Travel insurance with aortic aneurysm

[valvewife]

Hi

My husband had a mechanical valve fitted in 2015 due to congenital bicuspid valve and regurgitation. Barring the odd minor complication, usually warfarin related, all has been fine.

However, on a call last week from the cardiologist, to discuss his last scan (7 months earlier!!), he was told his aorta was increasing. It is now at 4.6 from a CT scan in July 2024. His last echo was at 3.7 in July 2023. I understand there is a potential difference between CT and echo, so he has another echo booked for a couple of weeks to see if that will give more information.

I'm assuming that if this also shows an increase then he will be monitored until the cardiologist decides he needs OHS to replace/repair the aorta, and maybe the valve. Obviously we're reeling a bit, as we didn't expect to have to go through all this again.

To complicate matters further, this year is a big birthday and we have a 3 week, very expensive holiday booked to Namibia in June. Obviously if he needs surgery we will not be able to go, but if the cardiologist says to monitor again in a few months, and IF he decides he still wants to go on the holiday, does anyone have any recommendations for travel insurance companies which would cover his situation? I'm not totally convinced I want to be in a remote part of Africa if the worst happens (i.e. a rupture), but if he does want to go, I'd like to make sure we're covered.

Any advice? Or any advice on how to stop reeling from this unexpected news?! We know the operation is likely to be successful, we've done it all before, but I seem to have got straight back onto the stress conveyor belt which comes with all this stuff...

Thx

[Lowerfield_no_more]

If you are already covered by an existing travel insurance provider then you must talk to them soonest to find out where you stand. If further tests or investigations are required or if the health risk has changed you may be asked for an additional premium or the provider may even choose to cancel the policy or exclude some of the cover. But you wont really know until you talk to them. But if you have no travel insurance cover at present I suggest you find a comparison site for travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions, answer all the questions fully and honestly, and then take it from there. Or talk to a local insurance broker. But, again, if there are upcoming tests, investigations and procedures due you may find insurers are unwilling to provide cover or the premium is excessive. Finally we are all different age, medical conditions, where we are going, duration etc, and what might suit one person may not suit the next, there is no one size fits all, that's is why it is important to do your own research. Hope this is useful.

[valvewife in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Hi

Thanks for your answer.

He has an annual policy but it excludes his heart valve. Typically it is now up for renewal (we booked the holiday a few months ago when there was no anticipated problems, but knowing how bad the insurance companies can be I assume they'll say it was pre-existing and wriggle out of it if we try to claim a cancellation. Not sure if I can argue that increasing aorta is different to a replacement valve - who knows?).

I'm pretty resigned to losing all the money we have paid as a deposit. The balance of payment is due a few weeks after his next scan, and I doubt we'll have any concrete information by then, so barring a miracle I'm assuming the whole trip will have to be cancelled. Like you say, insurance companies dont like tests or investigations.

It's all very depressing.

Anyway - thanks for your thoughts.

[Lowerfield_no_more in reply to valvewife]

Hopefully you will be able to sort out your travel insurance situation to your satisfaction. However if it gets to a rejected claim situation and you believe the rejection is unreasonable and outside the terms of your contract and the sum involved is considerable (and the insurance company might be trying it on) and you are prepared to invest the time there are things you can do as in the link below.

citizensadvice.org.uk/consu...

[valvewife in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Thank you - who knows what the future is bringing, but that's good to know.

H

[Isobel1]

Hello Valvewife .I belong to a Facebook group for people who are waiting for or have had surgery for heart valves and aneurysms. From what I have read on there it's very difficult to get travel insurance if a new medical conditions has appeared after your previous insurance has expired. Honestly, although I know you will lose money, I think it would be safer for you to cancel your holiday.As you say even if you did get insurance, Namibia might be a risky place to be if your husband is taken ill .

Are you sure you can't get your deposit back ?

[valvewife in reply to Isobel1]

Hi, thx for your reply. I'm assuming we won't get the deposit back as his current insurance excludes his valve. Even tho this is not technically a valve issue, I feel sure the insurance companies will get out of it.

We haven't been told anything officially yet, certainly not been told that he can't travel, so not sure if I'll be able to claim my own insurance. (We have separate policies). Again, pre-existing condition.

At present it's a 'needs more scans' situation. If there's any real danger from the aorta we won't travel - I don't want to be remote with any kind of 'loaded gun' situation. But at the moment it's a timings issue. Typically everything is happening at the same time.

This holiday has taken months of planning, we're gutted we can't go, gutted we can't get the money back, and gutted he might need OHS again. We thought we'd done the hard bit, it was meant to be better after his valve replacement, and it has been for 9 years. I guess we got complacent.

Obviously I'll try to claim, but just wondered if anyone else had a similar experience. You probably know what it's like - I'm now glued to forums and Dr Google looking for a silver lining! Whilst trying to remain positive cos it's him having the issues, not me, and he's pretty devastated, and (wrongly) feeling guilty that it's all his fault.... 🫤

Thx, H

[Isobel1 in reply to valvewife]

It's such a shame that you might not get your..money back. 🙁 If you like, I could send you the link to the FB group I mentioned. One of our groups aorta started leaking while he was on holiday in India. He was rushed to hospital. He was very lucky to survive! X

[valvewife]

Yes please, I can add it to the long list of research I'm doing!Thank you x

[Isobel1 in reply to valvewife]

It's called " UK aortic & heart surgery. Pre surgery Post surgery ". It's a Facebook page.

[Isobel1]

Ok,will do, you'll just have to answer a couple of questions about what heart condition you are discussing and agree to the group rules.