Travel Insurance Article Discussion

nitinpatil

Hey Guys

If I buy single trip travel insurance for my trip say for 7 days and when i come back from holiday after 7 days my insurance will be expired. So during the trip if I say lost something which is covered by travel insurance, can I still submit claim even though my policy is expired?

muddlemand

caringa wrote: »

Hope someone might give me some advise! I have booked to go to Portugal at the end of October and have just had tests which show I will probably need a stent inserted to help with a heart condition. I dont know when the procedure will be done and therefore dont know when to try and get cover.

I know I will have to declare a pre-existing medical condition but should I try and take it out before the procedure or after. Also, any suggestions on who to go to for the insurance would be welcome.

Hi - in my experience you need to declare anything asap or the insurance isn't valid. I lost quite a bit by not declaring my son's illness which caused him to miss a school trip, even though I declared as soon as he was told he couldn't go - they counted from the first visit to the GP instead (though he was still well enough to go at that point, it came on gradually).

You could phone a few insurers and ask which way is best. If you state at the outset "I'm not buying today, just fact-finding to make sure I've got all the details right," that can help avoid the hard sell and get some actual useful information! Or else talk as if you've already decided on the company you're speaking to, but can't actually buy till next week when your money comes in (or something), that way again, they'll be informative without the pressure to complete the deal on the spot.

muddlemand

DepositSaver wrote: »

I know it's not been very long, but can anyone advise on this? Holiday is booked and I'd like to sort insurance ASAP. Is it worth cross-posting in the insurance thread?

I don't know but maybe they are already covered under your home insurance? Some go up to, say, £2000 per item away from home - not sure whether that would count overseas. It's a small print situation. And if they don't, you may be able to add them to the home insurance temporarily without much or even any extra premium...? Worth having the conversation anyway.

I don't think they count as medical equipment (though they ought to!) but maybe if you point out it's the kind of value that camera equipm!nt would be for instance?

I feel for you, having been stuck with prescription specs and prescription sunglasses all my life (recently in transitions, still making my mind up whether I'll stick with them for the next pair). And it never crossed my mind to check on this! Thank you!! I'll start wiht the home ins. small print, then my travel ins. small print, and then decide whether to take the risk. I never go away (even a weekend) without an old pair as spare, anyway. A recent day in A&E was a nightmare after I got well enough to sit up and be bored... blind as a bat without them. Aaagh.

Paul_Varjak

I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer earlier this year and underwent an operation a few weeks ago, which gives me the chance of being able to travel again.

I decided to check on the possibility of getting travel insurance for someone with metastatic prostate cancer that has spread to the bones and his highly aggressive (Gleason Score 9).

The cheapest worldwide insurance policy I could find on moneysupermarket.com for a single trip policy was £600+. No-one would quote for a multi-trip policy.

In desperation, I rang Nationwide Building Society to see if they would extend their free European cover on my existing current account to worldwide cover for a reasonable charge.

I was astonished when quoted just £20 extra for worldwide cover and another £100 to cover my prostate cancer. And this was not for a single trip, this was an annual multi-trip policy!

That looks like a bargain to me!!!

Wammer

Yes I agree re the Nationwide travel insurance. I get quotes of £500-600 when I declare my PEMCs elsewhere. Nationwide will cover then for less than £90.

muddlemand

@ Paul Varjak and @ Wammer, that's good to know about Nationwide. You have to have a current account, I gather? Would that have to have a minimum monthly income?

Paul, I hope your health continues to improve. :heartsmil

painted

Does anyone know if the free travel insurance on the Nationwide Flex account covers pre-existing health conditions please?

Paul_Varjak

muddlemand wrote: »

@ Paul Varjak and @ Wammer, that's good to know about Nationwide. You have to have a current account, I gather? Would that have to have a minimum monthly income?

There are two options to get free travel insurance with Nationwide:

1. Get a Flex Account which means you need to have at least one direct debit on that account and pay in £750/month. My pension is less than that so I just use apps on my mobile phone to move move money between Nationwide and another banking institution. This will give you free UK and European Travel insurance...

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexaccount/travel-insurance

2. Get a Flexplus Account and pay £10/month for worldwide travel insurance as well as getting a raft of other benefits, including car breakdown cover, extended warranties, commission-free cash withdrawals overseas, mobile phone insurance, 3% interest on cash balances...

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/flexplus/features-and-benefits

Paul_Varjak

painted wrote: »

Does anyone know if the free travel insurance on the Nationwide Flex account covers pre-existing health conditions please?

I think you will find that some conditions will be covered without extra charges but others will not. Just call Nationwide and ask them.

Gamegal

painted wrote: »

Does anyone know if the free travel insurance on the Nationwide Flex account covers pre-existing health conditions please?

See policy documents here .. http://www.nationwide.co.uk/~/media/MainSite/documents/products/current-accounts/flexaccount/p1214-travel-cover-policy-document.pdf

It does state ..
"Medical Statements
A) When you open your account (if you already have a journey booked) and whenever you book a journey
You must call us on 0845 246 1692 if you:
1) are receiving in-patient treatment or are waiting to receive inpatient/outpatient treatment;
2) have been prescribed medication in the last 12 months, whether taking it or not;
3) have been diagnosed or treated with a heart or cancer related condition in the past 12 months;
4) are travelling to obtain medical treatment;
5) are travelling against medical advice;
6) have been given a terminal prognosis;
7) are aware of a reason why you may not be able to go on the trip or continue with it.
You will not be automatically covered for any claims relating directly to that medical condition and you should call us as soon as possible so we can talk to you about your condition(s) and work out whether or not we are able to cover them for free, for an additional premium or if we can’t cover your conditions.
From the time that you book a journey, the cancellation element of this policy becomes active.
After booking your journey but before you travel
If after booking a journey, but before you leave to go on that journey you are diagnosed with:
• a heart condition, a circulatory condition (problems with blood flow, including high blood pressure) or a breathing condition (including asthma);
• any type of cancer;
• any joint and bone condition;
• any gastrointestinal (stomach) conditions; or
• diabetes;
you must call us. You will be covered should you want to make a claim under the policy for the cancellation of that journey.
If you decide that you still want to go on the journey, then you must call us, as this policy will not automatically cover claims that may arise directly from your newly diagnosed condition(s) whilst you are away.
When you call us, we will talk to you about your condition(s) and work out whether or not we are able to cover them for free, for an additional premium or if we can’t cover your conditions.
If we are unable to cover your condition and you still want to go on your journey, then we will not pay claims that are directly related to the excluded medical condition, however, all other cover applies as per the terms and conditions.
C) After you have called us
Where we cover or decline to cover medical conditions, we will usually apply those terms for a 12 month period and at the end of this period we will send you a letter asking you to call in again, we will talk to you about your condition(s) and assess your condition(s) annually.
Our medical risk assessment system is updated frequently and we reserve the right to amend our medical risk assessment outcomes, so you may find that one year we might be unable to cover your condition(s) but at a later date we might be able to or that the additional premium charged may change."