Travel Insurance - Awaiting minor surgery

ProdigyV1

Hello,

I hope this is in the right forum but please move it if it isn't.

I am travelling to Australia (via Singapore) on the 16th of January next year and I'm looking to purchase Holiday insurance for my trip.

I am having a few issues with gaining the quote (using comparison sites) as I'm trying to be honest about my medical conditions, however when I throw in the fact I'm awaiting surgery (it's a minor one) I am unable to get a quote. It just coming up saying we can't provide a quote. If I just put my medical conditions in without stating I'm awaiting surgery, I am able to receive quotes absolutely fine.

So I'm wondering in this case what should I do. The surgery is for one of my medical conditions (sinusitis) and it is very minor. A 1 hour procedure that will be done under sedation and I will be discharged the same date. I am yet to receive a date from the ENT department and they know about my Holiday. I don't want to risk anything if I was to make a claim so I want to be honest and up front. I mean it's not a major surgery and the risk involved is very low. The only effect the issue that I require for surgery has on me is that I can't breathe properly through my nose and it doesn't really have any impact on my day to day life. Obviously this is not as serious as if I was waiting for heart surgery or something like that but based on the results it doesn't seem like they differentiate at all no matter what surgery one requires.

Someone has suggested looking at the quotes first and then calling the insurance provider I'm interested in before just to make them aware of the pending surgery. Is this the best course of action?

Sorry for rambling but I want to make sure I do everything right. Many thanks.

jonesMUFCforever

They won't like the uncertainty of a possible claim SHOULD something go wrong before you travel.

If I was going to the other side of the world I would have purchased travel insurance as soon as the flights were booked.
Having said that do you have any paid for bank accounts which offer travel insurance - ask them if they would cover you minus your sinus?

comeandgo

Gosh, you have left insurance late. Try the old fashioned way and phone the companies and explain and they will quote you a price. We have had to do this with travel insurance due to all the past illness and problems we have. They will not quote on line when it's something out of the normal.

George_Michael

What will probably be the main reason for the refusal to quote for a policy is the fact that you will be having surgery of some sort on your sinuses and one of the post operative effects of this often means that you can't travel by air for a certain period of time. (I had a minor operation to remove nasal polyps a couple of years ago and I couldn't travel by air until 18 days after the op).

Even traveling before the operation will pose an increased risk to the insurers as there is the possibility that your trouble breathing through your nose could get worse due to the pressure changes when flying.

ProdigyV1

Yeah silly from my part not booking sooner. For some reason I always leave it late.

The issue is something I've been seeing consultant's about for 5+ years and I've never had any complications from it as of yet. I only knew I was to get surgery at the start of the year.

I'll have a look at my banks policy later on this evening and I think I'll also call a few providers tomorrow too.

maman

Do come back and tell us how you get on.:)

I have to say I'm not hopeful that you will get anything cheap. In my experience the people on the phone follow a script set for them by actuaries and things like consultant appointments and tests and procedures are always red flags.

My GP is very thorough and often asks for tests to eliminate things. That's great until I start looking for travel insurance.

ProdigyV1

I've found a few websites that specifically say they are for those that are awaiting surgery. They are about £20-30 more expensive than the quotation sites which don't offer me quotes unless I say I'm not awaiting surgery. This isn't too bad and I already know my premiums will be a bit higher than average because of some medical conditions that are unrelated to the one I require surgery for.

I'm going to call a few either tomorrow or Saturday then make a decision. I might call an insurance broker too.

TELLIT01

Comparison sites generally simply can't provide quotes if the question about awaiting surgery has been answered 'Yes' as the systems aren't set up to calculate the risk factors. Look at the ones which will offer cover when you answer 'No', and then call them. That's the only way you are likely to get cover. In many instances free travel insurance from your bank is useless in this type of situation. They will simply refuse all cover, not just exclude the upcoming surgery.

NoodleDoodleMan

Excuse my ignorance - is sinusitis a condition that could be adversely impacted by flying in a pressurised airline cabin ?

No doubt the consultant is aware of your imminent flight ?