Insurance.. can they cancel.

[indiana123]

 

We have an annual policy with one of the big boys.

 

I am having multiple tests at the moment to sort my mobility (which can be agony at present) and hopefully will get a definite diagnosis soon.   I know I have to let them know the results etc before cruising again, but I was wondering if they can  cancel a Policy mid term or can they only refuse to insure  again when renewal comes in.    I know they can add a premium.   Renewal is November and hope to get a cruise in before that.

Edited April 5, 2023 by indiana123

[Dinglebert]

They can based on the results refuse to insure you for that "condition" and therefore in short insist that the cruise is cancelled or if you travel you are not covered for that condition.

[terrierjohn]

19 minutes ago, indiana123 said:

 

We have an annual policy with one of the big boys.

 

I am having multiple tests at the moment to sort my mobility (which can be agony at present) and hopefully will get a definite diagnosis soon.   I know I have to let them know the results etc before cruising again, but I was wondering if they can  cancel a Policy mid term or can they only refuse to insure  again when renewal comes in.    I know they can add a premium.   Renewal is November and hope to get a cruise in before that.

Yes we had our annual policy cancelled after we disclosed a new medical condition. Staysure did not cancel immediately but refused to cover anything associated with the new condition, effectively meaning if we wanted to go on our Feb cruise we had to look elsewhere. Fortunately we were able to get one trip insurance from Free Spirit for this cruise and Staysure cancelled the policy and refunded the balance from the date we disclosed the new condition.

[zap99]

20 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Yes we had our annual policy cancelled after we disclosed a new medical condition. Staysure did not cancel immediately but refused to cover anything associated with the new condition, effectively meaning if we wanted to go on our Feb cruise we had to look elsewhere. Fortunately we were able to get one trip insurance from Free Spirit for this cruise and Staysure cancelled the policy and refunded the balance from the date we disclosed the new condition.

Same as us with staysure.  They refunded the balance of the policy. We got single trip cover with goodtogo, but get annual again now.

Edited April 5, 2023 by zap99

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, indiana123 said:

I am having multiple tests at the moment to sort my mobility (which can be agony at present) and hopefully will get a definite diagnosis soon. 

Technically you are already in need of notifying them of a "change in health" as the mainstream insurers do not cover you during a period of investigation.  I note you intend to notify them once you have a diagnosis but you should be aware that any future claims for any issue requiring the insurer's claims company to access your medical records (not necessarily for anything on this particular issue) would highlight the date these investigations commenced and most likely would result in a refusal to pay out on the claim. 

 

Pre existing conditions are a nightmare for the policyholder but the claims companies look at every single aspect in minutest detail before accepting a claim.

 

The insurer would upon notification have the right to cancel the policy and refund but dependent on the actual health conditions and time frame may offer comfort until then, for instance my husband's renewal came up while he was awaiting a diagnosis following heart tests and Allianz agreed an extension for four weeks. However this is very rare.

 

As mentioned by Terrierjohn and Zap you can buy individual trip policies from a handful of specialists in this area.

[Britboys]

This was a few years ago but my partner and I were on annual policies with Saga Insurance when he was diagnosed with Cancer. They immediately cancelled the policy without any refund...

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

This was a few years ago but my partner and I were on annual policies with Saga Insurance when he was diagnosed with Cancer. They immediately cancelled the policy without any refund...

Staysure did say they would accept a claim against the existing policy, subject to loss adjusters approval,  if we needed to cancel the next cruise, although their e-mail did say a refund of the deposit, so dont know what their reaction would have been when they realised that final payment had been made.