Travel insurance disaster - please help!

tortoisesaver

Hi

I'm hoping some fellow MSE forum-ites might be able to help me.....

My grandma is visiting Australia this year (a regular trip) and for the first time decided to get travel insurance. She paid £700 with Post Office travel insurance.....BUT
- she doesn't need it, the first-class plane fare (paid for her) is fully covered for cancellations etc
- Australia has a reciprocal agreement with the UK, so all medical treatment is free
- she's not bothered about repatriation in the event of death

But, the biggest issue is that she.....um, was economical with the truth on the forms
she has angina, has had a couple of strokes, and minor ops. But didn't mention any of this - so the INSURANCE WOULD BE INVALID ANYWAY!!

My mum is very annoyed with grandma and is desperate for a way to rectify this somehow - she survives off money from her daughters and the meagre-est of pensions (despite working as a nurse all her life, grr) so cannot afford this.

The cooling off period has passed - but is there anything that can be done about this? As she doesn't need the cancellation or health costs aspects, was it missold??

Any advice gratefully received :money:

Thanku

powned

best thing to do is fess up really if the worst happened you know the insurance comp will go digging in an attempt to get out of paying

cogito

I can't see how non-disclosure of material facts constitutes misselling. The true situation needs to be disclosed to the insurers who will then either void the contract (probable) or agree to cover her (most unlikely).

Don't make the mistake of assuming that she doesn't need cover. The Australian government aren't so generous that they would pay for an air ambulance back to the UK. Don't think it can't happen. An acquaintance of mine had to be flown home from Dubai at astronomical cost which, fortunately for her, was paid by her insurers.

McKneff

Just ring them up and ask them how much it would cost to cancel it.

dacouch

I'm not sure the Insurers will void the policy for the medical conditions as if they cannot offer cover for them or you are not prepared to pay the extra they offer then they simply exclude any claims as a direct result of the existing medical conditions.

Insurers do not normally offer a refund for cancelling Travel Insurance outside of the cooling off period. You could try asking them but I would be surprised if they do offer a refund

lisyloo

Australia has a reciprocal agreement with the UK, so all medical treatment is free

Are you sure about that?
Usually reciprocal arrangements cover the very basics and you still need insurance.

she's not bothered about repatriation in the event of death

So do you think she will just be left in the streets/hotel??
Disposal would be charged to her estate and it's unlikely to be less than four figures.
Even a "paupers" funeral cover here (for people with no money or family) costs about £700.

In your posistion I'd phone up and explain that she's an elderly confused lady and see what it costs to change it with the conditions declared.

Itsgottabedone

Another consideration would be if she was to fall ill en route. Her flight is not non-stop, so if she fell ill on the first leg of it and had to be admitted to hospital at the stopover point she would need Insurance cover for that. Is there any chance that the kind benefactor who paid for her fare would stump up for whatever additional cost is involved in amending the existing policy to include pre-existing conditions?