travel insurance if you need to stay longer when visiting family

seadreaming

Hi
We recently travelled to visit family abroad. Whilst there an immediate family member we were visiting was taken into hospital and we needed to stay longer.
We then discovered that our travel insurance doesn't cover us for this although it would have covered us if we'd had to return early if a family member in the UK had been taken into hospital.
I've contacted a couple of companies but it seems that it gets classed as 'extended stay' and insurance cover for that is very limited.
Does anyone know of a company that does offer reasonable cover for the above situation?
Thanks
SD

jackieblack

I assume this was a single trip policy?
An annual policy might be better for this, although there may be restrictions regarding maximum number of days for each trip you would not be restricted to specific dates like a single trip policy

InsideInsurance

Presumably the OP wants cover for the changing the return flight date rather than being concerned over the other coverages whilst they are still out there?

Its going to be a fairly unusual product and I cannot think of any one off hand. Of cause even if you get this it will exclude pre-existing conditions as the chances of finding someone who offers both this and the ability to declare non-travelling family members conditions is going to be exceptionally low. May it not be better just to buy flexible tickets so there is no/ minimal cost to rearrange the flight and then have an annual travel policy that wont have issues with the change of dates for the other elements

callum9999

I'm no expert, but would any insurer cover that?

The rationale behind it working in reverse is you would normally be there so need to get back home to deal with it. In your scenario, you wouldn't normally be there so don't have any responsibilities to look after them (in their eyes anyway - obviously you'd want to help family no matter where they were).

InsideInsurance

callum9999 wrote: »

I'm no expert, but would any insurer cover that?

The rationale behind it working in reverse is you would normally be there so need to get back home to deal with it. In your scenario, you wouldn't normally be there so don't have any responsibilities to look after them (in their eyes anyway - obviously you'd want to help family no matter where they were).

Its a risk & not illegal and so perfectly possible to insure for it. In theory a policy could exist for "ex pats" (aka immigrants) living here needing to travel back home for a family emergency.

If there is enough of a market and if you think you can put in sufficient controls easily enough could be barriers for mass market providers to offer such a policy and it may well be cost prohibitive for more specialist insurers to touch it - ie could be done but at £500 a year premium they realise it wont sell.

If you ever go to Lloyds then you ultimate get insurer's underwriters willing to sit there with a blank sheet of paper and draw up terms or for your broker to go their with their own set of terms and the underwriter puts a price to it but these have high operating costs and so generally high prices.

pollypenny

In January 2010 we were stuck in Florida for 13 days thanks to snow at Gatwick, booked flight cancelled and couldn't get another booking for a week. Repeat with the rebooked flight, although we had to wait 6 days that time.

We'd already been away from 7 Dec so we're over 30 days.

It's only fairly recently that I'd wondered if we were insured. I rang the bank, with whom we are insured, preparing for the card to be used. So at least they knew we were stuck.

And it was flipping freezing in Florida, too.

seadreaming

Thanks for the thoughts on this.
The policy is a multi-trip one through a bank account and the situation was unexpected.
InsideInsurance - I think you're right in that the cost of such insurance might mean that choosing flexible flight tickets (at least for the return) is the less expensive option.
I'd assumed that with potentially many ex-pats/immigrants being in a similar situation it'd be more common than it is.

From what I've found so far the Post Office might cover this - the wording on p.4 of their travel insurance doc states that they do cover "For a close relative, business associate or travel companion who is not insured but whose health may affect the trip" (excluding pre-existing conditions).
I'm going to give them a ring to clarify what this does/doesn't mean.
If I have any success I'll post the details.

maman

seadreaming wrote: »

Thanks for the thoughts on this.
The policy is a multi-trip one through a bank account and the situation was unexpected.
InsideInsurance - I think you're right in that the cost of such insurance might mean that choosing flexible flight tickets (at least for the return) is the less expensive option.
I'd assumed that with potentially many ex-pats/immigrants being in a similar situation it'd be more common than it is.

From what I've found so far the Post Office might cover this - the wording on p.4 of their travel insurance doc states that they do cover "For a close relative, business associate or travel companion who is not insured but whose health may affect the trip" (excluding pre-existing conditions).
I'm going to give them a ring to clarify what this does/doesn't mean.
If I have any success I'll post the details.

I suspect that it means someone who's travelled with you and been taken ill on the trip. But as you say there are many people who could potentially be in your situation. Do keep us posted.

InsideInsurance

maman wrote: »

I suspect that it means someone who's travelled with you and been taken ill on the trip. But as you say there are many people who could potentially be in your situation. Do keep us posted.

Its an irrelevant section, its talking about exclusions.

The Close Relative, doesnt have to be travelling but the only places where cover for Close Relative comes up is in the cancellation and curtailment section. ie if your parent back home becomes critically ill and you want to cancel your holiday. Basically the exact opposite of what the OP wants which is to be able to still travel but stay longer as a result