Travel insurance

Donut_65

I purchased travel insurance by AXA for myself and partner, unfortunately we couldn't go on holiday as he took a brain aneurysm 4 weeks before flying, so I put in a travel insurance claim to Axa,Axa have phone me today saying that my claim has been rejected due to me not disclosing medication that my partner was on for an injury 25 years ago 
Is it worth appealling their decision??

elsien

Absolutely always worth appealing. You would need to go through their complaints procedure first, and then take it to the financial ombudsman if you think you still have a case. 


They may be suggesting that there is a link either directly or indirectly between his brain aneurysm and whatever medical condition he had before. Or possibly that they might not have insured him if they were aware of his condition.


Usually when taking out insurance they ask about Pre-existing conditions. 

So was this condition something that was over and done with with no further treatment tests or anything else in the last 25 years, or was it an ongoing one that he is still taking medication for.

And if he was still taking medication, did you declare it when you took out the insurance?
It would probably be helpful to go back and do a dummy run and check exactly what questions they did ask and how you answered.

TELLIT01

Was this medication your partner was only taking 25 years ago or medication they are still taking for the old injury?

Yorkshire_Dangermouse

On a slight tangent, but we had to cancel a vacation earlier in the year due to the sudden death of my father-in-law shortly prior to our scheduled departure date.  He wasn't coming with us on this vacation.

Made a claim on our travel insurance,  and we're currently waiting for a final death certificate, following which the insurer wants to check whether the cause of death was related to anything in his medical history.  So not only does the insurer look at anything in the medical history of the travellers, but also any immediate family members (which give rise to a claim)...

Raises an interesting question as to what medical questions we need to ask family members before a holiday to be able to disclose as pre-existing conditions!

Donut_65

TELLIT01 said:

Was this medication your partner was only taking 25 years ago or medication they are still taking for the old injury?

Medication he is still taking for an old injury 

cw8825

Donut_65 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Was this medication your partner was only taking 25 years ago or medication they are still taking for the old injury?

Medication he is still taking for an old injury 

which makes it preexisiting.

has the old injury/ medication contributed to the anyuerism

sheramber

Yorkshire_Dangermouse said:

On a slight tangent, but we had to cancel a vacation earlier in the year due to the sudden death of my father-in-law shortly prior to our scheduled departure date.  He wasn't coming with us on this vacation.

Made a claim on our travel insurance,  and we're currently waiting for a final death certificate, following which the insurer wants to check whether the cause of death was related to anything in his medical history.  So not only does the insurer look at anything in the medical history of the travellers, but also any immediate family members (which give rise to a claim)...

Raises an interesting question as to what medical questions we need to ask family members before a holiday to be able to disclose as pre-existing conditions!

You need to read the policy document carefully to know what cover is provided  and any exclusions. 

Donut_65

Thanks for your reply.much appreciated 

Donut_65

cw8825 said:

Donut_65 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Was this medication your partner was only taking 25 years ago or medication they are still taking for the old injury?

Medication he is still taking for an old injury 

which makes it preexisiting.

has the old injury/ medication contributed to the anyuerism

No his old injury had nothing to do with the brain aneurysm 

TELLIT01

The medication he is still taking should certainly have been declared.  However, if the medication would not have any bearing on the aneurysm, and the insurer would still have provided cover if the medication had been declared, it is certainly worth appealing the decision.  If the insurer still refuses to pay the next step would be take it to the Financial Ombudsman.

I think I recall previous instances where a total refusal to payout has been rejected by the FO where the condition/medication had no bearing on the condition being claimed for.  Hopefully somebody will be along to either confirm or correct that.

MyRealNameToo

Donut_65 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Was this medication your partner was only taking 25 years ago or medication they are still taking for the old injury?

Medication he is still taking for an old injury 

When they asked you to declare any condition which you have suffered symptoms of, consulted a medical professional about or taken medication for in the last X years why didnt you declare it?

cw8825 said:

Donut_65 said:

TELLIT01 said:

Was this medication your partner was only taking 25 years ago or medication they are still taking for the old injury?

Medication he is still taking for an old injury 

which makes it preexisiting.

has the old injury/ medication contributed to the anyuerism

If it contributed or not is irrelevant under CIDRE. The law states if there is any false declaration (inc failing to declare) when taking out a policy that is either intentional or reckless then the insurer can void the policy and avoid the claim. If they accept it was careless then it comes down to if they would have insured had it been declared. 

The old GISC policy of seeing if the false declaration was relevant to the claim being made was dropped long time ago after insurance became regulated and changed again under CIDRE legislation.