Travel Insurance

[MMaud]

Good afternoon playmates.

I am plesaed to say I remain very well indeed, despite having a diagnosis of IPF almost 15 months ago.

I will be going away in January for a 3 month trip to SE Asia. It is somewhere we have spent quite a bit of time, so do know the "lay of the land". My consultant is absolutely fine about it, which is great.

Clearly it makes all manner of sense to have travel insurance, including medical cover, and I am insurable, however, I wondered who others might use for their longer trips, or indeed, if the Asthma and Lung UK have any affiliations with insurers.

I'd be grateful for your thoughts, as I could do with ticking this box off the massive To-Do list that is sitting on my desk.

Many thanks, as ever.

MMaud

[peege]

Hi, I use my Lloyds Bank travel insurance (not that I've done any travelling since covid began), it comes with my current account along with phone insurance & AA cover.

I've heard Stasure isn't too bad. P

[MMaud in reply to peege]

I'm with one of the Lloyds group of banks. Were you premiums loaded due to your lung condition (forgive me, I can't recall which you have)?

[peege in reply to MMaud]

it's not an actual insurance policy MM. If I need to use the travel insurance or lose my mobile or need the AA I ring the number on my bank card and they transfer me to relevant organisation. When opening this account many years ago - £20 for the privilege - I would have mentioned asthma (probably l forgot about the Small Airways Disease) when the bank person was filling in the form.

I've only ever used the AA cover when I had a flat tyre.

if I had to look for insurance now I think I'd do it on line with a bogus name & address but correct ailments to get a quote because once you've informed there's no way to uninform, if you get my drift

[MMaud in reply to peege]

I've actually had a conversation with them this afternoon. At the moment, I don't have the Platinum Account, but am open to doing so, if the numbers add up.

I went through a pre-approval screening to arrive at a premium. My conditions, which are each supremely untroublesome, to date, add just over £300 to the annual premium.

One thing I didn't check whilst on the phone is the trip duration limits, which I reckon might make it tricky for me, but I'll cover that off with them tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'll keep exploring other routes.

[MMaud in reply to peege]

The Bank policy doesn't suit my needs. The maximum trip is 31 days. We are away 85.

[peege in reply to MMaud]

Ah blast it, I didn't realise that. I do hope you get sorted out soon. Others may reply soon although have a look at 'Related Posts ' to the right or scroll down on a phone I think. You could always try writing Travel Insurance in the search box too, good luck. Penelope

[MMaud in reply to peege]

Whilst I'm sure there is benefit to a discreet enquiry for Minnie/Mickey Mouse, full declaration is important whatever.

One thing I would say is to check your bank policy to ensure that any automated renewal of the policy (it is a policy underwritten by professional underwriters on their behalf) they are not assuming your health is exactly as the previous year (or in your case, the year before things changed).

I'm absolutely not trying to scaremonger, but better to find if you are properly covered now than at a point you might feel the need to claim.

[peege in reply to MMaud]

thanks for that MM, I will certainly check before I holiday away. I believe the underwriter is AXA...... Cannot wait to visit my son & family in France.

As for Lloyds, they send & email updates if they change any cover. P ××

[Blackcat99 in reply to peege]

What a good idea - once the info is out there, it will possibly be able to be shared around, I suspect? Sometimes, a slight adjustment in the phraseology you use can make a real difference, so good to be able to re-adjust if necessary- and I do NOT mean tell lies or omissions, by the way!

[Iris99]

We are doing some thing very similar and have got flight insurance through Flight Centre, who we booked our flights with ( several destinations). They seem to be good at both travels for a long time away and also accepting a certain number of pre existing medical conditions.

[MMaud in reply to Iris99]

I'll have a look at Flight Centre. Their quote system doesn't seem to have an area to account for any pre-existing conditions, so will have to give them a call I think.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Izb1]

So good to hear you are doing well MMaud and envious of your 3 month trip to S E Asia, dont think I could manage a weekend at the moment lol. Cant really advise on insurance but am sure there is one that will suit you out there. Have a fantastic time and enjoy your getaway x

[MMaud in reply to Izb1]

I have quotes, but with silly ranges of premium. Saga come out well (still more expensive than the flight, by a margin), after a full declaration so we'll see.

[Alberta56]

I've found Saga very good for my short European holidays. You could phone them and sound them out.

[MMaud in reply to Alberta56]

I have gone through a quote for Saga, with a full declaration, based on the questionnaire. It comes out a Costa Coffee short of £1000 - and that's with no breathlessness, admissions or even chest infections.

[Alberta56 in reply to MMaud]

Blimey! I hope you can find something cheaper than that.

[peege in reply to MMaud]

cripes! I suppose if you divide by 12 (weeks?) It works out at approximately £120 per week 🤔

[Cloudancer]

Enjoy your holiday - please update us on your travel insurance -( am I allowed to ask that am unsure).We have had wildly fluctuating travel quotes- think Peege made a good suggestion and hadn't realised that once you put in your details you can't "unput" them

[MMaud in reply to Cloudancer]

I think what peege meant was once your tell someone something you can't untell it.

[watergazer]

I hope you get your travel insurance sorted soon. Your trip sounds amazing.

My hol insurance is through our nationwide flex plus account where I own up to ailments. Think you have to pay more for longer trips xx

[MMaud in reply to watergazer]

Interesting. I have a couple of Flex accounts. I'll check them out.

[watergazer in reply to MMaud]

I also have to pay extra for my conditions but it’s annual and worldwide and I consider it to be quite cheap x

[MMaud in reply to watergazer]

I need to speak to them about both the medical side and the duration of our trip.

[Ern007]

I have nearly always used All Clear .

[pussycatwillow]

Do not use Staysure or Avanti Travel. I had the misfortune to end up in Hospital in Cambodia. Had to pay the US$8000 bill myself. That was over 10 weeks ago. Still waiting for claim to be paid.

[MMaud in reply to pussycatwillow]

Heck. What a shocker!

Staysure are almost double Saga for me, so they'll not be for me in any case.

I hope you are back to good health.

[BEaChbe4cH in reply to MMaud]

That’s scary. Have gone with staysure myself and very little difference to saga. One of the questions is how many infections have you had in the last twelve months .I have had more than four infections plus treated with cipro. Then it follows with is it resolved. I’m confused as am colonised with pseudo and on Colomycin but only only take an oral abx when breathlessness increased. So don’t know if classed as resolved. Can anyone help?