Travel Insurance Cost Cutting Tips For Older Travellers/Pre-existing Conditions

macro_duck

TomsMom wrote: »

I hope you don't need to claim from Columbus.

OH and I took out an annual policy with them and as he has recently been diagnosed with an incurable cancer we need to claim for the refund of the cost of flights to Spain, only £220, as we can no longer travel. Their claims people insisted we got a letter of confirmation of cancellation from Monarch, which cost us £10, and then told us that because of the excess and them not covering anything but the basic cost of the flight without all the extra charges that are put on, (i.e air passenger duty, fuel supplement, passenger service charge, extra leg room and baggage charges, etc) then it lowered our claim to £63 and they would not pay out. We are in dispute with them at the moment and hope to get them to look at our claim again as quite a few regulars on here seem to think these charges should not be excluded. What also galls is the fact that they must have known they would reject our claim yet still insisted on the letter from Monarch, a complete waste of £10.

If ever we, or even I, are in a position to need travel insurance again then we wont be considering Columbus and we would certainly double check what exactly is included and excluded in the event of a claim because what Columbus are saying is not made clear in their Ts & Cs.

I would certainly like to know how this pans out having taken out an annual worldwide policy with Columbus Direct recently. If the outcome is negative I will contact them to discuss their cover and maybe cancel and seek an alternative provider. It is no use having cheap cover if your claims when they arise are rejected. I would rather pay more to an insurer who will meet claims in full when they arise.

EnjoyinLife

theloft wrote: »

See this thread :

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1997205#post1997205

Basically if you sign up for Lloyds TSB Platinum Current Account, which gives you 4% on your money, you pay £180 per year, but you get lots of benfits which includes multi-trip worldwide travel insurance up to the age of 79. They will cover pre-existing medical conditions but you have to tell them and there may be a surcharge.

I was insured via Lloyds TSB Platinum account (through AXA for them ) for a year with a surcharge for the heart attack I had six years ago upon declaration of all medication and treatment I had received. I am 61 years old. When it came to renewal again this year I was refused even though nothing has changed. When asked why, I was told that maybe there had been a lot of claims generally and that medical costs had risen dramatically.

This seems to be general to me, as this seems to happen every time I find a company to give me annual insurance.

TomsMom

macro_duck wrote: »

I would certainly like to know how this pans out having taken out an annual worldwide policy with Columbus Direct recently. If the outcome is negative I will contact them to discuss their cover and maybe cancel and seek an alternative provider. It is no use having cheap cover if your claims when they arise are rejected. I would rather pay more to an insurer who will meet claims in full when they arise.

Macro duck - We have had a letter today saying the claims handler made a mistake and should not have excluded all the extra charges - full message here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=12631611#post12631611

We said we wouldn't use Columbus again but on further thought this was said in the heat of the moment because it wasn't Columbus's decision or mistake, it was the mistake of the Claim Settlement Agency who are an independent company not part of the same group. I imagine a lot of different insurance companies use this agency.

Hopefully you wont need to claim but just in case you do it's as well to be aware of the Ts & Cs and if your claim is rejected and you think it should be paid out then follow it up.

macro_duck

TomsMom wrote: »

Macro duck - We have had a letter today saying the claims handler made a mistake and should not have excluded all the extra charges - full message here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=12631611#post12631611

We said we wouldn't use Columbus again but on further thought this was said in the heat of the moment because it wasn't Columbus's decision or mistake, it was the mistake of the Claim Settlement Agency who are an independent company not part of the same group. I imagine a lot of different insurance companies use this agency.

Hopefully you wont need to claim but just in case you do it's as well to be aware of the Ts & Cs and if your claim is rejected and you think it should be paid out then follow it up.

Very pleased that you have a positive outcome, I have a very expensive cruise booked next year and was a little worried. The excess per person has happened to my before with another company and I have looked up the policy wording in the booklet Columbus sent to me and it says "The excess will be charged per person for each incident that results in a claim" so they are OK on that score.

I was going to suggest a complaint to the Mail on Sunday because they have teamed up with Columbus and are promoting their travel insurance.

TomsMom

macro_duck wrote: »

The excess per person has happened to my before with another company and I have looked up the policy wording in the booklet Columbus sent to me and it says "The excess will be charged per person for each incident that results in a claim" so they are OK on that score.

I've now found it in their Policy Wording booklet now so am happy to leave it at that.

I was going to suggest a complaint to the Mail on Sunday because they have teamed up with Columbus and are promoting their travel insurance.

I'm just glad I don't have to take it any further now.

I have a very expensive cruise booked next year and was a little worried.

I'm glad the outcome of my issue with them has put your mind at rest and I hope you have a wonderful time.

Thom91

Thanks to previous posts I contacted My Travel and obtained an annual worldwide policy for my wife and myself which included previous medical conditions for £81.62. This was by far the most competitive quote from a number of other insurers.

icmeler2000

Errmm .. has anyone been in a situation similar to mine and know of an insurer who will cover me?

I have 4 pre-existing CHRONIC (i.e. long-term) medical conditions :-

1) X since 1994
2) Y since 2004
3) ibs-type symptoms since 1992
4) long-time to recover from colds, infections etc since 1997

As you can see, all conditions are long-term. They are all stable.

I take regular medication which is improving condition X and take regular supplements which is helping condition Y. I have no problem getting travel insurance cover for either.

Last Monday - with no degradation in conditions for either 3) or 4), but fed up with the symptoms, I went to see my GP to schedule appointments to see two relevant specialists.

I repeat there has been no worsening of either condition, in fact one has slightly improved, but now my usual insurer (and others) will not cover me for these two last 'conditions' because there are appointments pending.

I can understand insurers being nervous about someone who has a NEW condition and prior to any closure via examination or testing, it's obviously uncertain what that NEW condition might suddenly do to the sufferer. But that is a million miles away to my situation when in both cases I've had and lived with the symptoms for years and am merely now trying to see if new modern-day 2008 technology might get to the bottom of things where previous tests for both conditions over the years have all been negative and revealed nothing sinister.

I've got two foreign holidays to Turkey coming up, first one starts on Sep 1st
and I need to find someone who will cover me for ALL FOUR CHRONIC STABLE CONDITIONS. The second holiday ends in mid-October.

It goes without saying that if I'd known I'd have this hassle, I would have delayed requesting these appointments until after both holidays.

I repeat it was I that decided to ask for these appointments, NOT because I'm suddenly feeling worse.

And by asking for these appointments, I'm no worse a risk, but insurers are treating me like someone with a new condition that has unknown risk until investigated.

Has anyone out there been in this situation before and found a sensible insurer that can 'see out of their box' and insure me for these last two conditions.

Thing is I'm getting lots of 'yes, I see where you're coming from, but unfortunately our rules say I'm not allowed to cover you' type responses from phone advisors.

Never ever claimed on any insurance of any type in over 30 years.

(If Turkey had been in the EU, then having reciprocal medical arrangements would have been a help, but they ain't!!)

TomsMom

icmeler2000 wrote: »

I repeat there has been no worsening of either condition, in fact one has slightly improved, but now my usual insurer (and others) will not cover me for these two last 'conditions' because there are appointments pending.


I've got two foreign holidays to Turkey coming up, first one starts on Sep 1st
and I need to find someone who will cover me for ALL FOUR CHRONIC STABLE CONDITIONS. The second holiday ends in mid-October.

It's probably a simple case of "rules are rules - no exceptions". If there are appointments pending no-one knows the outcome despite the fact that you initiated the appointments even though there's no worsening of your condition. There's a remote possibility that investigations at the appointments could just uncover something you knew nothing about. I doubt if there is any way round this situation.

Did you book these holidays recently or some time ago? If some time ago then it is very risky not to book travel insurance at the time of booking the holiday (or very soon afterwards) as anything could happen to cause you to cancel between the day you book it and the day the holiday starts.

grant32

Hi All.
I've been trawling through loads of travel insurance sites. Some say the product is only available to UK Citizens, some to Permanent UK Residents, and some to UK Residents. I am an Australian citizen, but resident in the UK (for tax purposes at least). I've been here for 18 months on a work permit, and will be applying to stay for another two years. I also need cover for Type 1 Diabetes. Does anyone have any similar circumstances, and who did you apply for cover with?
Thanks

Alfie1939

see www.staysure.co.uk looks ok to me and cheap and it's ABTA member.:rotfl: