Travel Insurance and pre existing conditions

[Technoman2]

Just been trying to update our travel insurance for next year and what a minefield it is. Staysure are the company but i guess it will be the same with them all. Having already listed several conditions blood pressue etc on the policy and have had these covered because now i am waiting to see an ear nose and throat consultant at the hospital they will not cover any of my current conditions which are far more serious. They will insure me but those existng conditions will not be covered so if for example i had a heart attack on holiday they may decide its down to high blood pressure and therefore not pay out . The current waiting list is 60 weeks so this could preclude me going on hol or getting full cover for that time until i have the results. 

So ive cancelled the hospital appointment so i can get full cover for the more serious conditions.

What a total crock of sh*t.

Im going to write to the insurance ombudsman and my MP.

[Harry Peterson]

Pre-existing conditions are a nightmare. And excluding them leaves you very vulnerable indeed, as you say.

 

There are specialist insurers who might help, and probably a few here who can recommend some. The cover I had with one of the banks was particularly good in that respect, and there may be others. I certainly wouldn’t travel with anything other than trivialities excluded.

[Technoman2]

Staysure is a company that are recommended by P&O or were when covid was prevalant.

[davecttr]

They won't insure you if you are undergoing medical examinations or awaiting surgery. Probably because they cannot asses the risk until you get a diagnosis. Shop around and you might be able to get cover for awaiting a procedure which is not life threatening. Pity our insurance expert is no longer posting

[Thejuggler]

As you are under medical investigation it will be seen as an unacceptable risk for the insurer.

 

You may be in for an ENT investigation, but something far more serious could be found which has nothing to do with ENT resulting in a cancellation.

[Harry Peterson]

18 minutes ago, davecttr said:

They won't insure you if you are undergoing medical examinations or awaiting surgery. Probably because they cannot asses the risk until you get a diagnosis. Shop around and you might be able to get cover for awaiting a procedure which is not life threatening. Pity our insurance expert is no longer posting

 

Too right - she was one of the most useful parts of these forums and - sadly - she's no longer posting.

[mrsgoggins]

OP I wish you luck with it.

 

I was drawn to this thread by my own experience today with Aviva, who are the insurers for my Barclays travel policy.  I had phoned them to update with details about shoulder replacement surgery I had had in August as a result of an awkward trip.  What I got was a message referring me to their website where I could request a call back at least 7 days before I travel.  
 

Now as I’m going to the USA at the end of December, the very last thing I want to be doing is trying to arrange additional cover over the Christmas week should Aviva not be happy with my answers!  I will try again tomorrow going via the ‘travelling within 7 days’ option on their phone line.

Very few things involving large companies and phones is straightforward these days.  And don’t even get me started on chat bots 🤬

 

 

 

[Technoman2]

I feel your pain Mrs G re chat bots.

[watsonbeau]

Chat bots can often take you to a real person - type in ‘agent please’ - often works ! 

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Technoman2 said:

Just been trying to update our travel insurance for next year and what a minefield it is. Staysure are the company but i guess it will be the same with them all. Having already listed several conditions blood pressue etc on the policy and have had these covered because now i am waiting to see an ear nose and throat consultant at the hospital they will not cover any of my current conditions which are far more serious. They will insure me but those existng conditions will not be covered so if for example i had a heart attack on holiday they may decide its down to high blood pressure and therefore not pay out . The current waiting list is 60 weeks so this could preclude me going on hol or getting full cover for that time until i have the results. 

So ive cancelled the hospital appointment so i can get full cover for the more serious conditions.

What a total crock of sh*t.

Im going to write to the insurance ombudsman and my MP.

DW had her annual insurance cancelled by staysure when awaiting a fairly straight forward procedure.  We took out a few single trip policies with Insure and Go. Full cover except for cancellation due to that procedure date popping up and conflicting with the holiday dates. No issue with that

 Now got an annual policy with Allclear.

 

[scarlet ohara]

We were in a similar predicament a few months ago having taken the plunge and booked our first post Covid cruise. Our annual travel insurance covered a holiday to Crete as it was booked before hubby started having frequent severe dizzy spells, but wouldn’t cover the cruise as it was booked after his dizziness started. He was referred to ENT (and is still waiting). Since dizziness could have serious underlying causes we really needed to know before the final balance was paid. So we went privately even though doing so is against our principles.  It also seems rather trivial that we couldn’t go on holiday when there is so much else going on in the world. However for less than £200 he had a thorough check with ann ENT consultant and was given a benign diagnosis. No tests were required although we were also prepared to pay for CT scans etc if needed. The insurance company were happy to provide cover so we are all set. The bonus is that the dizziness has now gone too!

It may be worth Technoman considering a private consultation

 

Best wishes 

[Technoman2]

48 minutes ago, scarlet ohara said:

We were in a similar predicament a few months ago having taken the plunge and booked our first post Covid cruise. Our annual travel insurance covered a holiday to Crete as it was booked before hubby started having frequent severe dizzy spells, but wouldn’t cover the cruise as it was booked after his dizziness started. He was referred to ENT (and is still waiting). Since dizziness could have serious underlying causes we really needed to know before the final balance was paid. So we went privately even though doing so is against our principles.  It also seems rather trivial that we couldn’t go on holiday when there is so much else going on in the world. However for less than £200 he had a thorough check with ann ENT consultant and was given a benign diagnosis. No tests were required although we were also prepared to pay for CT scans etc if needed. The insurance company were happy to provide cover so we are all set. The bonus is that the dizziness has now gone too!

It may be worth Technoman considering a private consultation

 

Best wishes 

Thanks Scarlet, i think that will be a course of action we will take when we have a window with no holidays booked unless we can get a quick appointment and investigation.

[Technoman2]

Staysure response to our complaint.

There are times when a traveller is awaiting a procedure, no matter how minor, where our underwriters have taken the decision to exclude all pre-existing medical conditions. This is due to the fact that they are unable to determine how the current medical circumstance with your condition is, or will be, affecting your other declared pre-existing conditions. It also means they are unable to determine the level of cover that would be required on your travel insurance policy in relation to this condition.

Another reason is that when a traveller is awaiting a procedure, wait times can increase or decrease and our travel insurance policies are unable to cover for potential cancellation due the procedure date being moved forward and overlapping with your holiday plans.

As all of these medical circumstances can affect the cover on your policy, our underwriters take an 'all in' or 'all out' approach in order to ensure that our customers fully understand what is and is not covered on their travel insurance.

We do understand it is frustrating, especially if you feel that the procedure you are awaiting is a minor one. We will ensure that your feedback is passed onto the relevant team to review for future improvements.

We also hope that you will consider us for your travel insurance in the future once your medical circumstances have changed.

Kind Regards,

[wineoclock]

Staysure were a nightmare for dh & I. We ended up getting travel insurance through Axa who we have health insurance with. What a mare. Mind you they have so many exclusions as well. Before dh retired we never had any issues with either travel or health insurance. 

[MBP&O2/O]

One insurance company I looked at ... via a ghost quote ... increased the premium by 30% due to a knee replacement which occured several years ago. This despite saying no problems, no medication, no follow up etc etc. 

The same company also charged 20% more for a three week holiday as opposed to an annual policy?

Rip off merchants?

This years issue is how to declare an undiagnosed condition which is under investigation...when they don't know what it is and any investigation is purely to rule things out! 

It is a nightmare.

[Technoman2]

I think more people may be taking cruises next year if the cost of land based hols dont come down. For example we went to Zante for 10 days beginning of october with tui and it was £375 each half board. Next year it is £800 plus and they say inflation is at 11% yeah right and that is if you can negotiate through the insurance minefield.

[watsonbeau]

Not sure if I’m understanding correctly but what happens if -

you have declared existing condition A and booked a holiday - you then start to have symptoms of condition B but medics unsure exactly what condition B is, so you get referred to hospital for investigation. You are still under investigation due to long NHS waiting times so unlikely to know what B is before departure. So you might feel unsafe to travel in thst instance and want to cancel.  Would insurance pay up if you cancel due to being under investigations (either deposit or full amount depending on how far away the holiday departure is) or would they class as disinclined to travel and likely pay nothing. Or would you have to get medics to declare you unfit to travel due to B for insurance to pay up in that sort of situation? 
 

Hope that explains anyway. 

Edited November 18, 2022 by watsonbeau

[Technoman2]

17 hours ago, watsonbeau said:

Not sure if I’m understanding correctly but what happens if -

you have declared existing condition A and booked a holiday - you then start to have symptoms of condition B but medics unsure exactly what condition B is, so you get referred to hospital for investigation. You are still under investigation due to long NHS waiting times so unlikely to know what B is before departure. So you might feel unsafe to travel in thst instance and want to cancel.  Would insurance pay up if you cancel due to being under investigations (either deposit or full amount depending on how far away the holiday departure is) or would they class as disinclined to travel and likely pay nothing. Or would you have to get medics to declare you unfit to travel due to B for insurance to pay up in that sort of situation? 
 

Hope that explains anyway. 

My understanding is that you still have to notify your insurance company even if it is after you have paid your premium of any changes or additions to your medical conditions. If you see the response from Staysure above they may still decide to give you cover OR they may adopt the ALL OUT policy meaning that you will be covered but not for any existing conditions or tests awaited. You will need to read your policy carefully and contact the relevant insurance company. This is just my interpretation based on my recent experience but it is a bloody nightmare. 

[watsonbeau]

Absolutely- am with bank policy not Staysure. Not an issue at present for me but you can never predict these things and potentially leaves you with no insurance at all that’s of any real use. They are all sharks. 
 

I will be reading my policy very carefully! Sorry that megabear2 no longer posting. 
 

thank you 

[Technoman2]

Good luck Watson hope you get the right level of cover. 

My son had a house policy with hastings direct and had to put in a claim for water damage due to a broken plumbing  pipe in the wall . The claim was for around 12k the company would only pay 4k when he tried to look at suing the underwriters they were based in Malta and would have to be processed through a maltese court. Then at renewal time they refused to insure his property which then means when you move insurance companies you have to declare you have been refused insurance and his policy increased 3 fold even though he had protected no claims. you can make your own judgement on that scenario.