Pre existing medical condition cover

[cruisine21]

We are doing a land holiday to New Zealand. I disclosed my pre existing medical conditions to Westpac Altitude Black insurance - Allianz but they will only cover my husbands conditions but not mine.  I rang Allianz but they couldn’t tell me what condition was declined.

[MMDown Under]

14 minutes ago, cruisine21 said:

We are doing a land holiday to New Zealand. I disclosed my pre existing medical conditions to Westpac Altitude Black insurance - Allianz but they will only cover my husbands conditions but not mine.  I rang Allianz but they couldn’t tell me what condition was declined.

That is a worry.  Ask your doctor!

[cruisine21]

None of the conditions are serious

[MMDown Under]

14 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

That is a worry.  Ask your doctor!

I wouldn't worry about lack of travel insurance for NZ!  I knew someone who had cancer and wanted to visit NZ again, whose dr told him to go ahead with his travel plans.  

[arxcards]

3 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I wouldn't worry about lack of travel insurance for NZ!  I knew someone who had cancer and wanted to visit NZ again, whose dr told him to go ahead with his travel plans.  

I think the doctor should stick to doctoring and not be offering travel insurance advice. 

 

It might be lower risk, and of no risk at all to the cancer diagnosis. But, if an insurance company will not medically insure you, it means they will not cover any kind of medical episode or accident.

[CCC's]

https://newzealand.embassy.gov.au/wltn/reciprocalhealthcareagreement.html

Check out this link.   Australia has a reciprocal health agreement with NZ.  Possibly covers any health care you might require. 

[FeebeeH]

4 minutes ago, CCC's said:

https://newzealand.embassy.gov.au/wltn/reciprocalhealthcareagreement.html

Check out this link.   Australia has a reciprocal health agreement with NZ.  Possibly covers any health care you might require. 

The reciprocal agreement would possibly cover the health care, but wouldn't cover any expenses such as cancellation of the trip, accommodation costs, changing flight bookings etc. if you had to cancel your trip due to any recurrence of known medical conditions.  Last year I contacted my travel insurance to let them know I had to have an abscessed tooth removed 5 days before flying over to NZ for a 5 day holiday, but I was on antibiotics & the treating dentist advised I would be ok to travel with the antibiotics & pain medication (panadol, neurofen).  The travel insurance rep told me if I went ahead with the holiday although I would be covered for health treatment in NZ (reciprocal rights) I wouldn't be covered for any of the items mentioned above if I cancelled whilst in NZ.  She strongly suggested that I cancel the trip beforehand & I'd get my full refund.  I didn't (the toothache settled down 2 days before my trip) and we had a wonderful time.  I've now booked a different insurer for my February 2024 trip...and had quotes from some insurers not covering me for pre-existing medical conditions (not serious ones).  Found one that would but have to pay more to be covered.  Are you able to cancel & get refund of your insurance & shop around for one that will cover you..?

[cruisine21]

15 minutes ago, FeebeeH said:

The reciprocal agreement would possibly cover the health care, but wouldn't cover any expenses such as cancellation of the trip, accommodation costs, changing flight bookings etc. if you had to cancel your trip due to any recurrence of known medical conditions.  Last year I contacted my travel insurance to let them know I had to have an abscessed tooth removed 5 days before flying over to NZ for a 5 day holiday, but I was on antibiotics & the treating dentist advised I would be ok to travel with the antibiotics & pain medication (panadol, neurofen).  The travel insurance rep told me if I went ahead with the holiday although I would be covered for health treatment in NZ (reciprocal rights) I wouldn't be covered for any of the items mentioned above if I cancelled whilst in NZ.  She strongly suggested that I cancel the trip beforehand & I'd get my full refund.  I didn't (the toothache settled down 2 days before my trip) and we had a wonderful time.  I've now booked a different insurer for my February 2024 trip...and had quotes from some insurers not covering me for pre-existing medical conditions (not serious ones).  Found one that would but have to pay more to be covered.  Are you able to cancel & get refund of your insurance & shop around for one that will cover you..?

It’s credit card insurance so I haven’t paid the medical premium. I didn’t pay for my husband because i prefer that we are in the one policy

[cruiser3775]

I use 1Cover for travel insurance. Their list of pre-existing medical conditions that they automatically cover is quite comprehensive.

 It's not just pre-existing medical conditions that you need travel insurance for. What if you slipped on a wet path and fractured your ankle?  Or got food poisoning and had to abandon your scheduled trip? There are all sorts of unexpected problems that might occur and could be very costly.

The NZ reciprocal health agreement with Australia is useful, but not comprehensive. For example, it only covers the costs of tests and medications if you are admitted to a public hospital as an inpatient.

Edited June 29, 2023 by cruiser3775

[FeebeeH]

5 minutes ago, cruisine21 said:

It’s credit card insurance so I haven’t paid the medical premium. I didn’t pay for my husband because i prefer that we are in the one policy

As CCC's mentioned you will be probably covered by the reciprocal health agreement between Australia & NZ and covered for any medical treatment should you need it.  Not sure how much your other trip costs are & if they need to be insured?

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

I think the doctor should stick to doctoring and not be offering travel insurance advice. 

 

It might be lower risk, and of no risk at all to the cancer diagnosis. But, if an insurance company will not medically insure you, it means they will not cover any kind of medical episode or accident.

A specialist treating a patent would have a better knowledge of the traveller's condition than a life underwriter.  

[valantine80]

2 hours ago, cruisine21 said:

We are doing a land holiday to New Zealand. I disclosed my pre existing medical conditions to Westpac Altitude Black insurance - Allianz but they will only cover my husbands conditions but not mine.  I rang Allianz but they couldn’t tell me what condition was declined.

 

Have found that credit card insurance cover is very hard to get for anything other than the covered pre existing conditions.

There are several other posts on this forum re travel insurance. See "Reliable Travel Insurance" from May this year for suggestions. It is a minefield with some wanting to know about anything that has been treated in past three years and some only six months. Good luck.

[resordanis]

We have been able to use our Westpac Credit Card insurance and they cover my husbands long list of pre existing. When we started cruising again, I didn’t think Allianz would cover us, and were surprised we were covered. I was going to use NIB, they seemed to cover more pre existing and prices were good too! Just a thought to try NIB.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

A specialist treating a patent would have a better knowledge of the traveller's condition than a life underwriter.  

Yes they will, but the insurance company has the final say and if they won't cover you, that's it. 

[cruisine21]

10 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Yes they will, but the insurance company has the final say and if they won't cover you, that's it. 

And I’m not seeing a specialist for that condition

[buchhalm]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

I use 1Cover for travel insurance. Their list of pre-existing medical conditions that they automatically cover is quite comprehensive.

 It's not just pre-existing medical conditions that you need travel insurance for. What if you slipped on a wet path and fractured your ankle?  Or got food poisoning and had to abandon your scheduled trip? There are all sorts of unexpected problems that might occur and could be very costly.

The NZ reciprocal health agreement with Australia is useful, but not comprehensive. For example, it only covers the costs of tests and medications if you are admitted to a public hospital as an inpatient.

I second that. And not only for cruise specific insurance. 

It is one of the few insurance companies that make it relatively easy to understand what is/isn't covered.

And in language a non-medical or legal person can reasonably understand. 

 

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

A specialist treating a patent would have a better knowledge of the traveller's condition than a life underwriter.  

I don't doubt that, and the doc would be best positioned to know if they were fit to travel. That isn't my point. You insure against the risk of the unknown. If they say they will not medically cover you, it means they will also not medically cover you (eg) for falling down stairs or any other unforeseen accident.

The doctor has no influence over the decision of an underwriter or claim assessor.

[Hogbay]

 

Declined before you even travel, insurance companies are in the business of rejecting claims 🙄. We don't trust card insurance . 

[Bubbeh]

13 hours ago, Hogbay said:

 

Declined before you even travel, insurance companies are in the business of rejecting claims 🙄. We don't trust card insurance . 

Over the years I've made 3 or 4 claims on my ANZ Platinum TI and all have been approved without fuss.  I trust it implicitly and no longer even consider alternative insurance options.  

[Bubbeh]

I'd write to the insurer requesting an explanation of the refusal and ask for clarification.  Perhaps your particular condition is not covered but, if you fall down and break an ankle that is.  Then it would be up to you to make a determination on the likelihood of issues with what is and is not covered.  Having said that, I would not travel without a letter of eligibility from Allianz.  

Edited June 29, 2023 by Bubbeh
clarification

[cruisine21]

14 hours ago, Hogbay said:

 

Declined before you even travel, insurance companies are in the business of rejecting claims 🙄. We don't trust card insurance . 

My sister uses Westpac Altitude Black and had to claim when she was sick and had to reschedule her flight without any issue.

[cruisine21]

I’ve just been on the online chat with 1Cover. I’m borderline Osteopenia/Osteopenia. 1Cover won’t say they are not medically trained so can’t give advice.

[sanne]

I have had osteoporosis for many years  and have never been refused TA by any company that I’ve researched  a quote for. Always costs an extra premium to cover but that’s OK. 

[sanne]

1 hour ago, cruisine21 said:

I’ve just been on the online chat with 1Cover. I’m borderline Osteopenia/Osteopenia. 1Cover won’t say they are not medically trained so can’t give advice.

Just do a dummy policy on line to see what they cover and how much. No good ringing these days, they want you to do it on line. I’ve never been refused cover for osteoporosis. 

[cruiser3775]

This is what 1Cover says about Osteoporosis:

 

Osteoporosis And Travel Insurance

Osteoporosis is  considered a pre-existing medical condition. 

This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get travel insurance, but you do need to disclose your condition when you’re booking your travel insurance.With osteoporosis, all grades need to be disclosed, even if you’re not taking medication.
 

If you have osteoporosis, you can still get travel insurance.

it might just mean that:

You can obtain travel insurance, but if you want your osteoporosis to be covered, you’ll need to pay extra; or

you can obtain travel insurance but it will mandatory to purchase coverage for your osteoporosis; or

your condition won’t be covered at all, but you can still purchase travel insurance. 

 

Best to try filling out their forms online and seeing if they will accept you and what the cost would be. Advice given over the phone by a call centre person will always be cautious.