Holiday insurance for Colostomites

Contemplates

Thinking of trying to organise a Last minute holiday:j, but just wondering if I may have any issues trying to get adequate holiday insurance cover.

Can anybody else with a Colostomy help with advice on getting insurance such as:
- do I need to declare it when buying insurance
- do I need extra cover
- any suggestions for specialised insurers etc

Thanks guys

traceya89

i have a relative with a colostomy. i think there are some insurances mentioned in a regular magazine she gets. will find out tomorrow and also find out the name of the company she used to travel to the USA. i think it is classed as a pre-existing complaint and really should be declared.

Contemplates

Thanks for the quick response Tracey.

I'd really appreciate that info, and if you could ask what mag she finds the insurers in?

traceya89

i think there is an "ostomy" magazine she gets delivered periodically. The stoma nurse might be able to advise on this. anyway i will find out tomorrow and post tomorrow night.

clarissa

You will need to declare pre-existing conditions to your insurer, if you don't and claim for even something medically unrelated you will open yourself up to having any claim rejected. I have an ileostomy and had no problem getting insurance even though it was due to cancer. I have since developed a heart condition and it is impossible to get insurance cover without all pre-existing medical exclusions, but I could if I just had either/or.

Apparently, according to the numerous specialist insurers I contacted, the insurance companies have become more selective on medical insurance over the past year. I have used MIA Online a few times and found their service was very good, although they couldn't get insurance for me last year I'd still reccommend them!

GlasweJen

You do need to tell the insurance company about your bag, you may also want to tell the airline in case it causes problems at customs (believe it or not america didn't believe that my pacemaker was a pacemaker despite it having a passport!).

KxMx

If in doubt, declare all and be prepared to pay more

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

From working some years back dealing with holiday insurance claims, I would strongly advise you to let the Insurers know. Usually we required little more than telling us and getting confirmation in advance from the GP that the Insured Person was medically fit to fly at the time of booking/taking out insurance. Then we covered without any problems - I also dealt with the medical treatment and cancellation claims, so the odds were that they had already spoken to me when taking the policy out (and it meant I knew when people were trying to pull a fast one by saying 'the girl I bought it from said I didn't have to worry about that' )

However, things change, so it is best to call, particularly if there is still an underlying medical condition present that has led to the colostomy.

Contemplates

Thanks everyone for your help. Jojo when you mention confirmation from GP do you mean I would need to forward a GP letter to the insurance company?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Contemplates wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your help. Jojo when you mention confirmation from GP do you mean I would need to forward a GP letter to the insurance company?

Depends on the particular Insurer, some will want to see a letter in advance, some will just say get one before you travel and if you have to make a claim enclose it with the paperwork. The GP may charge for this if it is required, but the money saved from having a claim settled rather than being refused quite often outweighs this additional expense.

hobbledehoy.

Hello,

Oh yes you must disclose anything and everything!
We travelled to Cyprus in '03 for a 7 day holiday. My wife has a cyst on her liver. Saw a consultant a few months earlier - no action needed unless it causes a problem. She saw our GP just before she travelled and he told her that there was no reason to worry. So never disclosed it.
After 3 days in Cyprus - she is in a private American hospital with liver pains. That lasted 10 days. I had to move out of our hotel after 7 days, and find another. They would not release her from hospital until the bill was paid £7,300. We managed to leave the island nearly a month after we arrived.
All in all it cost us over £12,000 to pay for everything. Insurance company (Fortis) refused to pay out as it was a pre existing condition and she had seen a consultant within the previous 12 months.
We were OK, we could get our hands on that money over there. Even at the airport we had to prove that all of the bills were paid before they allowed us onto the aircraft to come home. Cyprus Immigration & Customs were warned about us and had instructions to keep us on the island until all costs had been paid in full.