Naive question - Travel insurance vs medical insurance

[guinness1759]

Hi everyone, I m a 65yr young female recently diagnosed with atrial flutter & fibrillation (now controlled with meds) and am asking a few very naïve questions – I’m soon to travel to Australia for a wedding and realise I need to sort out insurance. Which type insurance should I be considering? I have “travel insurance” through by bank and presume I will have to advise them of my condition as a minimum, but wonder if this might be sufficient (assuming they’re ok to cover me). Will I need to provide a report (or similar) from GP? Travel insurance vs medical insurance (if there is such a thing) and what in essence is the difference? Naïve as I say, but as my diagnosis is only recent the question of insurance has never arisen.

Many thanks in advance.

[Chappychap]

Travel insurance covers treatment and repatriation during holidays, medical insurance covers medical bills year round but often excludes the time when you're abroad on holiday, and often excludes pre-existing conditions like your heart problems.

You absolutely must take out fresh travel insurance where you've fully disclosed your medical conditions. Don't be alarmed, there are specialist insurers like "Staysure" who specialise in this type of cover. If you search this forum (use the magnifying glass symbol top right) and you'll find loads of helpful comments.

Have a wonderful trip to Australia!

[guinness1759 in reply to Chappychap]

thanks for yourvery quick response and suggestions re using this site

[MummaSoap]

Hi guinness1759

I would contact the travel insurance line associated with your bank because it may be that they can cover you with your existing package or still provide cover (for an additional fee). You may not need to provide a report of any kind but maybe discuss the journey with your GP as they may provide a “fit to fly” letter.

I’m sorry, I don’t know about the difference between travel and medical insurance - I thought they were one of the same thing in the UK but it’s certainly a good question to ask. Forearmed is forewarned and all that 🙂

Best wishes

Soap

[guinness1759 in reply to MummaSoap]

Great advice - I have contacted GP and hope this will avoid me making a mistake. Thank you

[MummaSoap in reply to guinness1759]

I hope you get it sorted quickly and can then relax and look forward to your exciting holiday ahead!

Wishing you all the best

Soap

[Scooby40]

Hi I am in the same boat as you. Not sure who you bank with? Nationwide's travel insurance is superb. I declared my medical conditions and pay an extra premium. It's good insurance and a LOT cheaper than a separate policy from another company.

[guinness1759 in reply to Scooby40]

I;ll contact bank insurers as in theory I will have been "paying" for some cover for a number of years without a claim already Thanks

[Hidden]

My advice is to talk to your existing insurance and share all of your medical conditions. You may be asked for an additional fee. If you believe that to be excessive use a comparison site for travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions to compare and take it from there. I am also with NW as others have said but in my case I found it was more cost effective for me to take out additional insurance with reduced non medical cover since I already had these covered by NW.

[guinness1759 in reply to Hidden]

I;ll contact bank insurers in the hope that they'll be able to do a decent deal.... if not, it appears there are more ish in the sea!,,,watch this space, Thanks

[Prothy]

Hi, as you have been diagnosed recently your insurance is going to be extremely high. I usually take out travel insurance (currently with Staysure). I would think medical insurance would cover just that and not anything else that may arise when travelling. Worth looking into though.

[Dessert]

Travel insurance is for when you go abroad . It covers your medical expenses eg hospital stay, medication , seeing a doctor etc when you are ill and abroad . A good company is ‘ Paying too much ‘ travel insurance imo . It usually covers your luggage too

You must read the fine print of what you are insured for . It is very important that you disclose ALL your medical conditions that are listed on your medical records with your GP to the travel insurance company . If you do not and you are ill abroad you will not be covered by the insurance company and you will have to pay out of your own pocket which can be hundreds of thousands of pounds .

Medical insurance is used when you are in the country that you live in permanently.

You pay monthly so when you are ill you can stay at a private hospital instead of an NHS hospital or see a private doctor eg BUPA

[prospo]

I updated my holiday insurance online recently (provided through my bank), adding recent medical conditions. The process was easy and the quote was much lower than those provided through specialist companies.

[guinness1759 in reply to prospo]

thanks i've been dreading being "tripped up" by speaking to insurers on the phone - wasnt sure how easy or otherwise an on-line approach might be....