Travel insurance

[Moomin8]

Hi- I've been trawling the net for travel insurance for my honeymoon - travelling 25th June! We're going on a cruise round the Med including Spain, which seems to add to the cost. We're both over 50😊Has anyone got any suggestions? I've got a quote from Avanti...which seems a lot but with our condition, it's not going to be cheap 😯

[Barrister]

I've bought insurance from All Clear and StaySure. I've never had to claim but they covered all of my medical problems. It wasn't cheap but it won't be. Good luck and have a wonderful wedding day. Clemmie

[Juliestenning]

I recently took a 5 day policy with saga in the UK which was very reasonable. In my experience rheumatoid arthritis does not usually add to increased fees.

[Matilda7]

I've stopped asking for insurance for my RA as in 40 years it's never been needed! So that makes the insurance much cheaper. I tell them I've got it and what medication I take, but don't ask them to cover it.

[Moomin8 in reply to Matilda7]

Hi Matilda7, how do you tell them that and the fees don't go up? Once I go down the telling route, it takes me through a mass of questions which calculates the cost- it doesn't give the option of anything else.

[Matilda7 in reply to Moomin8]

I was talking to someone on the phone and it was his suggestion. A way of keeping the cost down. I suppose he could see I'd never claimed, and so he asked if I thought I needed cover for the RA. I thought about it and couldn't see it being at all likely. I don't think you could do it so easily on line.

[medway-lady]

Made no difference to my travel insurance, just had to tell them taking Arava but the Pernicious Anemia cost £132. for the year.

[dtech]

I use insure and go. RA adds about £10 to my insurance for world wide including the USA. Cost me £89 this year. For a couple I think it cost us about £130. But wife has company travel insurance now. Oh this covers for active sports but not extreme sports. Lol. Enjoy the cruise. We have done quite a few.

[helixhelix]

I think insurance for cruises tends to be a bit more expensive anyway as your EHIC card is only valid on land.

But generally I've not found that RA adds enormously to the cost - maybe £10 or so.

I do include having RA as taking Martilda7's approach would worry me as I'd be convinced that the insurance company would use it to wriggle out of paying a claim no matter that it had nothing to do with RA. Annual insurance tends to be much better value, so of you're likely to have another holiday then get quotes for both options as you might be surprised that there's not much difference.

[dtech]

I agree helix. Don't ever fail to put on exsisting conditions. And yes adding cruise insurance does add a few quid to the total. My son is an insurance broker and he told me what to do.

[Matilda7 in reply to dtech]

The insurance company knows about all my existing conditions and the suggestion came from them! I have an annual insurance, and have been with the same company for quite some time. They said they'd cover everything else.

[flow4]

I've just bought annual European travel insurance for myself and both my boys (we can travel together or separately) for £144 from Saga Select. There were other apparently cheaper policies on MoneySupermarket, but their cover is not as good. I noticed LOTS of the cheaper policies now don't include 'gadgets' (including smartphones and iPads), activities like cycling, missed connections and more... I'd definitely recommend checking the small print.

[flow4]

You can compare quotes from different insurers who cover pre-existing medical conditions here: moneysupermarket.com/travel...

[dtech]

Not all insurance companies are on the comparison sites. And, I hate to tell you this flow4, but saga are one of the most expensive companies going and £144 for just European is way ott. As most of Europe is covered by EHIC anyway.

[earthwitch in reply to dtech]

EHIC definitely is NOT comprehensive travel insurance. It only covers the bare bones of emergency treatment, and doesn't do anything about repatriation, which for a cruise is a must, as cruise ships will happily dump a sick passenger in a hospital and lcarry on, leaving them to figure out their own way home.

[smithfield in reply to earthwitch]

I totally agree Earthwitch, I always make sure I am covered for repatriation. I worry about the hassle it would cause my family if I was'nt. Worse Case Scenario it costs thousands to fly a body home.

Sorry to be morbid.

[flow4 in reply to dtech]

I read a lot of policy small print, dtech, and although I could have paid as little as £48 for a single trip for the 3 of us, or £94 for the year, that would have left a lot of holes in our cover... Including no cover for our mobile phones, no cover if the train taking us to the airport was delayed so we missed the flight, no cover for replacing lost passports, no cover for cycling, snorkelling or kayaking (which my sons and/or I plan to do), no cover for other holidays this year in the UK or abroad, and no option of alternative accommodation if there are problems with what I've booked, etc etc... It's always possible to buy a cheap 'off the peg' policy, but it's wiser to find one that actually offers what you need. Plus I look for a claims phone number that's not premium-rate, and local language support, and good reviews from people who've actually needed to claim... £144 from Saga Select seemed good value to me.

(PS: You're quite right that the comparison sites don't include everything, but there's a limit to how much work I'm prepared to do, and comparing lots was sufficient for me!)

[earthwitch]

Try Saga. They definitely have good deals for over 55, but might be worth trying anyway.

[flow4 in reply to earthwitch]

Yes, and now over 50 rather than 55 Plus they'll insure other family members of any age providing the main policy holder is over 50.

[sandybrown]

Some banks do offer travel insurance, please check with your bank.

[Matilda7 in reply to sandybrown]

My travel insurance is via my bank.

[Daph39]

Hi, try Alpha ins. In Kent. Very good.

Daph

[sandybrown]

Please get a European Health insurance card, this can help you. Very easy to get this card, please Google and can apply on line.

[gillclark1]

Morning if you struggle try fishinsurance.co.uk they do insurance for my mobility scooter, my carer, public liability etc they do holiday insurance with pre existing insurance, if you go on their website you get 15% discount xx

[LesBev]

Saga works for me, they were really understanding and not too expensive. Lesley

[cathie]

Don't know about insurance but did you know that as citizens of the eu were eligible for a card to cover health expenses? Whatever happens with the referendum it should remain valid for some time

[healeyf]

I recently needed insurance and found the best deal with Barclays Bank, and it was available online.

[Calph]

Just got mine from travelinsurance4medical.co.uk. Told them I was on 3 different drugs and covered me at no extra cost.

[Afcbsupporter]

I also use all clear insurance who cover all RA conditions, it depends on how many replacements you have etc for the quote. It is recommended by arthritis care. Early this year I had to cancel a cruise after having paid in full for it & made a claim where I received all monies back for myself & friend without any difficulties (they let you add a friend for small fee if the friend/partner have their own ins & you are the cause of the claim) except the excess figure which is agreed when taking out the ins. Would recommend, have used them for about 20 years.

[Moomin8]

Hi all! Well. ..I finally came to a decision ☺Thanks for all of your useful replies. I made numerous enquiries as a consequence. The decision was influenced by wanting to have an over 50😊insurance, to cover cruise and adding my 17 yr old daughter. ....and the result was (drum roll please...) Avanti at £96 for the year! !!! Daughter was free and I got 20% off 🙂I do have an up-to-date EHIC card too.

My bank didn't offer free insurance, neither did my fiancée's ( think that's how one spells it?? Oh well it'll be 'husband' in 10 days - I can spell that 😂

[shazmill]

Hi there check your bank some accounts have travel insurance. I had been abroad lots of times and used it. It also covers pre existing convictions. I just phoned and disclosed my conditions it was fine. Hope this helps

[Moomin8]

Convictions?

[JudyW5]

So glad you got fixed up Moomin8 and we all hope you have a

[JudyW5]

Wonderful wedding and honeymoon!

Just thought I would add a note our two on travel insurance while we are on the subject.

The question is asked often about whether you are waiting for a specialist appointment. It's important not to answer yes to this when you are waiting for an appointment to deal with a condition which had been diagnosed already as waiting for a diagnosis puts up the premiums.

The other thing is that the order in which you mention your conditions may affect the premium. I have back problems and normally mention that last. Speaking to someone from the insurance I have through my bank (Co op) she suggested I put that first (disintegrating discs). And the extra premium I had to pay was much lower. Apparently they link the back problem to osteoarthritis if you mention it last and that sets the alarm bells ringing.

Thought that might help.