Travel Insurance Article Discussion

oldschool

We have been trying to get an insurance that covers for 38 day trip with pre conditions on the medical.We told Saga(I use this as the example as to how much 1 thing can alter price, other companies were similar).We had decided to use Saga annual quote £660.36p, then remembered hubby had a endoscopy just under 2 years ago, so rang to tell them.He was diagnosed with Diverticulitus, which is an easily manageable condition with diet and good probiotics. When they checked, although they do not ask about that particularly, it pushed the quote up to £1,342.80, over twice as much. It was quite a shock and we are now considering cancelling our trip. Although getting old beats the alternative, it does have it's financial problems!

bignred05

I'm looking for a world wide family policy

but will it cover seperate trips, e.g. if I go away on my own (planning to) and my daughter who will be 18 will also be going away on her own (with friends)

will most policies cover this ???

Thanks

Spendless_Dosh

Recently been looking for insurance which covered us for a longer trip including travel in the US & Canada. We've both under 65 but have got medical conditions to consider and I'd been struggling to find anything with a quote lower than £350, our current insurance (standard policy with trips up to 31 days) had been just under £200 so it was a big difference. Fortunately I tried Virgin and came up trumps with their Gold policy which covers you for trips up to 90 days and with medical considerations the price was a little over £160, result.

Hope if you're in a similar situation this information might help you. Have a great holiday.

drphila

My wife has multiple serious health conditions including skin cancer (currently stable) diagnosed in the last 12 months so full cover through the usual companies (eg Staysure,goodtogo etc)is astronomical for the types of trip we undertake (30-80 days in Spain).

We have therefore been looking at ways to reduce the premium by looking at what we really need from the insurance. What we absolutely need is REPATRIATION costs.

Spanish hospitals medical bills could covered by the EHIC on the understanding that we may have to pay up to a couple of thousand pounds for top-ups,ambulances, X-rays etc. Similarly, we would be willing to consider a large excess.The cancer is such that it is extremely unlikely to require medical repatriation. In any case we would wish to fly back at our own expense to see our own consultant if there was any cancer problem (we are fortunate to live only a mile away from a national centre of excellence).

So far we have found the following companies:

1) Global Travel Insurance - no cover for conditions diagnosed in the last 12 months, relatively high excesses, no medical loading for trips (excl US/cruises) < 31 days so very low premiums. (Already used this company)

2) Eurotunnel - this has been covered in previous posts but basically cover for any stable condition not requiring ongoing treatment

3) eta - basically no cover for any conditions requiring advice/treatment in last 12 months (no cancellation cover at all for ANY pre-existing condition).

4) FrontierMedex - this is a US company offering non-US citizens
repatriation only, apparently excluding only unstable or recently undiagnosed medical conditions. BUT I would be very nervous about using this company partly because they fall outside the well regulated UK insurance industry, partly because the lack of detail on their website and partly my experiences in talking to them by phone.

I would be very interested in comments on the above and any additions to the lists, especially any UK based medical-repatriation- only companies or anyone's experiences using FrontierMedex or other US companies

Finally a note to Martin/Tony( original article author): it is clear from the type of posts that cover for medical conditions is a problem or very expensive for many people, so can this section in the original article be expanded or at least include mention of companies such as Eurotunnel?

kevinyork

We have taken mum on a cruise each year for the last few years. Weve used the comparison sites listed by Martin on the main site before however this year the prices were really high, presumably because she has turned 80. I then called MIA (also mentioned by Martin) who I had left till last as you cannot do an online quote.

Well all I can say is how different this experience was. They specialise in travellers with medical conditions, even terminal ones. The conversation was really easy and within 5 minutes I had a quote that was half the lowest quote from the other searches I had done. The only thing they needed was a list of Mums medicines. I called back with those details, the premium didnt change and we bought the cover. They even second guessed most of her medication based on the illnesses I had declared. They have a couple if conditions: if travelling in Europe you must have a EHIC card and must use reciprocal medical arrangements in the countires that have them. Also you must get the GP of the traveller to put a note on their medical record to say the person is fit for travel.

The extra bonus is they record the illnesses and medications on file so when we need a quote again they can pull up the details.

I cannot recommend them highly enough and its all thanks to Martin for giving them a mention.

kevinyork

drphila wrote: »

My wife has multiple serious health conditions including skin cancer (currently stable) diagnosed in the last 12 months so full cover through the usual companies (eg Staysure,goodtogo etc)is astronomical for the types of trip we undertake (30-80 days in Spain).

We have therefore been looking at ways to reduce the premium by looking at what we really need from the insurance. What we absolutely need is REPATRIATION costs.

Spanish hospitals medical bills could covered by the EHIC on the understanding that we may have to pay up to a couple of thousand pounds for top-ups,ambulances, X-rays etc. Similarly, we would be willing to consider a large excess.The cancer is such that it is extremely unlikely to require medical repatriation. In any case we would wish to fly back at our own expense to see our own consultant if there was any cancer problem (we are fortunate to live only a mile away from a national centre of excellence).

So far we have found the following companies:

1) Global Travel Insurance - no cover for conditions diagnosed in the last 12 months, relatively high excesses, no medical loading for trips (excl US/cruises) < 31 days so very low premiums. (Already used this company)

2) Eurotunnel - this has been covered in previous posts but basically cover for any stable condition not requiring ongoing treatment

3) eta - basically no cover for any conditions requiring advice/treatment in last 12 months (no cancellation cover at all for ANY pre-existing condition).

4) FrontierMedex - this is a US company offering non-US citizens
repatriation only, apparently excluding only unstable or recently undiagnosed medical conditions. BUT I would be very nervous about using this company partly because they fall outside the well regulated UK insurance industry, partly because the lack of detail on their website and partly my experiences in talking to them by phone.

I would be very interested in comments on the above and any additions to the lists, especially any UK based medical-repatriation- only companies or anyone's experiences using FrontierMedex or other US companies

Finally a note to Martin/Tony( original article author): it is clear from the type of posts that cover for medical conditions is a problem or very expensive for many people, so can this section in the original article be expanded or at least include mention of companies such as Eurotunnel?

Hi, see my post above and give MIA a try.

cushty

anuska_csb wrote: »

Hi, am new to this posting game! Am looking for reasonably priced travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions. My son has had benign brain tumour and is asthmatic. Can anyone help with a good priced company?
thanks, Anuska

Hi Anuska, we found Explorer Insurance gave us the best price for three pre-existing conditions - prostate cancer, COPD and Angina - £400 for a 6 week trip to Australia. My husband is 71 and I'm 66 - the premium was to cover both of us. This was way cheaper than the comparison sites.

Hope you find a great deal and have a great holiday with your son.

helmet

Hi Anuska, I too am new to this site.
I followed Martin's advice from his TV program and checked out EHICplus it's a private insurance which works in conjunction with the European Health Insurance Card (free) known as EHIC.
The NHS "free" card covers pre-existing medical conditions, and EHICplus covers the extras such as repatriation, baggage, money, delays etc.
The medical screening is extremely simple and the premium very reasonable.
Of course you are restricted to participating EU countries.
It seems too good to be true and I really came here to ask if anyone had used this company.
Good luck.

marjrie_2

I just looked at EHICplus but they don't have an option for anyone over 80.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for cover for 81 year old with pre existing TIA and Diverticular Disease please. Both conditions controlled for years now.

oaprut

We have been with LV for 4 years - Im 69 husband 77. Annual policy Europe for the 2 of us is less than £200. We both have various medical conditions but LV have a long list of included conditions. We had to cancel a holiday last year due to me needing unexpected operation, LV couldn't have been nicer or easier to deal with. When I contacted them after the op to see what the extra premium would be, I was told 'nothing, you've told us, you're covered'.
10 years ago we had a policy with Saga which is aimed at 'older' people and very expensive (over £400) when I phoned them to let them know my husband had arthritis in his wrist they wanted another £40 'in case he lost his medication' as this was paracetamul I found it difficult to understand their demand.