Hi I've recently come home from a holiday and immediately had some palpitations and ectopic beats. Admitted to hospital where it all settled down, angiogram showed trivial CAD but my echo showed left atrium dilation and mod Mitral regurgitation. Still waitng to hear whether i am ok to fly later this year on long haul holiday already booked. Waiting for follow up MRI/consultant. Travel insurance Staysure has consequently declined my policy.
advice please on any companies that will insure in these circumstances?
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Laspecia1
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I’m assuming you booked your holiday without any insurance being in place? If that’s the case, then an insurer might find it hard to cost the risk as it sounds as if investigations have not been completed.
In my particular circumstances I always found out the price of the insurance before I booked, so that I would know the total cost of the holiday, and then insured myself immediately I paid the deposit.
The websites of Moneysavingexpert and Moneyhelper are good on travel insurance advice.
Thanks for your reply. I had got insurance but they have now said that they are declining all medical cover on my policy which renders my policy pretty useless. I have tried some other companies and they range from exhorbitant prices to refusing to ensure while waiting for tests. Seems like my only option is to cancel the holiday until i have a clearer diagnosis and know what is going to happen.
That seems a bit of a dirty trick, cancelling the most important part of the policy because it's suddenly more likely that you'll have to claim! Isn't that why you take out insurance, to protect you against the unexpected?! 😟
Surely if you had the insurance before your health episode then they must at least cover you your loses if you can’t travel? And if investigations are complete and you are given the ok to travel they should cover you? I experienced similar and cover remained in place because it was not considered a pre existing condition. I would get some advice before cancelling the policy or looking elsewhere.
This is odd. Please check your insurance documentation. If a contract is in force they cannot renege on their liabilities. But it does depend on the contract.
It's not unusual for an insurer to refuse/reduce cover whilst you're waiting for diagnosis, procedures etc, but they should still cover cancellation costs for any holidays that were pre-booked, unless the holiday was booked after your hospital stay.
We had a fairly similar situation as in our annual travel insurers were happy to continue our policy knowing my husband had had a previous heart attack, a cardiac arrest & and ICD fitted. As soon as we told them he had heart failure they refused cover for anything heart related. As you've said that pretty much renders the policy useless!
I’ve replied to you a few minutes ago and since then I’ve opened up my weekly email from Moneysavingexpert. And this came up:
“Martin: Booked but not got travel cover yet? DO IT NOW, DON'T DELAY - do it by the end of this box
Martin Lewis, MoneySavingExpert.com founder, whose image links to his official MSE biography page.I've been yelling 'get travel insurance ASAB' (as soon as you book) for years. Yet still too many leave it till the last minute. That's a mistake - half the cover's value is protecting you BEFORE you go, in case something stops you going.
Every year, a few people contact me after something awful, like a cancer diagnosis that needs chemo, but the airline or hotel won't refund them (they don't have to). I tell them 'that's what insurance is for, speak to your insurer'. But if they haven't got it yet, we're stymied.
So if you're reading this, have booked, and not got insurance, DO IT NOW. Go straight to our Travel insurance best-buys | Over-65s travel insurance best-buys | Pre-existing conditions travel cover guides. I repeat, do it NOW, do not pass go, do not collect £200! PS: See how this works if you've got an annual insurance policy.”
I had annual cover with Staysure. When I went on a waiting list for an ablation they removed all cover for anything heart or circulation related, making it useless. I got cover with Total Travel Protection for an additional premium. It's s worth trying them, although as you are awaiting tests rather than a procedure insurance may be difficult.
hi Lasspecia1 I think the problem you are having may be due to the fact that you are for a follow up so the insurer may have concluded that you do not have a settled prognosis. Usually specialist insurers who take on customers with health issues will insure most settled conditions but at a price but if you are waiting for results they cannot price the risk so won’t take it in. I wonder if once you have your follow up you can get cover but it may depend on timing if you are already booked. Interestingly unlike other posters my annual cover was not suspenddd while waiting for an ablation but price went up. After the ablation it was cancelled until I obtained a fit to fly letter when the cost then went down. I use Saga but the algorithms the insurers use to price the risk are all slightly different Hope that your cover is sorted and have a wonderful holiday
It is not uncommon for travel insurance providers to decline or refuse to insure when waiting for a diagnosis, results for a test(s), or further investigations sadly. It is frustrating. As your trip isn’t until later this year, there maybe a chance that your tests are complete by then and you’ve had a diagnosis which you can declare to your travel insurance. However, I understand cancelling your holiday too close to the deadline may mean you lose out on some or all of the money for your holiday.
Keeping my fingers crossed that you get to fly and go on holiday.
If I read your reply correctly, you had insurance, got ill on holiday, they cancelled? Did they pay out for the trip you were on? Did you book before you knew you needed investigation? Were you aware of any ailments before you took out the insurance?
Basically, if you had the insurance in place, then became ill, the insurance company can't cancel or exclude your illness. However, if they covered you the first time, they may exclude future travel for the same or related issue, but if the insurance was already in place, they should cover the cost of cancelling the next trip.
It is a complicated area, but I would suggest contacting the insurance ombudsman if they are going back on any contract which was already in place.
No I was covered for that holiday and wasn't ill until I returned home so no claims were needed. It's only with ringing them to tell them about this hospital admission that has triggered all this
Sadly they can cancel but they do/should cover the cancellation costs of any holidays booked pre hospital stay. It'll be hidden in the small print somewhere
Thanks for the replies. I did find a couple of quotes but they are extortionate. I think the best thing is to cancel this holiday and hope to recoup the deposits. Hopefully once tests are done and i have a definitive diagnosis I may be able to go away again. They are also querying microvascular angina which I suspected 2 years ago and it waz dismissed as being a respiratory issue!
I’ve been reading this post again as I was interested in what’s happening and may have misinterpreted your original post.
If the cover was in place when you got ill, and you’ve paid money towards the holiday, then you ought to be able to claim back the deposit money (less any excess) as that’s what insurance is for.
Do update us as to how you’ve got on as this should be of interest to anyone of us hearties who still want to go on holiday!
Update on travel queries. Just had good news on insurance claim. After challenging their decision of taking deductions for APD and high excess it has reverted to giving me all my deposit monies back less 10 pounds. Now planning UK holiday until I have had MRI and hospital appt.
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