TRAVEL INSURANCE - HOPEFULLY THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR THOSE WITH PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Is there such a thing as a sticky on this Forum? If not it's a shame. If so can this be the Ultimate Guide for those seeking travel insurance cover where they have pre-existing medical conditions.

Posts on here requesting recommendations for travel insurance occur (or so it seems to me ) as frequently as four or five times a month or certainly no less than two a month. The answers are usually the same. So..

1. We are all different, including age, medical history, gender (usually select from one of two!), and ethnicity. Therefore our risk profile (as assessed by travel insurance providers) will be different. So what applies to Person A will not necessarily apply to Person B.

2. It appears that travel insurance providers assess the risk differently, which means that in extreme some providers will decline to cover whereas others will not. And premiums can vary considerably.

3. Travel insurance will depend on where you intend to travel, what you intend to do e.g.cruises may be higher risk than land based travel, and obviously the length of cover required.

4. If you are awaiting treatment of any kind, or an investigation e.g an angiogram, you will find premiums are high or you may find some providers decline to provide cover.

5. Some pre-existing medical conditions are worse than others when it comes to risk . and the more conditions you have and the more serious they are will also increase the risk.

In short there is no best fit for everyone. We are all unique as are our travel arrangements. And so just because someone on here found ,for example, that Staysure , or Avanti or Allclear provided cover at a modest premium does not mean everyone will qualify for the same.

So the solution is to try a website for travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions, answer all the questions honestly and then take it from there. If you are deemed high risk you may find that you are declined cover or the premium is very high. That's just how it is.

Or go talk to your local insurance broker who should know the market better than any of us and will be incentivised to get a deal if one is available

Other suggestions welcome...

[Buddy00]

pre existing conditions didn’t seem to be the issue for me . It’s if you have to have ongoing tests / treatment, as in an annual echocardiogram , visits to the pacing clinic . It’s then classed differently which made it difficult and expensive.

[Hidden in reply to Buddy00]

The more pre existing conditions you have, the more serious they are, the more the cost of cover irrespective of where you go, until you get to the point at which it becomes prohibitively expensive or you are declined cover. Add in any upcoming treatments or investigations and the premiums will be even higher or the likelihood of being declined will increase further, all proportionate to what is being investigated or treated in terms of how serious they are.

[DaveTR]

Hi,It is possible to have "pinned" posts.

For existing pinned posts have a look at the "posts" tab, you can select "pinned" from there.

There is a pinned post about travel insurance there at the moment.

I believe Admin can pin a post.

I hope that makes sense

[Hidden in reply to DaveTR]

I can fully understand the idea behind this very well written post but even if you 'pin it' or 'Stick it' the question will be still be asked on the forum.

If you read behind many of the questions when asked they are looking for not only where to buy/get the insurance but also how others got on traveling, their fears, their needs etc.

I am sure many will see that if " Insurance " is placed in the heading of a new post then a pinned list will appear on the righthand side, or place Insurance into the search field will bring up similar information.

We have to remember that what is repeat questions to us, is a new one for a new member who maybe is after a personal interaction with us.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

My observation is that most people come on here with the simple question or similar 'Can anyone recommend a travel insurance provider?'. Hopefully this post will get the best outcome for them. And I'll warrant that we never see many of any new members posting after they have got what they want, which is fine. But if they have any other needs that is a separate issue.

[tonylongman]

Hi

Just to add my experience to this thread:

1) Annual policies seem to be priced with a very modest uplift on single trip so look great value if you are likely to travel twice or more in a year

2) Even if you get travel insurance any change to your health information after taking the policy out usually needs to be disclosed (not sure what the consequences are, ie additional premium or cover restrictions!)

3) If you are travelling as a couple/family you usually need to take out a joint policy for all travellers or in the event of a claim the "healthy" traveller isn't covered for cancellation (in my experience the quotes for my "healthy" wife from my insurer have been reasonable so this hasn't been a huge issue

4) There are comparison websites for travel insurance with serious health complications though not all insurers use them

5) If you like "dangerous" sports the definitions on each policy provider differ (I like "adventurous mountain biking" and the differing definitions of what constitutes excluded downhill mountain biking and the maximum height I can go to is surprising!

6) Certain countries are perceived as having higher medical costs so higher premiums but this identification varies by provider (all seem to treat the USA as highest premium but some other countries are treated likewise but not consistently, carribean, mexico, thailand etc)

7) In my experience it's worth setting aside several hours to obtain numerous quotes and then read the policy details before concluding on best cover. The morale here seems to be don't take anything for granted and check the policies properly

[Heather1957]

I totally agree with this but it won't and shouldn't stop people asking.

If someone posts their problem and asks for recommendation for those who have sought travel insurance with the the same issues, then it is a very valid question.

I am in a very lucky position (for the next 4 years) in that I am part of a group insurance scheme but my sister has had a struggle getting insurance after chemo and it is very helpful to ask others and not just go straight to the brokers even if that is where they end up.

Just my tuppence worth.

[Hidden in reply to Heather1957]

Completely agree that this won't stop people asking the question. As I said above many people come on here and ask the simple question 'Can anyone recommend travel insurance?', and when they have got what they want they disappear. However even then an answer of 'Try ABC Insurance, I had a good deal' does not really provide the best response, since ABC Insurance might be way off the mark for a best fit for the original poster asking the question. And just because someone who has one set of medical issues can get a good deal with 'DEF Insurance' doesn't mean someone else with an identical set will be able to get the same. That's why it is important to understand the unique situation everyone is in when it comes to travel insurance and basically do your own research specifically for yourself and go from there, rather than just rely on the experiences of a handful of other well meaning people who you actually know very little about.

[fishonabike]

there are Pinned Posts - one of them is travel insurance

[Hidden in reply to fishonabike]

Found it. 👍

Unfortunately its five years out of date, and really doesn't explain to people they need to do their own research rather than rely on the experiences of others. And advising people to go talk to a GP to get help filling out a medical questionnaire will be 'challenging' in 2023 for many of us, especially since some of us cant even get a routine appointment with a GP at all, including me☹️

[fishonabike in reply to Hidden]

it might be an idea to suggest to Mods that this should be updated

the suggestion about help from GPs with any form filling is out of date by decades in my experience!

[Hidden]

I think you are are seriously misguided if you believe my post about travel insurance was aimed at you in particular. The simple fact is that this forum gets several posts a month asking about travel insurance, apparently including yours, and I must have answered at least twenty posts on travel insurance since I have been on here, and along with others the responses are usually the same. So as I said in the OP the idea was to consolidate and clarify the information to benefit everyone. I fully understand that you could be at a difficult time in your health situation, but in my view that does not mean you can come on here and accuse people, in this case me, of something that was simply not true and without any justification. If you had said what you have said to my face, which I view as an angry and personal attack, I would have asked for an apology. The fact that that this is a forum apparently inhabited by keyboard warriors means that I shan't bother asking, but if you feel you would like to offer one, I will accept it.

[Hidden]

Thankyou for your supporting comments. It is really disappointing for me that the earlier post you referenced has, first, completely upset the balance of the thread to my OP which up until then had been informative and useful, and second, on a personal note, has made me question why I am even on this forum offering what I consider useful information. Perhaps it's time for me to move on. My style of delivery may not suit everyone on here, but it always given in good faith and in consideration of the well-being of others who may have more challenges in their lives compared to me, and it is never given with malicious intent.

[Heather1957]

I wish it did have that facility, I don't think when it was set up it was anticipated that you'd need to block anyone - quite sad really.

[MountainGuide]

My wife and I have global travel insurance through a Bank of Scotland Platinum account. It's very good value at around £20 a month in total , including us both. I told them about my Afib and they added a small annual fee. The cover finishes when I reach 80 years of age. Two years left.I'd thoroughly recommend this type of cover, which includes car breakdown and phone .

[sunlovah in reply to MountainGuide]

Do you have to have a Bank of Scotland bank account to qualify for this?

[MountainGuide in reply to sunlovah]

Yes, that's right.