Travel insurance/pre existing condition.

mommame

Please can someone help me I am near to tears and dont know what to do.
My son is getting married in cyprus next week and we were travelling on sunday.

Out of the blue this week my blood pressure hit the roof and as I have had chest pains and spent the night in hospital last week my doctor said it is too dangerous to travel.
I already take tablets for hypertension so I understand I will not be covered to get my money refunded but will my husband get his back?

We did ask if we could just defer the holiday until everything had returned to normal and they said no so I had to cancel.
We have standard insurance with our silver account with lloyds.
I am so upset to miss our sons wedding and the thoughts of losing £1300 is just too much.
Can anyone tell me what the chances of my husband at least getting his back.
Thanks in advance.
Daisy

dzug1

It depends on the wording of the policy, but as the reason for your husband not travelling is your illness, and that illness is not covered (unless you declared it and were accepted when taking out the policy), then there will be no valid claim by him on the policy.

If when taking out the policy you mentioned the tablets then it should be OK.

Sorry - that's a long winded way of saying probably no chance

mommame

I didnt fill out any forms it just automatically covers us for travel for the year anywhere in europe.
Thanks for taking the trouble to answer me by the way

pedro123456

mommame...........sorry to hear your story........can I ask.


Did you take the Insurance out and declared your hypertension as a "pre existing" condition

Also Is it a joint policy? or is it seperate.

Pete

FH_Brit

"Silver account with Lloyds" & "I didn't fill out forms" - does that mean FREE travel insurance with your bank account/credit card?

I always say they can be the worse thing going - Actually, these "FREE" policies are not worth much - as you cannot declare PEMC's etc, so you think you are covered, and then you find out you cannot claim only after the fact. I have a theory that these "free" policies are actually the bank/financial institution insuring you against you dying/serious injury/illness on holiday or while travelling and THEY are covered for your overdraft and/or balance on your credit card etc., and they just use the little cover as a "bonus feature" of their account.

See my other thread that has some useful Travel Insurance info:
Click Here for must-read information: Medical & Travel Insurance

Probably - there is nothing stopping your husband going - it is his choice to not go without you therefore he probably won't be able to claim.

However - all policies can, and do differ and just cause the insurance co say you are notr covered it may not actually be so. call the Financial Services Authority Ombudsman Service and ask if you may have a case - The FSA are FANTASTIC at giving claims advice - 0845 080 1800

Reading Pedro's mind - If you declared the PEMC then they accepted the risks and you can claim.

pedro123456

Fh.............I didn't give you permission to read my mind.........
If I allowed every one to do that........I wouldn't be able to slag Insurance companies off on this forum would I ?

Ta Pete...................lol.... but yep ya right.

OshayAway

pedro123456 wrote: »

Fh.............I didn't give you permission to read my mind.........
If I allowed every one to do that........I wouldn't be able to slag Insurance companies off on this forum would I ?

Ta Pete...................lol.... but yep ya right.

If ignorance is bliss... you must be ecstatic!

jonesMUFCforever

FH_Brit wrote: »

"Silver account with Lloyds" & "I didn't fill out forms" - does that mean FREE travel insurance with your bank account/credit card?

I always say they can be the worse thing going - Actually, these "FREE" policies are not worth much - as you cannot declare PEMC's etc, so you think you are covered, and then you find out you cannot claim only after the fact. I have a theory that these "free" policies are actually the bank/financial institution insuring you against you dying/serious injury/illness on holiday or while travelling and THEY are covered for your overdraft and/or balance on your credit card etc., and they just use the little cover as a "bonus feature" of their account.

See my other thread that has some useful Travel Insurance info:
Click Here for must-read information: Medical & Travel Insurance

Probably - there is nothing stopping your husband going - it is his choice to not go without you therefore he probably won't be able to claim.

However - all policies can, and do differ and just cause the insurance co say you are notr covered it may not actually be so. call the Financial Services Authority Ombudsman Service and ask if you may have a case - The FSA are FANTASTIC at giving claims advice - 0845 080 1800

Reading Pedro's mind - If you declared the PEMC then they accepted the risks and you can claim.

FH Brit

What you have written is complete nonsense.
The 'free'travel insurance as you put it is the same policy that they sell if you bought it over the net or telephone.
When the account is sold to you - the customer is asked about any pre existing conditions and you get the chance to speak to the underwriters to explain your condition and whether they will cover you.
Sometimes they cover you at no extra premium other times you get the choice of paying an additional premium (in addition to the monthly fee).

mommame

Thanks everyone good news is I am travelling after all,my BP has gone down drastically as we realised it was due to a change of my meds when I was in hospital last week and they fiddled about with my usual concoction.
I rang the holiday firm just on the offchance and they said I could still go as they had not sold the seats to anyone else, but not on the original tickets,just gotta pick these up at the desk tomorrow.
I did make a pact with my sons to buy a BP monitor and if I could prove it was dropping steadily throughout the day then that was fine with them otherwise they were going to hide my passport.
Was 195over 110 now 150/90 so off I go tomorrow morning and thanks to everyone again for the advice.
Daisy

dacouch

JonesMUFCforwever I think the point FH Brit was making is that the "Free Travel" Insurance Policies the banks include with the premium bank accounts are not great value in that the Travel Insurance could be bought for a much lower price than the price of the monthly account charges. They also sometimes have restrictions that people are not aware of.

The other problem is that as the customer has been given "Free Travel" cover instead of deciding they need an annual travel policy and researching the market. That they do not fully understand the product and any requirements on them eg to declare existing medical conditions.

Interestingly the Ombudsman has stated they are receiving a significant amount of complaints about Insurance products linked to bank accounts due to customers not realising restrictions in the policy or requirements for the customer.

We are all aware of Banks history of miss selling Payment Protection to people who can never claim on the policy. Could a similar thing happen when they sell the premium bank accounts in that they do not fully explain the policy conditions of the Travel Insurance Policies which can be quite involved.?

Its well known that if someone is given something free they tend to accept it without question, if they have to spend their own money they will normally spend time seeking the best deal / cover.

It always amuses me whenever I go into the bank and they try and sell me their overpriced policies that also often offer poor cover. The bank staff normally do not understand the product they are trying to sell to me and I often through random questions in that I know should through a spanner in the works but they tell me its not a problem! They are clearly on targets / commission and this seems to result in an attempt at an over zealous sale.

pedro123456

Good news then mommame......................150/90 is ok............relax and have a good time.

Next time it may be worth contacting 'Allclear' insurance they do the medical cover you require, and I also believe you and your wife can have a joint policy, that would have helped you,................more importantly you speak to a real person so you can have all your questions answered,...............I can send you number if you want but they are on Internet.

oh and they dont rob you as much as the other IC's.......just had to get that in............lol

Pete