Cancellation due to pregnancy - Zika/Dengue

MJC90

TELLIT01 said:

Travel insurers will go by the advice of the FCO regarding safety of travelling to a destination.  If there is no advice against travel they will not pay out. 

This is the point... If I'm being told not to travel by medical professionals, where are they getting this advice from? If it's actionable, then it should be on FCDO website..? Otherwise it's contradictive and as in this case, I'm left being told not to go but there's no reason not to go.

MJC90

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"The problem isn't the pregnancy, it's the risk of Zika/Dengue the pregnancy and my partner."

Surely it's the pregnancy AND the risk of Kika/Dengue ?

The former apparently can have serious consequences for unborn children, the latter less so, however still liable to be an issue in some cases.

Going against expert medical advice would be a serious error of judgement IMO.

Exactly, which is why we have no intention of going. But then my insurance should kick in, with me being told not to go.

silvercar

MJC90 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Travel insurers will go by the advice of the FCO regarding safety of travelling to a destination.  If there is no advice against travel they will not pay out. 

This is the point... If I'm being told not to travel by medical professionals, where are they getting this advice from? If it's actionable, then it should be on FCDO website..? Otherwise it's contradictive and as in this case, I'm left being told not to go but there's no reason not to go.

FCDO doesn’t provide medical advice. They advise on political hotspots/ war risks etc 

DullGreyGuy

silvercar said:

MJC90 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Travel insurers will go by the advice of the FCO regarding safety of travelling to a destination.  If there is no advice against travel they will not pay out. 

This is the point... If I'm being told not to travel by medical professionals, where are they getting this advice from? If it's actionable, then it should be on FCDO website..? Otherwise it's contradictive and as in this case, I'm left being told not to go but there's no reason not to go.

FCDO doesn’t provide medical advice. They advise on political hotspots/ war risks etc 

They dont provide medical advice but do give a statement on health per https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tanzania/health which you will note states there is a risk of dengue 


Looking at the Lloyds Gold account, OP didnt say which level they have, the insurance with that account doesnt cover FCDO travel advice as a reason for cancellation. That aside, insurance that do cover FCDO only cover changes in the advice and using the Wayback Machine we can see the FCDO were already advising about dengue risk before the OP booked the holiday so no change has occurred. What has changed is the OPs potential consequences to the risk but it's a matter of choice to continue the pregnancy hence insurers won't respond on matters that are in your own control. 

bagand96

MJC90 said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"The problem isn't the pregnancy, it's the risk of Zika/Dengue the pregnancy and my partner."

Surely it's the pregnancy AND the risk of Kika/Dengue ?

The former apparently can have serious consequences for unborn children, the latter less so, however still liable to be an issue in some cases.

Going against expert medical advice would be a serious error of judgement IMO.

Exactly, which is why we have no intention of going. But then my insurance should kick in, with me being told not to go.

You say insurance "should" kick in, it will depend on what your policy covers and the wording.

You've booked a holiday and then found out you were pregnant.  If your holiday was in 8 months time then medical professionals may advise against flying, or the airline may refuse to carry.  But unless your policy specifically includes pregnancy you wouldn't be able to claim.

Your situation is complicated for the conflicting medical and FCDO and you appear to be caught in a grey area.  It may be worth appealing to the holiday provider once more, pointing out you know the cancellation terms with the airline and hotel.  But note they are not required to break their T&Cs, if they did so it would strictly be on goodwill.

Following that, it would be a case of complaining to the insurer and potentially the Financial Ombudsman if you feel you have grounds- but you'd need to give the policy a good read first.

sheramber

MJC90 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Travel insurers will go by the advice of the FCO regarding safety of travelling to a destination.  If there is no advice against travel they will not pay out. 

This is the point... If I'm being told not to travel by medical professionals, where are they getting this advice from? If it's actionable, then it should be on FCDO website..? Otherwise it's contradictive and as in this case, I'm left being told not to go but there's no reason not to go.

Medical advice is just that. It is advised for the safety of your unborn child not to go. 

Insurance usually needs medical proof of being unfit to travel.

Pregnancy is not usually considered a  reason for cancellation. 

What does your policy say about accepted reasons for cancelling bearing in mind that you must have had an inclination , at least, that you were pregnant and considering travelling to a tropical destination with risks. 

MJC90

silvercar said:

MJC90 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Travel insurers will go by the advice of the FCO regarding safety of travelling to a destination.  If there is no advice against travel they will not pay out. 

This is the point... If I'm being told not to travel by medical professionals, where are they getting this advice from? If it's actionable, then it should be on FCDO website..? Otherwise it's contradictive and as in this case, I'm left being told not to go but there's no reason not to go.

FCDO doesn’t provide medical advice. They advise on political hotspots/ war risks etc 

If this was the case, why would the insurance use their 'non advice' to make decisions?

MJC90

sheramber said:

MJC90 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Travel insurers will go by the advice of the FCO regarding safety of travelling to a destination.  If there is no advice against travel they will not pay out. 

This is the point... If I'm being told not to travel by medical professionals, where are they getting this advice from? If it's actionable, then it should be on FCDO website..? Otherwise it's contradictive and as in this case, I'm left being told not to go but there's no reason not to go.

Medical advice is just that. It is advised for the safety of your unborn child not to go. 

Insurance usually needs medical proof of being unfit to travel.

Pregnancy is not usually considered a  reason for cancellation. 

What does your policy say about accepted reasons for cancelling bearing in mind that you must have had an inclination , at least, that you were pregnant and considering travelling to a tropical destination with risks. 

It accepts 'complications with pregnancy' however because the complication hasn't happened yet, they're not accepting that.
No inclination at all. We've been together nearly 13 years, nothings changed. This was a surprise holiday that I booked and I only made my partner aware when we had to go for jabs. It was when she mentioned to the travel clinic that she was pregnant where this has all kicked off and they told us not to travel.

NoodleDoodleMan

FCDO advises of dangers to UK citizens based on reports they have collated from reliable sources - warzones and terrorist threats etc. are obviously top of that list, however it covers other hazardous scenarious such as health risks.

Ayr_Rage

 "It was when she mentioned to the travel clinic that she was pregnant where this has all kicked off and they told us not to travel"

I expect they advised you not to travel after explaining the risks, nobody is actually going to tell you not to do so.

Travel is not banned to places where Zika virus is endemic so your travel insurance isn't going to be paying out.