Travel Insurance

SkintGit

Martin always says travel insure when you book not later. Good point. However if you take an annual policy and have paid for it, why do they ask you to update such as medical events such as changes in medication and test results. They also say they can then alter the policy charge so you need to pay an additional amount plus maybe an admin charge too. Surely once you have paid in good faith you would still be covered until the policy expires? otherwise say you book say a 14 day holiday and get insurance just for that 14 days) and part way thru an illness or accident leaves you more vulnerable to other illnesses or accidents then they would also in that case charge an additional premium too?

user1977

Not during your holiday, but they'd want to know if your health changes before you leave home. Would (probably) be cheaper for them to pay for a cancellation than for treatment/repatriation once you're abroad.

TELLIT01

Wanting to know about any tests can be a nice little earner for them.  I contacted one insurer to tell them about tests my wife had undergone.  They said they wouldn't affect the premium, but there would be a £20 admin fee for updating the records!

SkintGit

I assumed that once you paid for the policy, be it a week, a month or a year, then it was fixed. That is why I gave the scenario of would they change it half way thru a holiday say. A contract is offered, accepted, paid for and binding?

DullGreyGuy

SkintGit said:

I assumed that once you paid for the policy, be it a week, a month or a year, then it was fixed. That is why I gave the scenario of would they change it half way thru a holiday say. A contract is offered, accepted, paid for and binding?

Yes, and that binding contract states that if you develop new conditions you must inform them and they may generate an additional premium if you want them covered.

As you say, ultimately you need to read the T&Cs of your contract as each policy is unique. Generally, at least the last time I looked at Travel, you need to look at the three dates, when you bought the policy, when you booked the holiday and when you got ill. If you buy a holiday and annual policy but then get sick you need to inform your insurer, you will be covered for the trip you've already booked, any additional premium is in relation to any holiday you book after getting sick however they may decide they cannot cover the illness and therefore give you a choice of claiming for your holiday you already had booked or travelling with that condition excluded. 

SkintGit

Therefore, by the same type of reasoning, you book a holiday xxx weeks in advance, then after a few weeks conditions change a week or three before planned departure (Example Covid in one of the countries and government advice/orders to such) you would have to inform them and pay an additional premium or not be covered?






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SkintGit

Another example, you have annual household insurance, buildings and contents. A very large rock comes smashing into your home. You alert insurers etc etc etc. They organise getting rock/boulder out of the way and temporary shore up as best possible for permanent work to be undertaken. Just prior to (or during the work as it commences) the house collapses because it is not yet sufficiently strong to sustain other stresses (say another rock/boulder - totally unrelated to the first one) that would have been the case if the temporary repair left it a bit weaker for that short period. Have they the right to increase that premium or refuse to insure you?

SkintGit

Or to put it another way, You have an illness/condition A for 10 years and there is a 20% likelihood of the gen population having that condition for 10 to 20 years getting new condition D. And condition B for 2 years has a likelihood of increasing your chances by 50%of getting condition E during the next 3 years. And you have condition C the day before you took out the policy and that gives a likelihood of you getting condition F to 90% during the next year. All of your conditions A,B & C you duly informed them of all circumstances prior to the policy. They gave you insurance then surely they calculated such risks. The day before your holiday you get/become aware you have/might have conditions D,E & F. They increase the premium or do not cover you? You have done all you reasonably can to inform them as to your current status prior to insurance. Would you expect any difference in approach to annual travel insurance in comparison to single trip travel insurance, in both cases the insurance was taken out three months before intended travel? Yet the travel insurance advice is to buy when (or before) you book the holiday.

DullGreyGuy

SkintGit said:

Or to put it another way, You have an illness/condition A for 10 years and there is a 20% likelihood of the gen population having that condition for 10 to 20 years getting new condition D. And condition B for 2 years has a likelihood of increasing your chances by 50%of getting condition E during the next 3 years. And you have condition C the day before you took out the policy and that gives a likelihood of you getting condition F to 90% during the next year. All of your conditions A,B & C you duly informed them of all circumstances prior to the policy. They gave you insurance then surely they calculated such risks. The day before your holiday you get/become aware you have/might have conditions D,E & F. They increase the premium or do not cover you? You have done all you reasonably can to inform them as to your current status prior to insurance. Would you expect any difference in approach to annual travel insurance in comparison to single trip travel insurance, in both cases the insurance was taken out three months before intended travel? Yet the travel insurance advice is to buy when (or before) you book the holiday.

Related conditions are often bucketed together so for example if you had PCOS and Insulin Resistance you are likely to be asked the same questions as someone who has Diabetes Type 2 and a subsequent declaration that you now have Diabetes 2 but still no hospital admissions, still managed by oral medicines, still no incidents of hypoglycemia below X or hyperglycemia above Y and so unlikely to result in any changes.

Declaration of medical conditions after inception of the policy (assuming symptoms started post the policy) are in relation to holidays not yet booked. Any holidays booked prior to those symptoms would be covered even if after doing medical screening the insurer says they cannot cover the medical condition on any future trips. 

To give your rather strange "rock" scenario it would like you putting on an extension to the property after the rocks hit... you need to pay the AP for that extension even though you bought an annual policy but the damage to the existing building by the rock is already covered. 

SkintGit

I understand the first rock is covered but then the second rock is a bigger risk because the house is not in the same condition as it was before the second rock hit

SkintGit

correction - that last bit should read it is not in the same condition as it was before the first rock hit