Advice before cancelling very expensive holiday

monty4paws

eDicky said:

heatherw_01 said:

I hope she declared the medical conditions otherwise they may not cover it as all pre existing conditions must be declared.

Even if she herself was not travelling? It's not specifically stated, but sounds to me like she was not part of the trip...

Sorry yes I should have specified, mum is not travelling on the trip.

DullGreyGuy

monty4paws said:

eskbanker said:

monty4paws said:

It says cancellation is covered for:

"The death, injury due to an accident, illness, disease, or pregnancy complication of you, your travel companion, your close relative or your colleague."

That seems an extraordinarily vague clause that's open to many interpretations, one of which is any illness technically qualifying, but I don't believe for a second that it would pay out if cancelling because a colleague had a cold!

monty4paws said:

We booked a couple of years ago on the trip of a lifetime, costing over £40k. 

Just to check, does the policy definitely cover the full cost of that booking anyway, as most wouldn't?

Yes full amount covered. With an expensive trip like this you buy a main policy, then buy an additional 'top up policy from a separate insurer for the extra. 

The top up policy us very straightforward, it simply pays out if the main insurer pays out.

How many people are travelling? Is the £40k per person or total for all travellers?  Certainly layering is one option to achieve a higher limit though there are policies out there that go up to £500,000 of cover without needing to buy a second layer of cover. 

That said there are plenty who'll go to £15k pp so if there are three of you travelling it could also have been a single standard policy. 

monty4paws said:

DullGreyGuy said:

monty4paws said:

We booked a couple of years ago on the trip of a lifetime, costing over £40k. Unfortunately my mum's health has deteriorated rapidly in the last 6 months, and has been in and out of hospital.

Right now she's in hospital again although hopefully coming out soon. She has a number of medical issues and the situation is extremely worrying, I simply cannot be going away right now. I would not enjoy a trip away it would simply be stressful being away, plus my parents very much need me as they have no one else to support them.

So I'd like to cancel. Due to how close the trip is, unfortunately the holiday company has said they cannot allow us to change the dates. So our only option is to cancel outright.

Before I do this and contact our travel insurer, I have read through all the Ts and Cs of the policy. It says cancellation is covered for:

"The death, injury due to an accident, illness, disease, or pregnancy complication of you, your travel companion, your close relative or your colleague."

My mum has multiple illness issues so it is that clause I would be claiming under. Under exclusions, it excludes any illness of a close relative which requires 'treatment'.

My mum has an ongoing progressive condition which we knew about, but which at the time of booking the trip was not affecting her badly nor getting any worse. Clearly this condition falls under the 'exclusions'.

However, as a result of the ongoing medical condition, she has just had a fall and done some serious damage which will take months to recover from. She also has a number of other issues very recently identified, which are NOT related to the ongoing progressive condition.

It is the combined impact of ALL of these issues which is making me not want to travel. It is not unlikely that she could end up in hospital yet again shortly after being discharged, as the situation is very precarious.

I suppose really I'm after any insights from people who have been in a similar situation, as to whether I am likely to have issues with getting cancellation cover paid out or not. The situation is complicated given the multiple medical issues, and whilst the ongoing progressive condition I am quite sure is not covered, the other things have arisen separately since.

Do you have a link to the policy book? 
When are you due to travel?
When did you book the holiday?
When did you buy the policy? If its an annual policy, when did you first buy this product with the supplier without any breaks?

Without seeing the exact terms we can only talk in generality and the problem is that these are terms that vary widely between providers. What will also be critical is ultimately what the doctors are going to say. 

What is the doctors current prognosis?


At the budget end of the market they will simply exclude any condition that the person suffered before the policy was bought. In the theoretical top end you could declare non-travelling family conditions and they can say up front if they are covered or not. Some do however cover pre0existing of non-travelling without declaration as long as there is an unexpected and sudden deterioration. 

Part of your problem, if you did buy the holiday years ago, will be what you should have considered reasonable with the condition over such a long duration. It's easy to say something like Parkinson's probably won't change too much in 3 months but over 2 years its harder to be so certain. 

I agree and am only after General advice at this point  I've purposely not been too specific so as not to be identifiable.

I am clear that the lifelong condition will not be covered, which is fine. But there have since been a number of other, veey recent, additional issues which in isolation probably wouldn't be viewed as serious enough to cancel a holiday.

But in total these issues mean a potentially very bleak and uncertain future and that is the reason I cannot travel right now. It is that which I'm worried about.

There was no option to declare family medical issues when I took out the policy, only my own- which I declared. 

We have no formal prognosis, which is to say, each issue is being referred for specialist teams to look at individually but in reality it is clear that mum could end up.back in hospital again very soon, or worse. It's not like having say cancer , where you get a prognosis and have some formal steer.  It's less clear than that, as lots of separate issues add up to overall a huge impact on mum. 

Ultimately you will need to get a doctor to state that the deterioration is not linked to the incurable condition and that whilst right now she is about to get out of hospital that its exceptionally likely that during the course of your trip she would become ill again and either need home support, be admitted or pass. 

As a non-medical person it feels a big ask without an underlying thread underpinning the recent problems but then I'm not privy to her health (perfectly understandable) and not a doctor even if I were to. The insurer's view may be that you should travel, unless she's admitted again closer to your departure, and deal with a curtailment if whilst travelling she does become ill again. 

monty4paws

Thanks dullgreyguy. Those are helpful comments, and you've nicely encapsulated my worry regarding how the insurer will view things.

Only 2 travellers, I looked exhaustively for weeks for suitable cover, as it's not just the total spend but also a certain minimum level of repatriation cover needed too, which not all insurers offer. So it was really very difficult to find appropriate cover. The only option ended up being what we've done, which is tonhave a base policy then a top up one in addition.

silvercar

DullGreyGuy said:

monty4paws said:

eskbanker said:

monty4paws said:

It says cancellation is covered for:

"The death, injury due to an accident, illness, disease, or pregnancy complication of you, your travel companion, your close relative or your colleague."

That seems an extraordinarily vague clause that's open to many interpretations, one of which is any illness technically qualifying, but I don't believe for a second that it would pay out if cancelling because a colleague had a cold!

monty4paws said:

We booked a couple of years ago on the trip of a lifetime, costing over £40k. 

Just to check, does the policy definitely cover the full cost of that booking anyway, as most wouldn't?

Yes full amount covered. With an expensive trip like this you buy a main policy, then buy an additional 'top up policy from a separate insurer for the extra. 

The top up policy us very straightforward, it simply pays out if the main insurer pays out.

How many people are travelling? Is the £40k per person or total for all travellers?  Certainly layering is one option to achieve a higher limit though there are policies out there that go up to £500,000 of cover without needing to buy a second layer of cover. 

That said there are plenty who'll go to £15k pp so if there are three of you travelling it could also have been a single standard policy. 

monty4paws said:

DullGreyGuy said:

monty4paws said:

We booked a couple of years ago on the trip of a lifetime, costing over £40k. Unfortunately my mum's health has deteriorated rapidly in the last 6 months, and has been in and out of hospital.

Right now she's in hospital again although hopefully coming out soon. She has a number of medical issues and the situation is extremely worrying, I simply cannot be going away right now. I would not enjoy a trip away it would simply be stressful being away, plus my parents very much need me as they have no one else to support them.

So I'd like to cancel. Due to how close the trip is, unfortunately the holiday company has said they cannot allow us to change the dates. So our only option is to cancel outright.

Before I do this and contact our travel insurer, I have read through all the Ts and Cs of the policy. It says cancellation is covered for:

"The death, injury due to an accident, illness, disease, or pregnancy complication of you, your travel companion, your close relative or your colleague."

My mum has multiple illness issues so it is that clause I would be claiming under. Under exclusions, it excludes any illness of a close relative which requires 'treatment'.

My mum has an ongoing progressive condition which we knew about, but which at the time of booking the trip was not affecting her badly nor getting any worse. Clearly this condition falls under the 'exclusions'.

However, as a result of the ongoing medical condition, she has just had a fall and done some serious damage which will take months to recover from. She also has a number of other issues very recently identified, which are NOT related to the ongoing progressive condition.

It is the combined impact of ALL of these issues which is making me not want to travel. It is not unlikely that she could end up in hospital yet again shortly after being discharged, as the situation is very precarious.

I suppose really I'm after any insights from people who have been in a similar situation, as to whether I am likely to have issues with getting cancellation cover paid out or not. The situation is complicated given the multiple medical issues, and whilst the ongoing progressive condition I am quite sure is not covered, the other things have arisen separately since.

Do you have a link to the policy book? 
When are you due to travel?
When did you book the holiday?
When did you buy the policy? If its an annual policy, when did you first buy this product with the supplier without any breaks?

Without seeing the exact terms we can only talk in generality and the problem is that these are terms that vary widely between providers. What will also be critical is ultimately what the doctors are going to say. 

What is the doctors current prognosis?


At the budget end of the market they will simply exclude any condition that the person suffered before the policy was bought. In the theoretical top end you could declare non-travelling family conditions and they can say up front if they are covered or not. Some do however cover pre0existing of non-travelling without declaration as long as there is an unexpected and sudden deterioration. 

Part of your problem, if you did buy the holiday years ago, will be what you should have considered reasonable with the condition over such a long duration. It's easy to say something like Parkinson's probably won't change too much in 3 months but over 2 years its harder to be so certain. 

I agree and am only after General advice at this point  I've purposely not been too specific so as not to be identifiable.

I am clear that the lifelong condition will not be covered, which is fine. But there have since been a number of other, veey recent, additional issues which in isolation probably wouldn't be viewed as serious enough to cancel a holiday.

But in total these issues mean a potentially very bleak and uncertain future and that is the reason I cannot travel right now. It is that which I'm worried about.

There was no option to declare family medical issues when I took out the policy, only my own- which I declared. 

We have no formal prognosis, which is to say, each issue is being referred for specialist teams to look at individually but in reality it is clear that mum could end up.back in hospital again very soon, or worse. It's not like having say cancer , where you get a prognosis and have some formal steer.  It's less clear than that, as lots of separate issues add up to overall a huge impact on mum. 

Ultimately you will need to get a doctor to state that the deterioration is not linked to the incurable condition and that whilst right now she is about to get out of hospital that its exceptionally likely that during the course of your trip she would become ill again and either need home support, be admitted or pass. 

As a non-medical person it feels a big ask without an underlying thread underpinning the recent problems but then I'm not privy to her health (perfectly understandable) and not a doctor even if I were to. The insurer's view may be that you should travel, unless she's admitted again closer to your departure, and deal with a curtailment if whilst travelling she does become ill again. 

Insurer will more than likely say they need a doctor’s report from her doctor. This is outside of NHS services and doctors will usually do this for a charge (I paid £40 last year as a guide). That said, you are paying for a service and doctors are well aware of the insured’s need to claim and how to answer questions appropriately. A covering note from you to the doctor explaining that she wasn’t so ill when you took out the insurance will probably give the doctor all the guidance they need to help you.

DullGreyGuy

silvercar said:

DullGreyGuy said:

monty4paws said:

eskbanker said:

monty4paws said:

It says cancellation is covered for:

"The death, injury due to an accident, illness, disease, or pregnancy complication of you, your travel companion, your close relative or your colleague."

That seems an extraordinarily vague clause that's open to many interpretations, one of which is any illness technically qualifying, but I don't believe for a second that it would pay out if cancelling because a colleague had a cold!

monty4paws said:

We booked a couple of years ago on the trip of a lifetime, costing over £40k. 

Just to check, does the policy definitely cover the full cost of that booking anyway, as most wouldn't?

Yes full amount covered. With an expensive trip like this you buy a main policy, then buy an additional 'top up policy from a separate insurer for the extra. 

The top up policy us very straightforward, it simply pays out if the main insurer pays out.

How many people are travelling? Is the £40k per person or total for all travellers?  Certainly layering is one option to achieve a higher limit though there are policies out there that go up to £500,000 of cover without needing to buy a second layer of cover. 

That said there are plenty who'll go to £15k pp so if there are three of you travelling it could also have been a single standard policy. 

monty4paws said:

DullGreyGuy said:

monty4paws said:

We booked a couple of years ago on the trip of a lifetime, costing over £40k. Unfortunately my mum's health has deteriorated rapidly in the last 6 months, and has been in and out of hospital.

Right now she's in hospital again although hopefully coming out soon. She has a number of medical issues and the situation is extremely worrying, I simply cannot be going away right now. I would not enjoy a trip away it would simply be stressful being away, plus my parents very much need me as they have no one else to support them.

So I'd like to cancel. Due to how close the trip is, unfortunately the holiday company has said they cannot allow us to change the dates. So our only option is to cancel outright.

Before I do this and contact our travel insurer, I have read through all the Ts and Cs of the policy. It says cancellation is covered for:

"The death, injury due to an accident, illness, disease, or pregnancy complication of you, your travel companion, your close relative or your colleague."

My mum has multiple illness issues so it is that clause I would be claiming under. Under exclusions, it excludes any illness of a close relative which requires 'treatment'.

My mum has an ongoing progressive condition which we knew about, but which at the time of booking the trip was not affecting her badly nor getting any worse. Clearly this condition falls under the 'exclusions'.

However, as a result of the ongoing medical condition, she has just had a fall and done some serious damage which will take months to recover from. She also has a number of other issues very recently identified, which are NOT related to the ongoing progressive condition.

It is the combined impact of ALL of these issues which is making me not want to travel. It is not unlikely that she could end up in hospital yet again shortly after being discharged, as the situation is very precarious.

I suppose really I'm after any insights from people who have been in a similar situation, as to whether I am likely to have issues with getting cancellation cover paid out or not. The situation is complicated given the multiple medical issues, and whilst the ongoing progressive condition I am quite sure is not covered, the other things have arisen separately since.

Do you have a link to the policy book? 
When are you due to travel?
When did you book the holiday?
When did you buy the policy? If its an annual policy, when did you first buy this product with the supplier without any breaks?

Without seeing the exact terms we can only talk in generality and the problem is that these are terms that vary widely between providers. What will also be critical is ultimately what the doctors are going to say. 

What is the doctors current prognosis?


At the budget end of the market they will simply exclude any condition that the person suffered before the policy was bought. In the theoretical top end you could declare non-travelling family conditions and they can say up front if they are covered or not. Some do however cover pre0existing of non-travelling without declaration as long as there is an unexpected and sudden deterioration. 

Part of your problem, if you did buy the holiday years ago, will be what you should have considered reasonable with the condition over such a long duration. It's easy to say something like Parkinson's probably won't change too much in 3 months but over 2 years its harder to be so certain. 

I agree and am only after General advice at this point  I've purposely not been too specific so as not to be identifiable.

I am clear that the lifelong condition will not be covered, which is fine. But there have since been a number of other, veey recent, additional issues which in isolation probably wouldn't be viewed as serious enough to cancel a holiday.

But in total these issues mean a potentially very bleak and uncertain future and that is the reason I cannot travel right now. It is that which I'm worried about.

There was no option to declare family medical issues when I took out the policy, only my own- which I declared. 

We have no formal prognosis, which is to say, each issue is being referred for specialist teams to look at individually but in reality it is clear that mum could end up.back in hospital again very soon, or worse. It's not like having say cancer , where you get a prognosis and have some formal steer.  It's less clear than that, as lots of separate issues add up to overall a huge impact on mum. 

Ultimately you will need to get a doctor to state that the deterioration is not linked to the incurable condition and that whilst right now she is about to get out of hospital that its exceptionally likely that during the course of your trip she would become ill again and either need home support, be admitted or pass. 

As a non-medical person it feels a big ask without an underlying thread underpinning the recent problems but then I'm not privy to her health (perfectly understandable) and not a doctor even if I were to. The insurer's view may be that you should travel, unless she's admitted again closer to your departure, and deal with a curtailment if whilst travelling she does become ill again. 

Insurer will more than likely say they need a doctor’s report from her doctor. This is outside of NHS services and doctors will usually do this for a charge (I paid £40 last year as a guide). That said, you are paying for a service and doctors are well aware of the insured’s need to claim and how to answer questions appropriately. A covering note from you to the doctor explaining that she wasn’t so ill when you took out the insurance will probably give the doctor all the guidance they need to help you.

Doctors and fees are highly variable. For a basic claim it's normally a 1 pager and a modest fee, though £40 is a bit of a bargain, most tend to charge £50-£100. In some cases full reports are required and these can exceed £200. 

Unfortunately not all doctors are great, there have been several examples on here of people saying their claims were denied because their GP made errors in their report. From personal experience the £190 my insurers paid for a gp medical report got me declined, a free report from my consultant however got the decision reversed, dont know what the GP said because they wanted £80 to show it to me (pre-GDPR there was a SAR carve out for recent medical records). 

On the flip side, as a claims technician, have had forms half filled in, not filled in at all but stapled to a photocopy of complete medical records. Some then try to charge the fee a second time, or a "supplementary report fee" when you point out they've left a load of questions blank or answered "dont know" to things.