Travel insurance with Implantable Loop Recorder

[electricavenue]

Hi all, I have just been told my travel insurance company won't cover me for heart problems as I have one of these and they consider I am under investigation. Has anyone found an insurance company that would cover them? I have looked at specialist insurers but it seems they won't cover either. The cardiologist offered it to me as a 'belt and braces', I would never have had it if I had known the issues it would cause for the next 3 years.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

You have been declined cover by one provider and may find others are the same. I suggest you enter your details into an online website which caters for travel insurance with pre-existing conditions and take it from there. Or talk to a local insurance broker. In short do your own research. We are all different for a number of reasons and just because someone with the same device as you have found insurance doesn't mean you will find the same applies to you. I hope you manage to get fixed up with a reliable company at a sensible premium.

[Hanibil]

Hi give Avanti a try, I have found them excellent

[electricavenue in reply to Hanibil]

Do you have a loop?

[Hanibil]

Nope mechanical aortic valve, Repaird thoracic aorta, CRT-Di implant, and heart failure

[Taz70]

Hi, I have a loop recorder fitted but i haven't needed travel insurance as I haven't been on holiday since it was fitted 18 months ago. I'm due to go on holiday in September so I'm now wondering if I will get insurance too. Was you also told to notify the dvla/car insurance about the loop recorder once it was fitted? I was told I had to the morning of my operation then told by the surgeon it didn't matter as long as you've gone 3 months prior to the implant without any symptoms then you were ok??

[electricavenue in reply to Taz70]

They didn't say anything about DVLA and it wasn't in the documents they gave me.

[fixedrider in reply to electricavenue]

I'm not sure you need to notify the DVLA about the loop recorder, but possibly about the symptoms that resulted in your having it fitted. I've got a recorder, and have had to notify them about my condition. Waiting to hear what they say actually, but I've also been advised not to drive, so it makes little immediate difference what their response might be!

[Buddy00]

Have you tried the insurance without the cancellation cover ? That’s what I had to do using All Clear. I have a pacemaker but have a yearly echocardiogram due to congenital heart issues and am also ( still ) awaiting an operation. So am classed as ongoing treatment.

[electricavenue in reply to Buddy00]

I'm not bothered about cancellation, more if anything medical happens while I am abroad.

[Buddy00 in reply to electricavenue]

Yes that’s why I asked if you had tried without asking for cancellation cover.

[daydreamer31]

I managed to get travel insurance with a loop recorder from All Clear insurance for a trip to the Canary Islands last December, good luck!

[electricavenue in reply to daydreamer31]

Thank you, I'll try them today.

[TheMiloKid in reply to daydreamer31]

I am with them as well

[Dizzydory]

hi electric avenue,

I had a loop recorder fitted last month and am having the same problem you are. I’ve found a couple of insurance companies that would give me a quote that is a ridiculous amount but they then go on to say I’m not covered for any heart related issues. I only started looking yesterday so I am going to give them a call to see what they say. I’m also going to contact my cardiologist to see what I actually need to declare.

Please let me know how you get on and I’ll do the same.

[electricavenue in reply to Dizzydory]

Yes I'll let you know.

[rob1922]

why does this matter to the health insurance providers? It’s just an internal monitor, it’s not like a pacemaker or ICD? So not a device to give actual treatment. This is rather shocking to read. Hope you find a provider that can help you. This just seems outrageous.

[L8Again in reply to rob1922]

How does an insurer’s underwriter assess risk when there is no clear diagnosis to fallback on? ILRs are generally fitted as a tool to provide a diagnosis and/or to rule out specific heart conditions. The problem that the OP now has is that one of the questions on most health insurance proposals is ‘have you ever been declined insurance’? This question needs to be answered very carefully.

No one is stopping the OP from travelling; however, the cost of a heart-related hospital stay in a foreign country and an aeromedical evacuation could be significant.

[HeartofExe in reply to L8Again]

So, does the exclusion of cover for ‘heart-related conditions’ really equate to insurance being declined? If so , I think I might also have a problem.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to HeartofExe]

If you have a policy that has exclusions or are quoted for insurance with exclusions it means just that. If you have a subsequent event that falls within the exclusion you are not insured for that but for everything else you have declared you are insured. So if you have a heart condition exclusion and have a heart related event it means that anything heart related is not insured. So if you are prepared to take that risk it is important to understand what you are covered for and what you are not covered for under 'heart conditions'.

[electricavenue in reply to HeartofExe]

I am still insured but not for any event that could relate to a heart condition. I'll have to stay in areas that accept the GHIC card.

[Scotsman53 in reply to rob1922]

It's not the device itself, it's the implication that there are undiagnosed symptoms.

[hanne6263]

Try Total Travel Protection. They covered me (for an additional premium) last year when I was on a waiting list for an ablation. Staysure had removed all cover for anything heart or circulatory related and I therefore had to cancel the policy at a cost. TTP have a different approach to medical screening.

[electricavenue in reply to hanne6263]

Staysure were one I had a look at who wouldn't cover.

[Choccie55]

Have you tried Insurancewith.com who specialise in medical conditions.

[electricavenue in reply to Choccie55]

One to try today

[Thanksnhs in reply to electricavenue]

I use them as well, I have had a transplant but I still got insurance with them when I had arrythmogenic cardiomyopathy, severe heart failure and an ICD. I hope you get insured ok and have a lovely holiday. Char

[newstent]

I use Staysure, they’ve been ok about my heart issues but they are different to yours.

[Qualipop]

Try different companies. They all have different criteria. M&S seem pretty good. Not one you'd probably consider but my son just got the cheapest of anywhere for 2 months in USA with pre existing conditions ( Not heart though)

[electricavenue]

Update. None of the companies mentioned above are prepared to cover any heart related conditions while I have the loop recorder ie. 'under investigation'.

[DodgyTickerMum in reply to electricavenue]

Oh No! I had an I.L.R implanted in Feb, following O.H.S to replace my mitral valve last June. (I went into A.F post surgery but subsequently returned to a sinus rhythm by the time I was discharged, 2 wks post op). Since then, my heart has been unsettled and erratic - hence the loop recorder.

Surely, if an I.L.R is just used as a monitoring tool and you haven’t had a specific condition diagnosed - how can you be blanket penalised regardless?!

I wasn’t told to advise the D.V.L.A either? When I checked on their site, I couldn’t find anything related to I.L.Rs’?

I did advise my motor insurer of my main surgery at the time and waited 12 wks to resume driving - and they just noted it in on their records. Foolishly, I hadn’t realised the wider implications of having an I.L.R fitted. 🤦🏼‍♀️

[GCWhits]

Allclear insured me last year and I had an ILR and thus was 'under investigation'. It cost around £80 for a 5 day trip to Germany.