Hi, My son and his wife would like us to visit and stay with them for three months next year. They are happy to come over to the uk from Bulgaria and drive us back. Had a By pass 8 years ago, relatively fine for age 78, can walk a few miles not rushing. Breathless on inclines but probably to do more with tablets, Valsartan, Bisoprolol 75 mg, clopidrogel and Atorvasin plus 4 others for Diabetese type 2 and Kidney preventative].
Insurance seems to cover lots of things which are not needed eg, cancellation and such. Question being do I need insurance and what level, any recommendations how to proceed would be welcome, Thanks.
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Ray80
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personally, I would not travel abroad without travel insurance, since if you become ill the costs of treatment or repatriation - or repatriation of your body - could be expensive. Therefore the first thing to do is to find out the cost of: hospitalisation for say five days in the country you are going to plus the cost of treatment. the cost of an air ambulance to being you home and a decision of whether funeral arrangements are best in the UK or abroad.
Having found out the rough cost of these things, then you need to find out the prices of insurance. Personally I bank with an institution which proves travel insurance as standard, with an extra fee for being over 70 and on top of that they charge an extra fee depending on where you travel to, for how long and of course they do a medical screening. For me it costs £13 a month plus about £600 for four weeks worldwide excluding North America. I had cancer, my husband had angina plus stents.
There are several insurers who provide cover for us oldies.
If you have a relative or friend who owns a limited company, you could become a sleeping director and join or commence a company group travel insurance scheme. It is based on average ages and not underwriting as its a group risk policy. There are companies who accept 3 or more and the cost is really competative. Really easy to register the group at companies house, almost immediate in fact with immediate cover. The premium is paid by the company, who must have a current business bank account, on an annual basis but each individual member is given a premium so you could pay that amount back to the company. This will also avoid any benefits in kind tax with the revenue.
I've always got travel insurance when we went abroad, not so much for the actual travelling, although it can help if you have to cancel or flight is cancelled, but for the health insurance whilst there, just in case I became ill while on holiday. You might have to do some googling to find the best insurer for your conditions. Tell them about any tests you've had, no matter how long ago, the results and conditions you've got, even ones your not getting treatment for, and let them decide which ones they want to make note of. There's nothing they can find to deny payment if they've got all your more recent medical history, I was told at least the last 5 years but 10 was safer.
Thanks for the reply. Reading the post reckon 'honesty' as regards all associated procedures etc need to be highlighted, hate the thought of being caught out by a technicality.
hi I personally would never travel without insurance & you may need a specialist provider as you will be away for 3 months , also it is important to let your home insurance know as most policies only cover you to be away for 30 days
Certainly get medical insurance, I remember my mother seriously considering visiting her sister in the USA without medical insurance as it was proving costly as she was over 70. Happily I found one for her, and she was taken ill while she was there with un diagnosed diabetes and complications from it. Had she not had insurance she might have had to sell her house, it was so expensive.
Good morning. Ref holiday insurance I just found Insurfor.com. the cheapest for me. I have copd, chronic kidney disease and a pacemaker. Enjoy your holiday. Brian
You absolutely 100% need insurance. Years and years ago while i n America I simply developed strep throat and had to see a doctor. I did have insurance thank goodness because just the cost of seeing a GP and getting antibiotics was unbelievable. My son spent 3 months there last year and until I explained the cost of repatriation and treatment, was just going with the basic cover that came with his booking. He's a fairly healthy 35 year old but he does have several conditions that could easily flare up like sleep apnoea and he was shocked to learn that he had to declare every single one.
Ray, I was in Spain in June when I had a HA & stent fitted, along with intubation due to delirium. If I didn't have travel insurance the bill was going to be 85,000 Euros.Please do not consider travelling without insurance.
Hello, First, to reassure you about the standard of care in Bulgaria. I live in Bulgaria and came out of hospital yesterday after having 3 stents inserted. The standard of care is fantastic, and very little waiting time, but, as you are not a resident, you would have to pay for ROUTINE care.
EMERGENCY care, however, would be free IF you had a GHIC card from the NHS, all you would pay is the 'bed tax' which everyone pays - it is a contribution towards laundry and food ( terrible, but it is accepted that people bring food in for patients)
I have lived here for 16 years, had my heart attack followed by a stent in 2007/2008, and have been carefully monitored ever since - no complaints.
Heart medicines are available here but I can't comment on the availability of your other meds but If I was you I'd bring them with you - perhaps 4 months instead of 3 to allow for contingencies
I guess your son and daughter-in-law will have a GP who will always see you privately If you are concerned about anything.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.
Or your son is welcome to get in touch - I am in Veliko Tarnovo.
That information is most helpful Witney and really does help to put the mind at rest on many of the questions, especially as you have first hand knowldge of the care system.. Thank you for taking the time to reply especially so soon after your own hopitalization, I am sure further questions will arise in the future, in the meantime may we wish you well on your recovery journey, Take it easy for a while, Regards Ray
One thing I forgot to mention, nothing to do with health issues is that you talk about for ng to Bulgaria for about 3 months. The actual time that you are allowed to stay as a visitor is 90 days; count the days and not the months. If you stay more than 90 you could be given a fine. (Day 1 is the day you enter Bulgaria, even if it's 11pm)
That's a trap many people fall into - just remember some months have more than others! It's a rolling programme; visitors are allowed to stay for 90 days out of 180, and can be difficult to calculate but as you're will be a one-off visit just stick to the 90 days
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