Policy cancelled before able to make a claim

farley1982

Hi

I'll try to keep this brief but looking for anyone who has faced similar.

I booked a cruise for jan 2023 and took out insurance with admirral, annual policy starting 5th Jan 2023 paid in full and had relevant cover, ie cruise cover and declared all medical conditions

Last week I was hospitalised suddenly and discovered I have gallstones and one was blocked. I was put on an emergency list for gallbladder removal. 

I phoned the travel agent who advised its treated as a cancellation and it would cost us 90% of the original fees to cancel or reschedule. So I phoned admirral, explained what had happened and asked how we make a claim

I was shocked to be told my policy would be cancelled because they couldn't cover me as I was on a waiting list for surgery and so I couldn't make a claim?! I objected, naturally, and they said they had escalated it to the underwriter, but rang me later than day to say it was still to be cancelled. 

Has anyone else faced this scenario, I have submitted a claim as they seem to be in breach of their terms but the stress of it is also affecting me, we'll lose nearly £7k 

I received an email to confirm cancellation and they're funded me the total amount I paid for the policy, but this still does not help me with the inability to claim for cancellation. 

Any advice would be appreciated 

unforeseen

insurance with admirral, annual policy starting 5th Jan 2023

I would say that that is the relevant bit. Insurance is not currently in force, however you are now adding a new medical event that they are not willing to cover. 

TadleyBaggie

Which is why when getting travel insurance for a future date, make sure the cover starts immediately.

Grumpy_chap

farley1982 said:

annual policy starting 5th Jan 2023 paid in full and had relevant cover, ie cruise cover and declared all medical conditions

You need to claim on the annual travel insurance policy that covers the current period, when the insured event occurred.  Not the policy that covers events from 5th January next year.

DullGreyGuy

farley1982 said:

I booked a cruise for jan 2023 and took out insurance with admirral, annual policy starting 5th Jan 2023 paid in full and had relevant cover, ie cruise cover and declared all medical conditions

With annual travel insurance you choose the date you want the policy to start on, before that date you have no cover because the policy hasnt started yet. If you currently have no insurance and are looking to buy annual cover you generally want it to start immediately or at least just before you BOOK any trip. They allow people to future date the start for those who already have insurance and just wanting to ensure they have back to back cover. 

With single trip insurance its different, you arent asked for a start date of the policy but a start date of the trip, the policy commences as soon as you buy it. 

Assuming you didnt already have annual travel insurance then there will be no cover for this illness given its happened before your policy started. As you now are unable to travel if Admiral allow the policy to continue or decline it for the new pre-existing condition is broadly irrelevant.

Have you looked into the cost of private treatment for your condition? A quick google suggests its less than the £7k you stand to lose if you are unfit to travel.

TELLIT01

Sorry, but as others have said, you can't claim off the Admiral policy which has started yet.  If you didn't have an active annual travel policy it may be worth checking if you have anything via your bank account.  Even if you do it's unlikely to provide cover if you haven't informed them of existing medical conditions. 

The_Fat_Controller

Well done Admiral if they gave a full refund out with any cooling off period !

Unfortunately as the policy had not commenced you cannot claim from them.

GrumpyDil

OP. Your really odd mistake seems to have been to take out annual travel insurance with a future start date. Do you have a current policy as if you do that would be the policy to claim on. 

If you don't and choose to have the Admiral policy with a start date of 5th Jan then you have no cover. 

DullGreyGuy

The_Fat_Controller said:

Well done Admiral if they gave a full refund out with any cooling off period !

They'd have to, they are choosing to cancel the policy due to the changing circumstances and there has been no cover provided to date to justify any pro-rata refund. 

SiliconChip

DullGreyGuy said:

farley1982 said:

I booked a cruise for jan 2023 and took out insurance with admirral, annual policy starting 5th Jan 2023 paid in full and had relevant cover, ie cruise cover and declared all medical conditions

Have you looked into the cost of private treatment for your condition? A quick google suggests its less than the £7k you stand to lose if you are unfit to travel.

It's very unlikely that the OP would be deemed fit for travel in January even if a laparoscopic cholecystectomy could be privately arranged before the planned departure date (and even less likely if the procedure has to be an open one). And even if the OP does feel well enough to travel I'd imagine getting insurance so soon after what is fairly major surgery would be quite difficult.

I found myself in a similar position a few years ago, although it took 8 months to get my gallbladder removed as the Covid pandemic arrived while I was waiting for my first op date. I had a trip to NZ planned but I had taken out single trip cover when I booked the flights so when I had to cancel the trip I got pretty much all the money that I'd paid out back without a quibble.

DullGreyGuy

SiliconChip said:

DullGreyGuy said:

farley1982 said:

I booked a cruise for jan 2023 and took out insurance with admirral, annual policy starting 5th Jan 2023 paid in full and had relevant cover, ie cruise cover and declared all medical conditions

Have you looked into the cost of private treatment for your condition? A quick google suggests its less than the £7k you stand to lose if you are unfit to travel.

It's very unlikely that the OP would be deemed fit for travel in January even if a laparoscopic cholecystectomy could be privately arranged before the planned departure date (and even less likely if the procedure has to be an open one). And even if the OP does feel well enough to travel I'd imagine getting insurance so soon after what is fairly major surgery would be quite difficult.

Not my area of expertise and so was just going by https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/accidents-first-aid-and-treatments/when-can-i-fly-after-surgery/  though appreciate there is a difference between being medically fit to fly and feeling up for a holiday.

Post surgery travel insurance is certainly going to be easier (a relative term) to arrange than pre-surgery