AXA Travel Insurance

angelicmandy

Hello myself & my partner are travelling to the USA in June. We took out an AXA travel policy whilst booking the holiday at the travel agents. The agent advised us to call AXA if there were any medical conditions to report. We are used to this as my partner has diabetes and crohns and so we have had to do this before.
However, when he phoned AXA they listened to what he was informing them of and told him in regards to these conditions they would not insure him. Presumably its just a general insurance & we are covered for a "broken foot" etc.
We dont know what to do now, do we have to search round for a new policy for us that will cover everything (presumably at extra cost) When we have rang companies in the past & informed them they have never said we are not insured, as far as i am aware they just made a note on their records. Does this mean we were never insured for that for past holidays too?
What does annoy me with this is that we have already paid for our AXA travel insurance - dont know if we can get the money back.
Thanks for any help :A
c

macman

You have to declare any pre-existing conditions such as this at the time of taking out the policy. Your TA was just interested in securing their commission-why on earth buy through them when you can buy online far cheaper?
You can still get insurance under these circumstances, but the premium will be higher, as the risk is greater.
I suggest you look at the travel insurance section on the main MSE board.

InsideInsurance

U/W guides change, it could well be that crohns and well managed diabetes was fine but now its being considered too high risk.

Presumably you are still in your cooling off period and so can cancel the Axa policy if it no longer meets your needs

Wammer

You have a 14 day cooling off period which is to allow you time to read the policy and ensure it meets your needs. If you are within that you can get a refund. However if it is more than 14 days since you bought the policy you may get a refund on a sliding scale or no refund. You will have to read the policy to find out.

As has been suggested, read the Travel Insurance article on MSE, link at the top of the page.

You may have to call a few insurers before you find one that will provide cover at a reasonable cost. However many companies are now doing online medical screening.

macman

If the OP bought it over the counter at at a TA then DSR does not apply.

angelicmandy

thanks all, Macman, please can you explain the abbreviations in your last post.
many thanks

Maz945

Macman in wrong. DSR, or Distance Selling Regulations, do not apply to the sale of insurance. Basically, when you buy any insurance, there is a 14 day cooling off period from whatever channel

twinkle10

There are many people applies for the travel insurance such as AXA travel insurance but I have a question about it, does travel insurance claims natural death while traveling? If not then what type of claim it provides?

InsideInsurance

Yes, if you died abroad (assuming not from a cause not covered by the policy) then travel insurance will cover the repatriation of your remains and medical treatment you had prior to your death

bouncydog1

On the cover if you die whilst abroad, you would of course have had to abide by the policy conditions e.g. you would not be covered if you were travelling aborad having been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

However as Inside Insurance states, if you contracted a condition that was covered by the policy and died from it, there would be some elements of the policy that would pay out.

weejonnie

AXA used to underwrite many travel insurance schemes but now seem to be pulling out of the market. The main player now seems to be MapFre.

With regards to online screening - from experience as a broker it is amazing how many people forget medical conditions that they have as they are just taking a cocktail of medications. It is probably better to speak to someone - it might take longer but the actual act of conversation will encourage recall - not to mention the fact that if a medication is disclosed a competent person will know the usual condition for which it is described and help prompt memory.