Travel Insurance - be aware

[Imogen]

Hi, I have world travel insurance through my bank account. It had been running for a some years, when I notified them I had been recently diagnosed with Hypothyroidism. They promptly charged me a one off payment of £10, their reason being that I may not be able to access Levothyroxine in the counties I might travel to. My GP is happy to prescribe an additional month`s prescription when I travel anyway. Still puzzled!

[tegz]

Silly reasoning.

What about millions on heart/BP meds etc that are shorter term reactions?

[Maybe they DO get surcharged?]

If your stock gets stolen [due to their Gold value] do they worry they'll have to fly out more for you

[Imogen in reply to tegz]

Who knows what goes on in the mystical world of insurance, I`m sure they just pluck things out of thin air!

Will check the small print for repeat prescriptions by air LOL

Imogen x

[Hennerton]

Ooh, now I am worried. I have travel insurance through my bank. Do you mind telling me which one us yours? Thanks.

[wightmouse]

I have bought travel insurance from

staysure.co.uk and 24drtravel.com

they have 220 medical conditions covered for free, Hypothyroid and those of us who have also been given the label CFS this is also covered.

It is still wise to shop around, to get the best price and the level of cover you need. Hope this helps someone.

[Imogen in reply to wightmouse]

Thank you this is great, Thank you. Imogenx

[TTLady]

I don't know why you would notify them it is after all a hormonal imbalance and therefore not medically necessary information.

[helvella Administrator in reply to TTLady]

There is a very important reason to inform them: failure to do so could invalidate the whole of your insurance.

Insurance contracts have always been special in the law of England and Wales (Scotland might be different):

Uberrima fides (sometimes seen in its genitive form uberrimae fidei) is a Latin phrase meaning "utmost good faith" (literally, "most abundant faith"). It is the name of a legal doctrine which governs insurance contracts. This means that all parties to an insurance contract must deal in good faith, making a full declaration of all material facts in the insurance proposal. This contrasts with the legal doctrine caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uberr...

(I think that there has been a small relaxation here such that if the insurer does not ask then you are not bound to say. However this might have limited scope and effect.)

On the basis that people die or suffer hospitalising periods of ill-health due to hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, diabetes, Addison's, and so on, means that having a hormonal imbalance simply cannot be dismissed as being not medically necessary information.

Rod

[Framboise]

I also have an annual worldwide travel insurance via my bank account and have never been charged when I've contacted them about anything, usually they simply say I won't be covered for that trip if it's something like a bad back. The small print of mine actually says they don't need to know about several conditions, hypothyroidism is one, unless the dose taken for it has been altered in the previous 6 months. I'm surprised that you were charged anything!

[Imogen in reply to Framboise]

Hi IFramboise, unfortunately Hypothyroidism was excluded from the list of conditions they needed to know about!!!!

Strange how company policies vary from group to group.

Imogenx

[deb25426]

I can honestly say that I travelled a lot when I was diagnosed and it never made any difference tomy travel nsurance. In fact a lot of them already had it on their lists that you were already covered and didn't have to be screened for it!!!

[Imogen in reply to deb25426]

Hi deb24526 Think I need to re check my whole Insurance deal, seems a bit of a minefield though!

Imogen x

[meki]

We use Freespirit due to husbands cancer but no additional charges for my thyroid condition and never has been

Prior to this we used theAA

Freespirit will also insure you for lost meds. Think that is as standard but worth checking with them. We found them to give the best cover at the bets rate for that cover. One insurance would not cover hubby if he had a bladder infection because of his prostate cancer!! Shop around and cancel the monthly charge on the bank for this 'free' services they say they provide another one of their rackets

[Imogen in reply to meki]

Hi Meki, Good advice, you`re right about the "free" services banks offer. Thank you.

Imogen

[Hidden]

Hi, just read your post.

That I do find interesting - I looked into travel insurance through some advertised on the TV during the daytime/matinee hours and they don't cover for hypothyroidism at all. My OH and I aren't planning to go abroad for some time but when we do we'll keep a lookout.

Thanks for the post!! xx

[Guillemette]

I have declared the same and not been charged