excessive holiday insurance costs

SPUTNIC

why are we charged so much for travel insurance for what are now everyday conditions for example cholesterol and  blood pressure surely if i know  about these and are  under control with medications i must be less of a risk than someone who does not go to to a doctor for regular checkups and does not know of any potential problems

Seasalt3

I agree.  Travel insurance with medical conditions has got more and more expensive and the amount of information they want you a declare makes you wonder if its worthwhile travelling abroad these days

Hoenir

As with any insurance risk is priced. The population is ageing. Claims as a consequence more frequent. 

BarelySentientAI

SPUTNIC said:

why are we charged so much for travel insurance for what are now everyday conditions for example cholesterol and  blood pressure surely if i know  about these and are  under control with medications i must be less of a risk than someone who does not go to to a doctor for regular checkups and does not know of any potential problems

Statistically you're more likely to have a claim.

Statistically it would cost more if you were to have a claim.

Underwriters only care about statistics.

TELLIT01

Do you have travel insurance bundled with your bank account?  The only thing I had to declare was hip replacement and the added cost for covering that was £60.

k12479

SPUTNIC said:

why are we charged so much for travel insurance for what are now everyday conditions...

Conditions becoming more common i.e. an 'everyday condition' doesn't mean the likelihood of cancellation, treatment abroad required or death is reduced. In fact, with a larger pool of people having these conditions more people will have episodes requiring insurance payouts therefore premiums will need to be higher.

SPUTNIC said:

surely if i know  about these and are  under control with medications i must be less of a risk than someone who does not go to to a doctor for regular checkups and does not know of any potential problems

But you're a worse risk than those who also have regular check ups and have nothing diagnosed.

vacheron

SPUTNIC said:

why are we charged so much for travel insurance for what are now everyday conditions for example cholesterol and  blood pressure surely if i know  about these and are  under control with medications i must be less of a risk than someone who does not go to to a doctor for regular checkups and does not know of any potential problems

Travel insurance is just like car insurance, it is all based on risk and probability gained from real world data and the millons and millions of claims that that have been made.

Also, if I kept the car insurance analogy, your comment above is like saying that a driver who has been repeatedly caught speeding and attended multiple speed awareness courses is a lower risk on the roads than someone who has never been caught speeding.

That said however, the amount mor you will pay for travel insurance also hugely depends on the risk or requiring treatment, the potential severity of the treatment, and the cost of medical services in the country being visited.


As a good example, my wife and sister in law both have the same declarable medical condition, however my Sister in law has had surgery for it whereas my wife has not. We have just arranged travel insurance for 5 days in barcelona for myself, my wife and my child for £26 whereas my brother and sister in law and their daughter (all similar ages to us) were quoted £1,500 for the cheapest travel insurance for 2 weeks in America!

tacpot12

vacheron said:

...

As a good example, my wife and sister in law both have the same declarable medical condition, however my Sister in law has had surgery for it whereas my wife has not. We have just arranged travel insurance for 5 days in barcelona for myself, my wife and my child for £26 whereas my brother and sister in law and their daughter (all similar ages to us) were quoted £1,500 for the cheapest travel insurance for 2 weeks in America!

This will in part be bcause in Spain you have reciprocal health care cover, and for costs that are not covered by this, the cost will be much lower than in the USA. If you fall ill in the USA, you can expect it to cost an arm and a leg!