Can anyone help me with their experiences of chosing a company providing long haul travel insurance - good , bad or otherwise!
Apart from asthma and COPD, at 76 years I am active and planning a holiday in the Autumn . I don't know where to start with travel insurance - it's a bit of a minefield.
Of course I shall declare any health problems - silly not to - but there seems to be such a difference between premium costs and exclusions. Any help woud be very much appreciated.
Suzy-lou
It is a minefield! I find it easier now my asthma is a bit more settled, but I used to find companies would cover me then change their minds at renewal, even though I hadn't claimed. Currently I'm with GetGoing, and a friend with many conditions has just got a good deal with Avanti.
You may want to find a broker for specialist medical travel insurance, particularly as you're 76 which is another factor for the insurers (I'm 37 so didn't have to deal with their views on over-70s at least!) If you are travelling with others, it's worth being on the same policy so that they're covered too if you can't go on a trip for any reason and they don't want to go without you. If you can afford the up front cost, it may be worth getting a yearly one so you don't have to keep doing it, and may work out cheaper if you plan to travel a lot. (Of course if you just have one big trip planned to an expensive region like the US, then probably yearly makes less sense).
I'd also be very careful to check the small print. One underwriter for several companies claiming to be medical condition friendly (I think Insure & Go is one) looks good on the surface, but when I looked they had some nasty surprises in the small print suggesting they can wriggle out even if you have fully declared your conditions. I think one said they basically wouldn't cover me for anything if I'd had recent non-routine hospital care, even for a declared condition. I thought this was really cheeky and not acceptable when they were going to charge me extra already for declaring that I had asthma with recent hospital admissions! Especially when the wording seemed to suggest they wouldn't even cover me if I got run over by a car, because I'd needed asthma care.
Of course this clause may no longer be there, as this was a few years back - but always worth checking.
Some people will recommend travel insurance through your bank or home insurance policy, but in my experience that only works for people with no or mild conditions. Insurers who say they cover asthma usually mean they cover people with one inhaler and no admissions - not sure about COPD.
Thank you for your very helpful and detailed reply. I'll explore the paths you suggest and will certainly look out for the pitfalls!
Thank you for your reply which is really helpful as considering venturing on holiday this year.Its probably not a good idea to say that the consultant has said flying is against his advice .....!
The questions probably don't include that (they are quite set, from memory there is nothing about that).
Has he said why it's against his advice specifically ie what he is worried about? Some airlines would want you to have a fitness to fly test if there are specific concerns or you want to bring certain equipment on board (though I have been fine taking my consultant-approved portable nebuliser on and using it without a test). Is that something you could ask him for if he is concerned?
I have to say that flying sets off my asthma (pressure changes on descent) and that hasn't been asked about at any point with insurance for asthma - may be different with other conditions. My consultant doesn't give a crap though and if I asked him for a fitness to fly thing would just tell me I don't need it and I'm just anxious. If the airline insisted for some reason I guess he would have to though.
They seem to be mainly concerned about whether your oxygen falls too low in the fitness to fly tests though - mine doesn't, it's more about pressure changes in the small airways. It doesn't seem to be an issue that comes up too much when you look at flying with asthma and no one has told me it means I can't fly. It's not ideal but my nebuliser sorts it out.
Thank you so much for your reply.Yes I have a nebulizer the respiratory consultant said I am brittle and the air pressure changes may trigger an attack.
He also said any medical insurance would be invalid as he has advised me not to fly so I would be doing so against his medical advice...He also said if the aircraft had to divert because I became unwell I could find myself liable for the costs of diversion .
Ah that's tricky. I guess no one has told me not to fly and the questions don't cover it - I always answer fully. I suppose kudos for your consultant even knowing about this as an issue, given that everyone I have seen has denied it. But I'm almost glad for my crappy one now as it means I can make my own decisions about whether to fly!
I will say that as mine is only on descent and I can fix it with nebs I personally haven't been concerned about diversion as an issue. I obviously can't speak for anyone else though as it may affect others differently - you'd need to go with your consultant which I admit I would find frustrating. Though more for my body being annoying!
I don't know if anyone else has been in this position and can advise - but again that would only be in the sense of whether you can discuss with your consultant and see if there is any room for manoeuvre. Definitely not advising you to ignore him!
Bless you.I wanted to fly long haul.I was naughty and flew to Stockholm which is just a couple of hours - I then realized he was right as my twitchy airways reacted to pressure changes -luckily my son who is a doctor was with me but it really was unpleasant so guess consultant knew what he was talking about.
However we have such beautiful places in the UK to visit when I feel better so think myself so so lucky and with Skype and WhatsApp can see the family via the video links .
I avoid flying, so this year it is a ferry to France, drive to Spain, and ferry back from Spain.
You must be psychic we were looking at ferries to Sweden and Ireland!
We are doing Sweden in a couple of years. So Ferry across to Dunkirk, drive to Denmark, then on to Sweden and Norway.
My asthma likes driving, nothing to irritate it in the car. I do now though spend more on ferries to get a nice cabin, it makes me feel more secure in case of an attack.
Did your consultant give a reason for his decision not to fly?
He must have one.
Phone his secretary and ask her to find out and met you know.
Could you ask for a FTF test, done at the hospital?
That will determine how much the reduced cabin O2 will affect you.
My COPD is moderate /severe and I asked for a letter from my gp called a ‘ FTF LETTER!’ Cost £30.
My O2 has been very erratic since a long flare up over Xmas but my gp says I’m safe to do a 12 hour flight.
hope that helps
And keep asking your consultant until you get an answer.
Best wishes jill
I think the problem Cloudancer has is that it's not really an O2 issue. I wondered about her asking for a fitness to fly test too, but when I looked them up the focus seems to be on oxygen levels.
My understanding of Cloudancer's problem, and what her consultant is saying, is that she has severe/brittle asthma, not COPD, and that her problem isn't with her oxygen levels, but that pressure changes during flight can trigger asthma even if oxygen sats are fine (and she has experienced this). This seems to be less well known as a problem during flight with asthma (I've been met with blank looks when I mention my experiences, and I get told my oxygen is fine), so I am impressed the consultant knows about it. Though I wouldn't be happy if he were my consultant, as he'd probably tell me not to fly and I'd be screwed with insurance!
I get this pressure change trigger on planes and it always happens on descent for some reason, not takeoff or cruising - but if you checked my sats on the ground and during the rest of the flight they'd be fine. They'd probably even be ok on descent, given my sats tend to look ok even in severe attacks (what is going on inside is a different story).
I do still fly, because it happens on descent and I have a portable nebuliser approved by my consultant which really helps. But I wouldn't be able to with this consultant, and I doubt a fitness to fly test would pacify him if the focus is on oxygen levels.
Thankyou for your reply to my comment.
I did not interpret the entire problem correctly.
Your comments are very valuable indeed, Thankyou again.
Regards Jill
Thank you so much for your info Jill. He just said that I was too brittle to fly.Each time I have asked him he simply says the advice stands.
not meaning to be pushy Cloudancer, but could you ask for a second opinion?
Might be worth a shot?
Hope you get proper answers and explanations meantime.
All the best. jill
That is actually a good idea Jill -have been under the care of this man for almost 20 years.my daughter in law is Polish and is making inquiries about a well respected consultant there.
You are perfectly entitled to another opinion Cludancer!
So fingers crossed for you!! Jill
we are with Staysure but Saga insurance is as good. I am the same age as you and many insurance companies won’t insure people of our age. There is a 35 day limit on each trip on an ANNUAL policy but you can also get single policies for longer trips.
In the years of travel I have claimed once from Staysure with no problems. I also have asthma and a number of other age related problems.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. Your comments are really helpful. I'll try both along with the one Lysistrata suggested.
P.S.
I got a quote from Avanti which I’ve used before. Much lower than other companies.
Only issue I had was when I phoned and said I had an appointment at the hospital to SIGN OFF on a course of treatment they said they would not cover me if I flew before having it and needed to claim.
To get around they suggested that I asked for the consultant to do a phone call instead of a visit. That meant I did not have an outstanding appointment.
Thank you for the advice. I have to see a consultant before applying for insurance and will point that out to him.
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