Need recommendations for Travel insurance specialist companies or brokers

Mishomeister

Can anyone recommend any good travel insurance company or brokers that can arrange reasonably priced travel insurance?

The condition is a mental health illness.

Thanks a lot

DullGreyGuy

The average price of travel insurance is £15, as such margins are very thin and so not many traditional brokers get involved as who wants to spend an hour or two discuss a client with the market etc in the hopes of making a £2 commission?

The few real specialist companies out there instead tend to focus on the high net worth where premiums are higher and people are more concerned about the quality of cover than the price. 

Do you need the medical condition covered or would you be happy to have insurance that covers you for everything but mental illness?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/pre-existing-travel-insurance/ has a few suggestions of places to try but ultimately its really about shopping around. 

The other option to consider is if your bank offers a packaged account with travel insurance? Certainly some of those can have better options than standalone insurance. With Barclays they initially excluded cover for a pre-existing psychiatric condition but gave cover for everything else and then suddenly after it was X years after any hospitalisations then they covered it without any premium loading.

Mishomeister

DullGreyGuy said:

The average price of travel insurance is £15, as such margins are very thin and so not many traditional brokers get involved as who wants to spend an hour or two discuss a client with the market etc in the hopes of making a £2 commission?

The few real specialist companies out there instead tend to focus on the high net worth where premiums are higher and people are more concerned about the quality of cover than the price. 

Do you need the medical condition covered or would you be happy to have insurance that covers you for everything but mental illness?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/pre-existing-travel-insurance/ has a few suggestions of places to try but ultimately its really about shopping around. 

The other option to consider is if your bank offers a packaged account with travel insurance? Certainly some of those can have better options than standalone insurance. With Barclays they initially excluded cover for a pre-existing psychiatric condition but gave cover for everything else and then suddenly after it was X years after any hospitalisations then they covered it without any premium loading.

Thanks. I think my main fear here is if for example she say gets hit by a car (whilst say crossing the road on a green light) and while the episode is not in anyway related to her mental illness the insurers might decide to argue that as the condition wasn't declared, they will not pay...

DullGreyGuy

Mishomeister said:

DullGreyGuy said:

The average price of travel insurance is £15, as such margins are very thin and so not many traditional brokers get involved as who wants to spend an hour or two discuss a client with the market etc in the hopes of making a £2 commission?

The few real specialist companies out there instead tend to focus on the high net worth where premiums are higher and people are more concerned about the quality of cover than the price. 

Do you need the medical condition covered or would you be happy to have insurance that covers you for everything but mental illness?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/pre-existing-travel-insurance/ has a few suggestions of places to try but ultimately its really about shopping around. 

The other option to consider is if your bank offers a packaged account with travel insurance? Certainly some of those can have better options than standalone insurance. With Barclays they initially excluded cover for a pre-existing psychiatric condition but gave cover for everything else and then suddenly after it was X years after any hospitalisations then they covered it without any premium loading.

Thanks. I think my main fear here is if for example she say gets hit by a car (whilst say crossing the road on a green light) and while the episode is not in anyway related to her mental illness the insurers might decide to argue that as the condition wasn't declared, they will not pay...

You have to declare whatever the insurer asks you to declare, wasn't suggesting otherwise. Just some insurers will say we won't cover X but will cover everything else whereas others will say we'll cover it for £100 or may say they won't sell any policy to a person with your condition. 

So if you are happy for mental health conditions to be excluded as it's always X and related conditions, then that may give you more options than if you definitely want cover for the condition itself. 

The one challenge of cause if it isn't covered with your walking into traffic example is if its maybe considered a suicide attempt (if the condition is depression etc) or due to psychotic episode (if the condition is schizophrenia). Obviously will come down to the circumstances etc... trying to commit suicide on a zebra crossing would be unlikely. 

Clearly if its you develop an illness then its much clearer cut that its not going to have been related to whatever may be going on in the head. 

prettyandfluffy

Try calling https://www.biba.org.uk/ (office hours) and they will be able to give you a list of insurers who will be able to help you.  You will probably have to answer questions in a conversation with one of the insurer's medical advisers.  I had to do this when waiting for diagnostic tests and then, a year later, waiting for surgery.  The cover was good and the premiums ok.