Broken Arm after purchasing travel insurance but before traveling

tilleythetoon

Hiya,

Apologies in advanced if the question has been asked before, I have searched and couldn't see the answer I was looking for so here goes:

I purchased my travel insurance 2 weeks ago for our family holiday next week to Cyprus and one week later my son breaks his arm.

Obviously at the time we didn't know about this so its not declared as a pre-existing condition and the doctors have given him the all clear to fly so the holiday wont be cancelled.

If while we're on holiday there is a need for his arm to be re-cast will my travel insurance cover this?

Because I have lost all faith in humanity and banks, should I notify them now, i'm worried they will cancel our insurance and insist we pay a higher premium,

shaun_from_Africa

Most, if not all insurers state that you are required to inform them of any medical conditions that arise after the policy has been taken out so if you don't do this and there are any complications before or during the holiday, they would probably decline to pay out.

Children breaking arms is quite a common occurrence and probably something that the insurers deal with on a regular basis and as your son has been given clearance to fly, I doubt if there will be much of a change in the premium.

thorsoak

I would phone the insurance company and notify them now - just in case there are problems when you are on holiday.

If they do insist on cancelling the insurance, then you have just enough time to seek further information.

pompeyrich

if your son's arm is still in plaster, you might need a fit to fly letter from your Dr. Maybe worth contacting the Airline just in case.
Ryanair insisted my friends son needed a letter to fly with a cast, the doc charged £20 for it but no one asked for it at the airport!

daveyjp

You have no choice but to let insurance know as it is a material change in medical circumstances.

However, my daughter broke her hand three weeks before we travelled. She was in a pot, called insurance and they weren't at all bothered as there was no ongoing requirement for medical treatment.

simongregson

There are several cases where complaints have been made to regulators, regarding single trip insurance in this situation.

Essentially the insurance company took on the risk of an insured person developing a medical condition when they insured them, so the regulator deemed any increase in premium or cancellation of the insurance for this reason to be unfair. Therefore you should be OK, by all means let the insurer know but also know the position of the regulator in case they try and pull a fast one and demand more money or cancel the insurance.

verityboo

As above, it depends on the type of policy. The OP needs to read their travel insurance policy details

Our single trip insurance for an upcoming holiday is clear that it does not require changes to health or medical condition to be declared after the policy/holiday have been purchased. They do though for annual multi-trip policies

tilleythetoon

The outcome:

Spoke to insurance company they made a note of it and we flew happily on our way. No problems what so every

:-)