Does anyone with heart conditions use the travel insurance through their bank? We are thinking of trying to do so, but unable to get hold of them to ask the relevant questions. I do know people with cancer that use it and other pre existing medical conditions and there is an increased annual premium. Unfortunately the only person I know with bank insurance and heart problems haven't told them about it!
We are hoping to do some travelling next year including the Caribbean and or Canada so the bank could be the cheapest way for us
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banana1982
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Hello and welcome to the forum! Bank is to broad a term as it will vary from bank to bank. Your 'nom de plume' suggests you are in your late thirties so you may get a more favourable response than an older person. Have a look at the pinned post about insurance. Cover for the Carribbean and/or Canada will not be cheap as it falls in the same category as the US. Check any proposed cover carefully to make sure the cover is adequate.
Your friend is being foolhardy. A friend's father needed heart surgery in the US over twenty years ago and the cost was in excess of £100,000 fortunately covered by insurance.
A rather elderly painter and decorator turned up to paint a room in a friend's house. On chatting to him it turned out he had come out of retirement, downsized again and sold everything he could to pay his son's £175,000 hospital and medical accompanied flight home bill from Thailand. His son had declined the £30 travel insurance..... then hired a moped...... it;s not just hearties who need to think about insurance and once you have a heart problem it will never be cheap.........
About eighteen months ago a family launched a crowdfunding appeal after the granny had to be airlifted off a cruise ship and have stents inserted. One comment said "if you can afford a cruise you can afford insurance"! Locally a man came on a consumer program claiming the insurance company would not pay up on a technicality. His wife had not declared COPD and had needed hospitalising with pneumonia. The COPD made it more serious and the stay longer so the insurance company justifiably would not pay up.
Yes . Im 66 recently diagnosed minor vascular disease and angina. This year had tests including ct angiogram and a long wait for results.
I already had annual cover with HSBC but rather than alert them too soon, I did a bit of research online for cover to USA and Europe . The quotes from the online questionaire were very high, but I think this was because I was still under medical investigation. So when I eventually received my heart results and new medication , I spoke to my bank insurers , told them everything and was thrilled to hear that they'd cover me worldwide at no extra charge!!
So do contact them, you may be pleasantly surprised.
As for your friend, not disclosing the truth can definitely backfire. As an ex-travel agent I've seen people at risk of losing their house in hospital bills.
You definitely need to tell your insurer bout medical conditions. My husbands bank were happy to cover him for a previous heart attack, cardiac arrest, icd being fitted but when we told them about HF diagnosis they refused to cover this condition. What if we hadn't told them and had needed to make a claim?? I know of someone who was poorly on a flight, the plane was diverted and the airline invoiced him for 280000e, fortunately the insurers paid.
Thank you all, I'll try ringing the bank and speaking to them to see if my Husband could be covered, if not I expect we'd be looking £1000 for annual cover.
The person with the heart condition also has prostate cancer, I am going to be on the same cruise as him in October assuming he is able to travel. A closer friend than I is going to speak to them about getting comprehensive insurance as they can certainly afford it
Having money sometimes goes with a strange view to spending. I know a millionaire who had three main supermarkets close by but drives a dozen miles to Lidl! ☹️
Hi, we used the travel insurance that comes it’s our packaged bank account after my husband was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy. There was an extra premium to pay, but it wasn’t too much.
Your bank’s website should have a contact us section, probably at the bottom of the page somewhere. If you can’t find a specific number for travel insurance then use the general number and they’ll guide you forwards.
If you can’t find it I don’t mind looking for you if you let me know which bank it is.
Thank you , we are away for a few days now so will spend some time Thursday seeing what I can arrange. My Husband still hasn't seen the cardiologist so he doesn't have a full picture of his prognosis yet.
We had free travel insurance through our bank. When I notified them of my diagnosis they took all the details and promptly excluded it from the cover! They told me I was covered for anything else mind! So I have to obtain additional travel insurance now. You really need to notify them and discuss it. I was expecting a premium for covering it but that was not how my bank dealt with it. Its not worth travelling without cover for your condition! I used Saga and there was no problem but there are others out there . I used the information on the BHF website. very useful.Good luck.
I have travel insurance through a premium account with the Natwest. After a heart attack 2 years ago they exclude any claim that is heart related. This continues despite clear evidence of current health etc. They seem to have a complete 'block' on this cover and as it is a "free" scheme linked to the bank account they will not simply charge more as other insurance companies might do.
I am now obliged to effectively buy another policy that covers cardiac incidents!
Thank you it's barclays that we are with I'll give them a call but if heart conditions are excluded then I'll look for another provider for annual cover. My Mum is with Lloyds and they exclude anything cancer related as she has had it twice.
I have cover with Barclays they are fine with my AF, stenosis etc, only one year out of last 10 that they would not cover me was when I had been to A&E twice with AF. They are fine if only once. That year they gave me numbers to call for insurance and I ended up taking single trip insurance for that trip
I had identical circumstances and the bank (HSBC) confirmed that they wouldn't cover my cardiac condition, I then obtained personal cover from one of the BHF suggested insurers, leaving my wife and children relying on the HSBC cover, rather by accident I then discovered that if we cancelled a trip because of my medical condition HSBC would not then pay out for my wife and children, inconsequence I had to take out further insurance for the rest of the family, again from a medical specialist insurer. The additional premium for the rest of the family was modest but I rather suspect this is a "trap" easily overlooked which would otherwise result in no cancellation cover which is probably the biggest risk!
A very good point - I have to take out cover with another insurance co whilst my wife 'uses' our bank provided insurance. I had not considered this eventuality and will rethink accordingly.
I believe that a travel insurance is a literary vital thing on a trip as better safe than sorry. Personally I prefer buying insurance. The choice depends on many factors, and first of all, on money you are ready to pay for it. I can recommend to look through the travel insurance sites on travelsites.com/travel-insu.... You can find many great offers there. And it is convenient to compare them on one site. I hope you will find this info to be useful!
Thank you, it seems we can get comprehensive worldwide annual cover for quite a reasonable amount we will however wait until we've seen the consultant to ensure we cover all conditions
Hi, I posted our problems with getting travel insurance and especially the cost. I then went to our bank Nationwide, and changed our account to one that allows us to have worldwide travel insurance. This cost us £ 240 to cover for my angina and osteoarthritis, and then £13/ month.
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