Travel Insurance - wait or not?

angel549

I have a holiday booked for mid-May for a 10 day holiday in Paphos which cost £2.5k for me and my partner. It's for a friends wedding, so we will absolutely 100% not be cancelling unless something serious happens (i.e. we physcially cannot go due to serious health issue).

Last year, I had an MRI scan and they found a tumour on my spine. They seemed pretty confident that it's benign nothing to worry about, but wouldnt 100% confirm this, and have said that i will still eventually need to have an operation to have it removed. Im due to have another scan in March to check it.

When i booked the holiday last year, I booked travel insurance and disclosed the above information. When i got my policy documents through, it said my policy would not cover the back tumour issue, so i cancelled it.

So to get to the point, should i:

a) wait until after my scan before I book any insurance, as if im then told it's benign, case closed, I can just get a normal policy
b) book the insurance now (assuming it's cheaper the earlier you book) but just don't disclose about the tumour as it's so unlikely to cause a problem
c) find someone who will cover the tumour issue and book it now. Because if anything did happen on holiday that means i needed to claim on insurance, it could be void if i dont disclose the tumour thing. I'm assuming this will be very expensive though despite it being such a small risk

Would really appreciate advice on what to do!

Quentin

Choose c) ASAP!

copperclock

Putting aside the health issue, if one of you were to unexpectedly get knocked down by a bus tomorrow, you'd lose that £2.5k

Also, don't withhold truth from insurance companies. They'll use it as a reason not to pay out.

no.1swimmum

Definitely choose C. That way you are covered should anything at all happen.

We booked a holiday to New York,my 50th Birthday present and at the same time I arranged travel insurance, declaring my medical history. 4 months before we were due to fly DH had a heart attack, totally out or the blue, he had apparently been suffering from Atrial Fibrillation with flutter for some time (a number of years was mentioned by his cardiologist). Thankfully we were fully covered and got a payout for the total amount including theatre tickets etc minus the excess.

He is fine now following two different surgeries, and all being well we are off to Canada at Easter to celebrate our 30th anniversary, all insured and covered for his condition. I would always err on the side of taking out insurance as soon as the trip is booked - the unfortunate can happen at any time.

Have a great time and enjoy the holiday and the wedding.

Nasqueron

Even if the travel insurance won't cover a specific pre-existing condition, it could still cover numerous other bits like cancellation or other medical issues unrelated to that one

angel549

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think my main issue is that at the moment, to insure myself in current situation, it is going to cost £100+, whereas Im almost certain that when I have the scan in March, I will get confirmation that it's benign (seriously, we've known about it 1 year and I've had absolutely no symptoms, they found it while looking for something else!) and then im guessing i wont have to disclose it any more. So if i wait until after the scan I can get insurance for about £20 instead!

Also, I probably should have said, even if i did have to cancel my trip, my boyfriend would still be going as he is best man. So we'd just lose my half of the money which is £1,250.

So should i pay £100-200, which will also have an excess, to cover the possibility of cancelling and losing £1,250 minus that insurance cost and excess. Or risk it, wait until i can get it cheap after the scan (hopefully!)? Sorry, should have explained that better!

Quentin

You will still have to disclose the investigation irrespective of whether the results are benign or otherwise!

You are ignoring the possibility you have to cancel for some other reason - maybe not even related to your own health!

All the advice is to act now on your c)!!

ThinkingOutLoud_2

Your best choice is c).

If you want a) now, why did you cancel the original policy that excluded your back condition?

a) would be less than perfect. That would be the same thing! But, as noted you would have no cover for the tumour OR any costs that may be in part attributable to its presence.

b) makes no sense at all. If you don't declare your condition that would be making a false declaration.

Insurance is not usually cheaper because you book it earlier - there is a longer period with the possibility of a cancellation claim

You seem to think £1,250 is a small amount to lose but that £80 extra for the full insurance was a huge sum. Why on earth do the odds of that appeal to you? You will still have to declare the test and the tumour anyhow.

peachyprice

angel549 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think my main issue is that at the moment, to insure myself in current situation, it is going to cost £100+, whereas Im almost certain that when I have the scan in March, I will get confirmation that it's benign (seriously, we've known about it 1 year and I've had absolutely no symptoms, they found it while looking for something else!) and then im guessing i wont have to disclose it any more. So if i wait until after the scan I can get insurance for about £20 instead!

Also, I probably should have said, even if i did have to cancel my trip, my boyfriend would still be going as he is best man. So we'd just lose my half of the money which is £1,250.

So should i pay £100-200, which will also have an excess, to cover the possibility of cancelling and losing £1,250 minus that insurance cost and excess. Or risk it, wait until i can get it cheap after the scan (hopefully!)? Sorry, should have explained that better!

You will still have to declare the condition, they will ask 'have you received treatment or investigations in the last X amount of months/years, usually 1-2 years. If you say 'no' then try to claim they will reject as soon as they see your medical records, regardless of the nature of any claim. Your policy will be void.

You should have taken the policy offered, you've had a £1.25k holiday booked with absolutely no insurance should anything have happened to make you need to cancel.

TBagpuss

How have you shopped around for the insurance? I have had to search for insurance covering existing conditions as I had an allergic reaction resulting in anaphylactic shock last year.

The quotes I found had a huge variation - between £38 and over £100 for a similar level of cover.

(it's really irritating, as the actual risk is very low, since what I am allergic to is bee stings, and the chance of getting stung, unless I decided to resume beekeeping while on holiday, is tiny, but such is life.)