Travel Insurance Advice

saint101

Im after some advice as Im at a dead end regarding my travel insurance, its a long story but will try and kep it really brief.

Last year my family and I went to Spain on a family holiday, My youngest (4) got pneumonia while we were there and spent 5 days in a horrific private hospital plus we were forced to stay an additional 5 days until he got a fit to fly cert.

AXA were the underwriters and while we were out there were great on the phone during a stressful time promising everything would be covered and we could all stay for the extended time etc They advised exceptional circumstances and had cover, expenses, flights accomodation etc.

My son has a preventative inhaler of which I forgot to declare before we went as he is under investigation but no diagnosed condition (have proof from consultants/pediatrician etc) The travel company have agreed to pay 25% of my expenses and the hospital bill that I have put through as they have said that my premium should have been 4 times the amount we paid.

Ive looked online for a new policy declaring above and beyond an inhaler which increases the premium by around 15%, they then advised that standard practise is buy the policy online then pay the premium then they will call you back and tell you the true amount, surely this isnt right? Ive provided everything medically as evidence to them and when I took out the policy the diagnosed column I left blank as nothing was diagnosed.

Ive learnt a lesson here for declarations however am at a loss with the 25% offer being based on that of a premium should have been so much higher, any advice on this is greatly appreciated

elsien

the problem is the lack of a diagnosis.

if you know what a condition is they can take it to their underwriters and properly assess the risk.

without a diagnosis, if you are just undergoing tests, then they tend not to cover at all.

my mother has a malignant melanoma on her leg. Before it was confirmed, the insurance would cover everything else but excluded anything relating to that. Now that they know what it is they can properly assess risk and complications and decide whether to cover and if so how much extra.

If you had told them that your son was awaiting a diagnosis, you might have found that he wasn’t covered at all for his chest issues.

soolin

As above 'waiting for diagnosis' has a worse impact on travel insurance than a diagnosed condition. We had that with a close family member, whilst he was undergoing tests for a conclusive diagnosis the travel insurance wouldn't cover him at all, but as soon as cancer was properly diagnosed and added to medical notes we could get insurance albeit it at a cost, but insurance nonetheless.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656825/travel-insurance-advice

How have you gotten a quote for an unknown diagnosis? What did you enter it in as?

Most insurers simply won't touch an undiagnosed condition so a 25% settlement is not a bad outcome depending on how you have gotten a quote with a 15% uplift.

twopenny

I don't like the sound of buying the policy and then we'll tell you how much more. That's not good practice and makes you wonder if they'll ooo and ah if you have to claim.

I've always used the comparison sites to get an idea of cost and phone numbers then ring them up and make sure all aspects are covered. It's quite an eye opener.

So get all aspects you know they will need and any questions you can think of. It's very much up to you to make sure it's right. They won't ask the questions.

But with treatment already on a claim, undiagnosed they are probably not going to cover. Or if they do it will be high premium because they need to cover for any eventuality.

Holiday in England? There are some great places for youngsters of all ages.

NoodleDoodleMan

The idea of buying a general policy then having to seek added cover for a specific undiagnosed condition doesn't sound right to me either.

We had a AXA policy through a packaged bank accout - I was able to talk through all aspects of our minor conditions before opting to accept.

sheramber

How many online quotes have you got that say pay the premium quoted and they will phone you to give updated quote?

Have you phoned for any quotes?

TELLIT01

Look for another insurer. Being told to pay and then they will tell you how much more it will cost is at best bad business practice, at worst a scam.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81900957#Comment_81900957

Bit late when you've already made a claim on the said policy.

The OP is trying to challenge the fact that under CIDRA they only paid 25% of the true premium having failed to declare an undiagnosed condition and is doing this by trying to get a quote which they say showed a 15% increase not a 300% increase.

I would still want to know how they got a quote with an undiagnosed condition; my suspicion is that they have used hindsight and declared a diagnosis which has a modest impact and is assuming that the impact would have been the same without a diagnosis which is certainly wouldnt have been.

sheramber

They also say that there would be a follow up phone call to tell you the true cost so the 15% increase is not the final cost.

“above and beyond an inhaler which increases the premium by around 15%, they then advised that standard practise is buy the policy online then pay the premium then they will call you back and tell you the true amount, surely this isnt right”

A few years ago Axa did follow up an undiagnosed condition with my husband and once full details were given covered him for an extra £50 on the premium.

But since the OP has not logged on again we may be discussing this amongst ourselves.

saint101

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81900411#Comment_81900411

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81900411#Comment_81900411

thanks all for info

I only got the one for the same company that I booked through and took some screenshots as evidence if needed. My renewal is up in May as we pay annually and as painful as it would be I suggested to my wife that if I renewed with the same company ticking all the boxes etc I could prove that they wont be calling back for a different price.

Latest from AXA received a pre written statement via phonecall from them basically saying that was the end of the case, the insurer have refused anything more than 25% and I cannot complain anymore about it, they offered me £125 as a sorry for the terrible service we received however doesnt really help the fact im more tahn 3k down. AXA said I should pursue the difference in whats been paid and 25% of the amount promised and all accounted for via receipts etc as to date they have underpaid me significantly saying these costs were not covered however was verbally confirmed whilst abroad and have asked them to revisit the recorded calls as evidence.