Declaring illness fully recovered for travel insurance

Ilovecupcakes

Wondering if anyone can tell me if they know if whooping cough should be declared as a previous illness for travel insurance? I had it in April this year (public health were notified) and l am planning a European city break in November this year. I am fully recovered from the cough with no apparent long term symptoms but l notice that some insurers ask you to declare things like flu so l wasn't sure if l should? Presume declaring would put the cost up considerably for what is meant to be a cheapish city break. Thanks!

elsien

 Staysure asks about any medical condition in the last two years. So for whooping cough, there is just one additional question which is have you recovered or not, With a simple yes no answer. 

I wouldn’t expect it to make a huge amount of difference to your quote.
You need to check the exact wording of the application form for the policy you are looking at and I would put it in rather than leaving it out but not all conditions lead to an increase. There is more of a risk in leaving it out if something happens while you’re away which they then decide could be linked.

sheramber

You need to answer the medical questions correctly. givng all the relevant information.

If they ask for details of any medical conditions or visits to your GP then you need to give details of them all.

If you don't you could find your policy  is void when you try to claim.

If you are not sure then contact the company concerned to be sure.

maman

In my experience (currently with Staysure) they want to know any health issues however minor or recovered from. I had a simple muscle strain from dancing (long since cleared up) and they put that down on my policy. I don't think it added to the premium though.

So, yes, you should declare the whooping cough. 

TELLIT01

We used Staysure once.  My wife had a visit to the doctor and referral to hospital for tests which determined that the 'problem' was just a benign cyst.  I called Staysure who said "Thank you for advising us.  That won't have any effect on the premium, just a £20 charge for adding the information to your file"!  Haven't used them again.

DullGreyGuy

Ilovecupcakes said:

Wondering if anyone can tell me if they know if whooping cough should be declared as a previous illness for travel insurance? I had it in April this year (public health were notified) and l am planning a European city break in November this year. I am fully recovered from the cough with no apparent long term symptoms but l notice that some insurers ask you to declare things like flu so l wasn't sure if l should? Presume declaring would put the cost up considerably for what is meant to be a cheapish city break. Thanks!

Simply answer the questions they ask you honestly, dont try and second guess what they mean or think that "surely they dont mean..." too many people post on here that they decided that the insurer didnt want to know about something and then have their claim declined. 

Most insurers will ask for every condition/illness etc you've had in a 2-5 year period and then ask about major conditions prior to that. They normally state its anything you've taken medication for, sort medical advice on or symptoms you've had

Ganga

TELLIT01 said:

We used Staysure once.  My wife had a visit to the doctor and referral to hospital for tests which determined that the 'problem' was just a benign cyst.  I called Staysure who said "Thank you for advising us.  That won't have any effect on the premium, just a £20 charge for adding the information to your file"!  Haven't used them again.

When you say you have not used them again was it because of the £20 charge?  

Annemos

I have not had experience with other Insurers, but I have particularly noticed this below, in Staysure reviews. 

There is no flexibility at all, as far as I can see. A couple of customers also posted that they then went to the the rivals and did get cover. 

Here is what Staysure reply:  (my highlights). 

=======================================

There are times when a traveller has an undiagnosed condition, awaiting a procedure, tests or test results, no matter how minor, where our underwriters have taken the decision to exclude all pre-existing medical conditions.

This is due to the fact that they are unable to determine how the current medical circumstance with your condition is or will be affecting your other declared pre-existing conditions. It also means they are unable to determine the level of cover that would be required on your travel insurance policy in relation to this condition.

As all of these medical circumstances can affect the cover on your policy, our underwriters take an 'all in' or 'all out' approach in order to ensure that our customers fully understand what is and is not covered on their travel insurance.

We do understand it is frustrating, especially if you feel that the procedure/tests you are awaiting is a minor one. We will ensure that your feedback is passed onto the relevant team to review for future improvements.

TELLIT01

Ganga said:

TELLIT01 said:

We used Staysure once.  My wife had a visit to the doctor and referral to hospital for tests which determined that the 'problem' was just a benign cyst.  I called Staysure who said "Thank you for advising us.  That won't have any effect on the premium, just a £20 charge for adding the information to your file"!  Haven't used them again.

When you say you have not used them again was it because of the £20 charge?  

In part, but it's not the only reason.  I won't go into those.

twopenny

Interesting because Staysure insured me for a boat holiday on the Indian Ocean. The following year I wanted the same and was told 'no'.......we don't insure dive boats.

So I went online to the boats website and it was declared a 'Boutique Cruiser' which was a bit of a laugh but I rang back and was told 'certainly we can insure that'

Same boat, same company and trip.

They used to be my go to but they've got so pernickity it's just pointless.

Yes, and the 'muscle strain dancing' I declared that too and was told anything to do with it could be removed as part of the insurance. But then if I got pushed, hurt my arm whatever it could be argued that it was a result of the leg strain.