Why declare medical conditions for travel insurance?

Munkee2

Hi all,

I'm due to travel to France in three weeks for a holiday. I have fibromyalgia and Grave's Disease and have some questions about travel insurance.

- Is it a legal requirement to declare medical conditions when applying for T.I?

- If I DON'T declare them, and one of my conditions requires treatment whilst abroad, isn't the financial side of that dealt with via my EHIC card, even though the EHIC card is NOT the same as T.I?

- What happens if I DON'T declare them and one of my conditions requires treatment overseas? How will that affect my T.I and how will having T.I help, other than repatriation if I were to die?

- If I DO declare them, how will having T.I help? Why pay so much extra? What am I paying extra FOR?

The cheapest quote I've received WITH declaring both conditions was just under £8, but the excess was £250 which is completely and utterly useless to me. With a £50 excess, the cheapest quote I got was around the £25 mark. Surely I can do better than that?

Any advice would be very much appreciated! Many thanks

zagfles

The EHIC card gets you state medical treatment on basically the same basis as the locals get it. Some stuff you have to pay for (like you do in the UK), see the country guide on the EHIC site http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/Pages/EEAcountries.aspx

Travel insurance gets you cover over what the EHIC provides eg repatriation, costs you have to pay even with the EHIC, and possibly private treatment. If you don't declare medical conditions they won't pay if something happens caused by that condition.

elsien

If you don't declare, then not only will the insurer not pay up for existing conditions, they are likely to refuse to pay for any illness they consider to be related in some way. Even if it's not obviously related or if it causes complications to an unrelated illness.

TI also gives you cover for an air ambulance home if you are seriously ill/in an accident and for relatives expenses while there if you overstay due to illness. My uncle had to be taken to hospital in Lisbon off a cruise- he was in hospital for 3 weeks in Lisbon so my Aunt needed accommodation, food and transport costs to stay with him , then a medical flight home to an intensive care unit for him and airfare home for her. He had a pre-existing condition but was well when he went on holiday and his illness arose from a simple chest infection.

You're also covered for cancellation costs if you're not able to go on holiday for various reasons. You're talking £25 to cover you for possibly into thousands of additional costs if it does go pear-shaped. Compared to the cost of the holiday, that's a tiny amount.
That's the point of insurance - it's unlikely to happen, but what if it does ?

bluenoseam

If the complications of your illness can result in potentially having to repatriate you then ask yourself if you can afford the resulting costs of a medical repatriation. Problem would also be if you fell ill on holiday - even with something completely unrelated - your insurer could in theory completely refuse to cover your costs as you haven't been fully honest.

Think of it like this, you're saying your cheapest quote is £8 with a £250 excess, but the reality is that it'll not come to the point where you're paying £250. Chances are it'll be £8 & you'll be fully covered should anything go wrong which if I'm being honest is nothing. I wish I could get away with £8 for full disclosure, even in Europe if I disclose my medical history you can easily add a zero onto that figure and still be out!

Munkee2

Thank you so much to the three of you. You've all got me thinking and now I'm seeing this in a different light. I've just done another quote search using a different website and got a quote for £15.85 with a £50 excess after declaring both conditions. I'm just reading up on the policy and what it covers before I go ahead and pay. Thanks again!

rustyboy21

Declare all the time, not worth the risk.

I have to declare 5 different conditions and one of them, normally then takes off at a tangent, as the medication I take for it, is not licensed for treating that condition, so it then goes into blood pressure questions, heart issues etc, even though I dont suffer with them.

For the amount you pay, it will give you peace of mind, if anything happened whilst away I wouldn't want to be stuck in some countries state hospitals a minute longer than needed.

pendragon_arther

Just think of insurance companies in the way they don't like paying out and at the slightest excuse won't. So it's always best to cover all angles and be honest and open.

missbiggles1

If you're just going to France, I wouldn't bother with insurance, if your household policy covers you for theft etc. You'll be covered for at least 70% of your medical costs (100% in an emergency) and nobody in their right mind would want to be airlifted back to the NHS when they could be treated in a French hospital!

Doshwaster

Munkee2 wrote: »

Thank you so much to the three of you. You've all got me thinking and now I'm seeing this in a different light. I've just done another quote search using a different website and got a quote for £15.85 with a £50 excess after declaring both conditions. I'm just reading up on the policy and what it covers before I go ahead and pay. Thanks again!

If you go abroad more than once each year it could be worth getting an annual policy. In fact, sometimes an annual policy costs more than single trip cover. It also means that you can book a last minute trip without the danger of forgetting about arranging insurance.

mgdavid

Doshwaster wrote: »

...... In fact, sometimes an annual policy costs more than single trip cover. .......

that's normal.
Maybe you meant 'less'?

sheramber

It is not just a case of repatriation.

There was recently an appeal for the family of a girl who was visiting family in Europe. On an overnight stay on the journey there she fell in the street and banged her head rendering her unconscious. She
remained on a coma several weeks later.
Yes, her treatment was covered but her partner stayed to be with her and was incurring accommodation and personal costs. Obviously, he was not getting paid so desperately needed money.

They had no insurance as they didn't think they would need it, since they were going to be staying with family.