Travel Insurance for the Old and have been ill

shornoff

My wife and I are 67. She has had breast cancer 5 years ago and thyroid cancer 2 years ago. She is on Statins and blood pressure tablets. At the moment she is cancer free and well.

We cannot find travel insurance to fully cover us.

I took out travel insurance without declaring these conditions. The small print says I will not be covered for any pre-existing conditions.

Fair enough but am I covered for injuries received, say, in a car crash or will they say you didn't disclose conditions and your insurance is void?

InsideInsurance

shornoff wrote: »

Fair enough but am I covered for injuries received, say, in a car crash or will they say you didn't disclose conditions and your insurance is void?

Did they ask for the conditions to be disclosed? Some policies that simply dont cover pre-existing dont bother asking in which case you'd be fine.

If they did ask and you failed to mention it then things are more complex. If they believe its an oversight and they would have insured you had you declared them then they'd still have to provide cover but can charge you any additional premium due. If they wouldnt have insured you had you declared them then they have possible grounds for avoiding the claim. If they believe you committed fraud by intentionally not declaring them then they can void the policy

travelgran

Some companies allow you to exclude your existing conditions from cover, though I think you are expected to declare them first.
I was told that in the event of an accident for example I would be covered. If the need for medical help arose directly from my condition, I wouldn't.

[Deleted User]

Personally I would phone them and ask, They are all individual so get the right answer from you company, you will be pleased if the worst happened and you are covered, not just maybe

goneshopping

I use a company caled Freespirit for my Grandad's insurance - he's 85, takes tablets for high blood pressure and has a pacemaker which he only had fitted last year.

They specialise in people over 60 and medicall conditions.

Hope this helps.

martindow

There is an article on the MSE site

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance#tool

that suggests some specialist insurers.

Within the EC you are taking a calculated risk by excluding pre-existing conditions as the EHIC card should give you treatment on the same terms as people in the country if the worst comes to the worst. Of course there would be no cover for some things like repatriation.

If you are going to somewhere like the US you would be crazy to go without compete and comprehensive cover.

elsien

The problem with not declaring is that if you become ill rather than having an accident you run the risk of the insurer declining cover if they can link it to previous or current illnesses, whether there appears to be a direct link or not. You could choose to exclude the cancer, for example, but have cover for the blood pressure as its more relevant and still ongoing.
Do you have a packaged bank account? My mothers covers her up to age 75 and she phones them to discuss what's covered and to add extra cover if necessary. High blood pressure is covered in the basic package.