travel insurance needed urgently - British Heart Fou...

British Heart Foundation

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travel insurance needed urgently

Letsallhope1 profile image
25 Replies

Good morning all,

I’d like some help on travel insurance.

Anyone knows a reputable company who will still cover someone like me with congenital heart disease and heart failure?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Have a great Xmas everyone and stay away from excessive eating and drinking 😜

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Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1
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25 Replies
Thanksnhs profile image
Thanksnhs

Hi I use insurancewith.com they specialise in pre existing conditions and the cost isn't too bad, I had arythmogenic cardiomyopathy and severe heart failure and I got insurance with them, I have had a transplant and I still use them, char

Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1 in reply toThanksnhs

Wow, you went through a lot!

Heart transplant list is my next option in a future not so far away 🤞🏼💪🏼

thanks for the quick reply, Will check it out :-)

Roamie profile image
Roamie in reply toThanksnhs

Hello, I searched for travel insurance a couple of weeks ago.

A comparison site did not work – there were no appropriate boxes for me!

Insurance with.com would not offer me a price. I rang each one instead of going online..more personal that way, definitely. Arm yourself with all your dates and procedure names first..you will need them!

Among the others, Staysure was good, but more expensive than Avanti who were very reasonable, superb staff and since quoting and paying for my insurance, I’ve been told that I am pre-diabetic – and with a callback, they included that in the cover with no further charge. 5⭐️

I hope that you are successful in your search.

Roamie profile image
Roamie in reply toRoamie

Avanti were £300 cheaper than Avanti…and an annual policy across-the-board appears cheaper than single trip!!

Roamie profile image
Roamie in reply toRoamie

whoops, sorry…Avanti cheaper than Staysure!

Hanibil profile image
Hanibil

Try Avanti I find them excellent,

Try a comparison site for travel insurance for those with pre-existing health conditions and go from there. We are all different in terms of risk for health conditions, age, gender,and where we want to go and insurance companies assess that risk differently. For example Staysure often get mentioned on here yet they wouldn't insure me earlier this year whereas Allclear who also are mentioned would insure me. And my experience is that assuming you can find insurance the premiums vary considerably.

Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1 in reply to

thanks for the advice, will try that road..spent ages to answer never ending questions on the insurancewith.com website as advised and they refused to cover me.

Pretty depressing 😭

KaliBill profile image
KaliBill

I've used Avanti and find I can do it all on line. I've not had to claim thankfully, which is probably when the main issue would arise if there was to be one!

Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1 in reply toKaliBill

finally had a quote from them and will probably go with it.Thank you!!!

Stoer profile image
Stoer

I use GoodtoGo. They paid out really quickly after I had been told by a cardiologist to cancel my holidays.

Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1 in reply toStoer

thanks for the reply but sadly they were the first ones I tried and they refuse to cover me 😥I’ve just had a decent quote with Avanti so I’ll probably go with them.All the best with your health!

Roamie profile image
Roamie in reply toLetsallhope1

I also tried them with the same result!

ClairePap profile image
ClairePap

Staysure were good for me. Hopefully you will be sorted

P0rtnahapp1e profile image
P0rtnahapp1e

I find Staysure great for cover and price. A couple of tips ; don’t do it online, phone them and let them do the work. It’s quicker and easier, but have all the info to hand.

It’ll be much cheaper if you haven’t had any UNPLANNED visits to the hospital recently.

Book as close to travel as possible since quite a bit of the premium is to cover you cancelling your holiday because of illness before your trip.

I stick to the same company for each trip as it saves repeating all the info and when I’ve done a quick spot check with other companies I’ve still found Stay Sure the cheapest, even for cruises and US trips which are usually expensive.

I have AF, heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure, diabetes, glaucoma and have had endocarditis in the past, but because I haven’t had any emergencies in the past two years they seem ok with all that !!

Have a great trip!!

in reply toP0rtnahapp1e

Not disputing the logic of booking as close to travel as possible from a premiums perspective, but many people want travel insurance in case they have to cancel just as much as they want it for medical care and/or repatriation whilst away. You can’t always get refunds, otherwise, and changing dates isn’t always logistically possible. There’s also always the chance that your health deteriorates between booking and trying to get insurance, or you’re undergoing tests (which generally means you’re considered uninsurable, particularly if you’re without a formal diagnosis) and you then find yourself in a situation whereby you either have to risk travelling without medical cover at all or absorb the cost of the holiday and just not go. That’s why the experts all advise buying insurance as soon as you book a holiday. Plus it applies to needing to cancel if another member of your party is taken ill or can otherwise no longer travel.

Roamie profile image
Roamie in reply toP0rtnahapp1e

I did not use Staysure, but all of POrtnahapp1e’s advice holds true.

Letsallhope1 profile image
Letsallhope1 in reply toP0rtnahapp1e

thank you very much for the advice.

I always book refundable hotels and flights are with the airline I work for therefore fully refundable.

Will follow your advice of booking last minute, thank you and all the best for your health xx

Blackcat99 profile image
Blackcat99

AllClear insured me for a lengthy trip to the Far East. I have bronchiectasis, ischaemic heart disease and was halfway through recovery from triple fracture of femur and subsequent insertion of a 17" metal rod + screws. Wasn't cheap, but reasonable in the circumstances, and, in any case, several other companies wouldn't touch me. I didn't actually have to use their service, but I did find their c ustomer service people very pleasant and down-to-earth.

Used Staysure previously (pre- bionic leg!) and they were worse than useless when we got stuck for 8 weeks in Thailand when Covid suddenly closed down all flights home. They did nothing to help, offered no financial help, but demanded that we pay them extra fees for the each day we were marooned abroad, as we had exceeded the length of trip specified on the original contract!

Have a good Christmas, and enjoy your trip! 🎄🌞

Coxtribe profile image
Coxtribe

This does crop up quite frequently (understandably). I referred to comments in previous posts and ended up with Staysure this year. I haven't had to claim, which is the real test(!), but the quote seemed reasonable for the level of annual cover provided.

misty081 profile image
misty081

I use Barclays.

Deeb1764 profile image
Deeb1764

I got my Mum on Staysure 2022 Jan,however the price dropped a lot by waiting till after Christmas by almost half so if you can wait might be worth it. Definitely get a lot of quotes when I did it went from 800 to 2500 for her and annual is cheaper than one off.

Markp7119 profile image
Markp7119

try nationalise plus account

£13 a month but get travel / phone and breakdown insurance may have to pay a premium for medical a condition that you will need to inform them about but mine worked out cheaper and I get all the other benefits hope this helps mark

MustyK profile image
MustyK

I have used Alpha Travel after extensive search. I have found them to be the best in terms price to cover ratio. Hope that helps

Myrtledene profile image
Myrtledene

All clear very good cheaper than others

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