I have recommended StaySure travel insurance a number of times for those aged 50 or over. A woman is intensive care in Santa Cruz and StaySure are refusing to pay the escalating bill. Her husband says it is on a technicality but the issue was that emphysema was not declared on the application. Although it may cost more one has to be totally honest. There is an article about this here:-
I saw a post on another forum yesterday where someone claimed not to take out travel insurance because of the cost. However, whether this is internet rubbish (if which there is a huge amount) or an exceedingly foolish person is impossible to tell.
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MichaelJH
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Following my Husband's recent heart attack I ran a dummy travel insurance quote toget an idea of what it may be and if I need to put foreign holidays to one side for awhile. It came back as £60 for a fortnight or £100 for a years cover, does this sound about right? It was lower than I expected (assuming i got it all correct) we generally pay £15 for a family summer holiday
Everyone's circumstances are different so it would be hard to give a comparison of price. For instance my husband has paid over £80 for just 4 days in Spain, but in addition to heart failure he has a number of other medical conditions. Also, Spain has the highest health care costs in Europe, so that was factored into the price. The BHF site has a list of insurers who cover people with a heart condition, maybe you could get some comparative quotes from them.
Without knowing full details of age and medical conditions it is tricky to comment. £60 sounds about right for a fortnight in Europe but £100 for a year low. If the figures cover the US they seem dubious. Often the cheapest is not the best with more holes than a colander!
That was for two weeks in Italy, didn't go further to see what they year included but did not include the US. It is early days for my Husband so it could be as time goes on and we know more from the appointments with the consultant that we have more yes's to tick to bump the price up. As it stands his cholesterol is good as is his blood pressure is good but it's early days.
Had the quote come back £400+ then I would have forgotten about holidays, but I may stop mentioning Florida for next year...
Coincidentally yesterday a friend was saying he was rather surprised by the age of his decorator. (Polite way of saying elderly) Decorator explained he had retired but his son had a motorbike accident in Thailand with no insurance..... the total cost of getting his son home and treatment was £140,000. He had sold his house and gone back to work to make ends meet....
Oh my, that's awful for father & son. I know of someone who was taken ill on a plane & the plane had to be diverted. The airline then invoiced him 80,000 euros, fortunately his insurance paid but it shows the importance of having insurance in place.
I was listening to a group of seniors in conversation about the world cruises they go on each year. One lady was bragging that she was the same age as the queen. I couldn’t believe my ears when they all said they get basic travel insurance and don’t declare their various illnesses/medical problems! My son in law found that his sister’s travel insurance didn’t cover her for body repatriation and he found it cheaper to fly her three children over to China for her funeral when she died of the SAARs virus. She was a young woman. We need to be careful that we’re taking out the correct travel insurance.
I posted about this cruise that went pear shaped because the insurance was not valid about a year ago. The family set up a crowd funding page but didn't raise all the money. But would you (anybody reading) have contributed?
Could not agree more. Insurance companies are not a charity - they tell you to declare everything for a reason and if you fail to do so they will not pay out. It really is a case of 'buyer beware'. We all hope never to need insurance, but we of all people know how unpredictable our health truly is. Failure to take out insurance really is a false economy!
I would say to anyone no matter how much it costs get decent insurance and declare everything. I will hold my hands up and say I’m an idiot!
Was on a cruise round the Mediterranean last year and became seriously ill in Venice the Hosp was covered by my EHIC card but it’s all the add on costs. Hotel, flights, meals, rail fares, getting baggage home etc.
Off cruising again this year and yes, do have insurance. After lots of searching and getting quotes I took a policy out with saga, it seemed to cover everything. I generally do everything on line, however, this time I phoned them to double check everything was covered, I have multiple health issues.
Recently declared all my medical conditions honestly for holiday insurance - quote was over £1200. The premiums are really pricey if you are truly honest and declare everything!
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