  The only thing we can think of is that with fewer medical facilities on most islands, would patients need to be flown to the closest country (USA in many cases) for treatment? Does anyone actually know for sure?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2022 by edinburgher

[edinburgher]

OP, just a thought, but could you and your mother take the trip THIS year rather than next? It could still be an 80th birthday treat, only a year early.

 

I think you will find it easier to get insce at age 79 rather than waiting until her 80th, as 80 is a sort of "cut off point"as far as we have experienced |And if her health is good enough to travel this year, it could be the best option, as her health could deteriorate by the time next year comes alomg.

 

We loved Alaska.  Enjoyed our first trip so much, a couple of years later we returned for a second, which was longer and ticked some of the boxes the first one did not. So pleased we did them before one of us turned 80 as we would not now be able to make the trip due to insce cost.

Edited March 12, 2022 by edinburgher

[bbtablet]

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

 

 

 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.  

 

 

I was concerned to read this, Lissie.

It has been our experience that if you take out travel insurance in the UK and don't declare something (because you don't want to be covered for it, as you state above) your whole travel insurance policy will be invalidated, even if you claim for something that you did declare.

We did not disclose our medical conditions and claimed for cancellation because of flu (so not related to any of our non-declared conditions), the insurance company refused to pay out once it had the doctor's notes which included a statement of our underlying, but irrelevant to the claim, conditions. They just look for something to seize upon so that they do not have to pay out.

The proposal form required us to answer Any medical conditions? - yes or no - so by saying no because we did not want them covered, we were caught.

Just saying.

[lissie]

5 hours ago, bbtablet said:

I was concerned to read this, Lissie.

It has been our experience that if you take out travel insurance in the UK and don't declare something (because you don't want to be covered for it, as you state above) your whole travel insurance policy will be invalidated, even if you claim for something that you did declare.

We did not disclose our medical conditions and claimed for cancellation because of flu (so not related to any of our non-declared conditions), the insurance company refused to pay out once it had the doctor's notes which included a statement of our underlying, but irrelevant to the claim, conditions. They just look for something to seize upon so that they do not have to pay out.

The proposal form required us to answer Any medical conditions? - yes or no - so by saying no because we did not want them covered, we were caught.

Just saying.

I've actually checked that - and checked the ombudsman's findings too. So long as the non-declared condition is not material then they can't decline. e.g. I broke my leg on board by falling down some stairs. They might claim I had impaired vision - but  that's not true - and I can proove it - so the claim would stand. This is in NZ though - maybe different in the UK. 

[Lazirus65]

On 3/1/2022 at 11:34 AM, 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.

I use All Clear for my mum who is over 80 with medical issues.  Their annual multi trip insurance is nearly the same price as a single trip. But as many have previously said the cost you will have to pay is probably more than your cruise fare. 
 

[NSWP]

My relatives in UK always use SAGA - insurance for the oldies, they say.

[Cat4158]

Try Goodtogo insurance - they insured my father last time he cruised when he was 87. 

[MBP&O2/O]

I was told that SAGA was an acronym for "Sex And Games for the Aged"? 😉

I read, on another site for retired staff that Avanti was offering good deals but I haven't checked... yet .... I too need some cover.

As others have said, insurance companies will go out of their way to avoid paying out.

[Eli_6]

I am assuming the reason you would want trip insurance (that costs as much as the cruise) would be to cover medical expenses. Just as an FYI (in case you can't get insurance or it is cost prohibitive), the US has EMTALA which requires them to treat someone regardless of insurance status in an emergency.  So, your mother would get care in America even without insurance in an emergency.  My husband is a physician and about 1/4 to 1/3 of all emergency room visits/costs are never paid even by Americans.  Obviously, I would still encourage anyone to get insurance, but I wouldn't cancel the trip if you can't.

Edited May 6, 2022 by Eli_6

[Eli_6]

Fwiw, we have had to cancel before without insurance and have never had an airline, cruise company, or hotel fail to give me a refund (or future credit) for a true emergency or illness.  I even had an airline give me a full credit once on a completely non-refundable flight canceled less than 24 hours before the flight when I sent them pics of my baby covered in spots from some sort of viral rash. Granted, he did look pretty horrific.  The reason I can see to take out insurance is to cover health related costs if you happen to get sick in a foreign country or if you had to transport a body home.  I have been on a cruise where someone died (of natural causes) while on board. My understanding is that it is not uncommon.   

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

 Obviously, I would still encourage anyone to get insurance, but I wouldn't cancel the trip if you can't.

The OP is from the UK. It is a condition of booking that medical insurance is in place, so it is not an option to travel with no insurance. 

[Eli_6]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

The OP is from the UK. It is a condition of booking that medical insurance is in place, so it is not an option to travel with no insurance. 

Oh wow.  I apologize. I knew OP was from the UK, but I did not realize that cruise lines required international travelers to the US to have insurance since I can cruise from other countries without insurance. 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

Oh wow.  I apologize. I knew OP was from the UK, but I did not realize that cruise lines required international travelers to the US to have insurance since I can cruise from other countries without insurance. 

No need to apologise. This is an international site, and therefore everyone's situation is different.

Just as a matter of interest, say you were cruising in the Mediterranean,  and suffered a broken leg by slipping on some cobbles,  and had no insurance. 

How would you pay for your medical bills, flights home,  hotel expenses etc. ? 

[jeanlyon]

I have used Free Spirit insurance.  The best quote and no age limit with medical conditions.

[Harters]

On 5/6/2022 at 3:18 PM, Eli_6 said:

The reason I can see to take out insurance is to cover health related costs if you happen to get sick in a foreign country or if you had to transport a body home.

Plus cover if  you need to cancel due to an emergency. Happened to us a couple of years back. We were due to spend 3 weeks in Spain but had to cancel literally on the day of travel due to the death of a close family member. Insurance claim was a hassle but it paid out in due course.

[ace2542]

On 2/28/2022 at 12:12 PM, John Bull said:

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

And if COPD was judged to be the cause of any health problems the family would likely lose their home to medical bills in the hundreds of thousands and be banned from EVER returning to the USA and ergo from cruising a third of the world or doing a world cruise. Is it worth risking that?

[piscean]

My husband is 84 and we have annual travel insurance with a bank ….that’s Nationwide…£13.00 per month…no age limit although you have to pay extra for age…obviously a health disclosure would be required but worth a try.

You would need to open an account but it doesn’t require income or direct debits

 

[terry2]

I am currently with staysure (annual policy and I'm 79) . I recently helped  someone else with medical conditions needing travel insurance (europe wide) - you have to look around.  Holiday extras were exhorbitant (circa £1500), while staysure and LV were just under £400.