Four questions for people if they wish to answer for some research I'm doing .
1. Who travels and if so uses health insurance?
2.If you have used health insurance have you managed to complete your quote on line or have you had to call the company?
3. How many different incidents have you had to declare (for example I declare clots to the bowel leg kidney portal vein ) ? (So four things under Hughes /APS)
4. If you do use insurance since being diagnosed and on medication have you had any further episodes?
I'm not looking for advice on which company to use I'm looking for those that have had multiple clotting (in different areas of the body) and the ease that they have been able to complete an online quote for travel insurance .
Thanks 😀
Written by
TJSTICKYBLOOD
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Hi, I have travelled numerously around the world, have always used travel insurance, I use the same company, declare everything, simple phone call to just confirm history and update anything new.
Yes I travel too but always have to phone up because I have had multiple clots in different places and I want the online process to cover my needs. Now there is more competition it would be good to be able to complete on line quotes rather than ringing up all the companies .
Hi TJ. In answer to your question I've never been able to complete an online quote for travel insurance. Like you I have had multiple clotting too. Two deep vein thrombosis, both in the left leg, I have a clot sitting on my kidney and one in my heart, multiple TIAS, 2 Strokes, a heart attack and since having an episode of CAPS I can't find anyone to insure me at all. I think a poll would be very interesting, as APsnotFab suggests, to see if we are being treated fairly.
1. I travel since stroke and APS diagnosis, only with family. I don't travel alone / on business mostly because the thought of nights alone in hotel rooms scares the **** out of me, not sure when or if I will do that again.
2. I have once managed to complete a full medical dec online, but not without some concerns over ambiguous or unclear questions - which is what they rely on to get out of paying claims. Otherwise I complete the process online by going for policies which _don't_ ask medical questions.
3. For clots, one TIA (or was it a stroke, or a mini-stroke, doctors have used all three terms - but I have paperwork that says TIA so that is what I put). There is evidence of previous events on my MRI but doesn't seem any way to declare them, were they TIAs or strokes or what - I don't know, I didn't even notice them. I don't even know how many, have never seen my own MRIs, not sure the doctors know either, how do you declare that? Multiple interacting conditions is another issue, I have APS, hypertension, high cholesterol (now almost sorted) and hypothyroid, sometimes you get asked about one as a sub-question of another without the option to say "but I already told you that". After one of my sons shattered his elbow, I realised you're actually supposed to declare fractures - well I know _some_ of mine but I broke my leg when I was 3 so I should declare that? I am not even sure which bone (femur, I think) or which leg (literally no idea), I was 3 years old, I am not even sure you'd find it on X-ray now!
4. In terms of clots / strokes - no. Lots of other problems since then, most/all eventually found not to be APS, but several could have been.
My comments:
I will, on principle, not complete an online process on the phone because someone has not put all of their process online - if I can't complete online I will go elsewhere, or I will phone up from the start. Phoning up usually involves talking on a bad line to someone in a noisy call centre who just fills in a form on their computer and reads you the answer - a far more error prone process than filling it in yourself when you can check it at your leisure, look up your medical documents while doing it rather than rely on memory, etc. etc.
The compete-on-price section of the travel insurance market sells cheap cover to low risk people, (and those who fail to declare properly so the policy will never pay out). We are not those people, not anymore, accept it and forget shopping around on price and comparison sites.
Look for insurers who compete on cover, those who advertise that they cover existing conditions, and those who do blanket no-medical-questions (or a general "my doctors say I can, I am not terminally ill, I am not travelling for treatment) cover. These _will_ cost more because they don't cover only low-risk people, but are probably a good deal for us, we know we are higher risk.
Stick to single trip cover, rather than annual / multi-trip (I used to do those too, mine refused to renew cover after APS diagnosis...). Again, it is more expensive but every time you get a new diagnosis or something changes you will have to notify them (or you won't be covered), they will probably increase your premium and then charge you an admin fee for charging you more.
If all else fails, try a broker, sort it out in person with someone who really knows the insurance market.
Hi Kerstin, my hypertension is now under control (not just average readings, the variability is gone too now). My BP now measures like a normal person - sometimes a bit low. It is taking four drugs to do it, and took two years to find a combination that works with tolerable side effects, but we got there.
My next conversation with the doctor will be about possibly weaning myself off some of the drugs, but will be a long process and I am not in a hurry to upset the balance.
I suspect some of the hypertension was down to hypothyroid, now treated, which took much longer to get diagnosed - like many, I was stuck in the "borderline" test results range, but then they finally did the antibody tests... Interestingly although my APS tests were a low positive (LA), my thyroid antibodies were very high positive, so maybe it is actually a bigger problem for me than APS.
Thank you this was very very helpful my point is you can fill on line but some questions are ambiguous so I declare Hughes then it asks where was the clot depending what clot o choose the price differs!!! I declare I've had more than one clot but are they referring to the body part I chose or that includes other parts
I do use travel insurance, however I always do mine over the phone, the online forms drive me mad, as I always seem to be doing several other things at the last minute. MaryF
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