To think my insurance should cover me nearly dying?!

So does mine but if you read the policy you are under an obligation to proactively inform them of any pre existing etc the onus is on you to tell them not them phone you/write to ask.

The proposal forms are quite clear everything must be declared.

Do you mean that if they ask for everything in the last 5 years you need to ignore that time limit and provide everything before then as well?

Or do you mean everything within their stated time limit?

Is it not presented as a list of ailments and you tick whether you have ever visited the dr. So if it said digestive issues and you ticked no visit to Gp then I assume that will be incorrectly declared. Hope you get it sorted Op and I wish you a speedy recovery

You need legal advice not MN. It is always worth declaring EVERYTHING however minor and however historic as obviously insurance companies try and wiggle out of everything. Just not worth the risk, if you are charged a bit more for a policy then that's life. Have people looked at the wording of insurance policies to see what you should declare? Some of it is most bizarre!!

Also if you weren't diagnosed with ibs then presumably it would be digestive pain you presented with that you failed to declare? So it wouldn't mention ibs on your notes

@biscuitsandbooks You are giving misleading information. Fortunately I read Ombudman's decisions sometimes - so I know what insurance companies can get away with and what they cant.

Get the Australian medical team to write a lower categorically saying the mild ibs was nothing to do with this hospital stay.

Having symptoms of a grumbling appendix that doesn't yet warrant removal?

Hang on. My travel insurance comes with my Bank account, and I've never been asked to fill out any disclosure forms. So how does that work then?

Me too.

Hang on. My travel insurance comes with my Bank account, and I've never been asked to fill out any disclosure forms. So how does that work then?

Op, I would fight this to the death. Even go to the press or one of those consumer TV programmes. Or take them to small claims court. Do not back down. Hope you feel better soon.

I would be really hesitant about not declaring your broken ankle. If you fall and injure yourself again they may refuse to cover you.

It depends on the policy. Many do ask that you declare any doctors visits even if you never ended up needing treatment.

Fortunately the Ombudsman also takes the view that it's ridiculous to expect people to remember every cough and cold. Ongoing conditions for which you receive medication - have to declare. An ear infection 20 years ago that responded to antibiotics - irrelevant as no reason to believe it was anything serious. I dont declare my broken ankle from 10 years back.

Something where surgery has resolved the issue - declare if within their time period for anything or if in their "anytime" declare list.

Absolutely agree, trying to remember the list of things that we've been to the doctor for, but have turned out to be nothing, for a family of 4 is really hard. I've no intention of misleading anyone, but may inadvertently do so. It took over a year to sort out a claim, so I'm really cautious now and probably won't ever go to the US again, in case I screw up and lose my house.

The thing is, it doesn’t matter (in the eyes of the insurance company) whether X undisclosed condition is linked to Y incident. It’s about whether you’ve declared everything openly and honestly.

It’s a bit like how car insurers see you as a higher risk for accidents when your car is hit while parked. It may not be linked the later claim of your car being written off, but they still need to know about it.

The policies that come with banks you can often call them to declare existing conditions and they then send you a letter with the conditions listed per person. Usually “excluded” though from the policy.

Most people won’t be covered as they age with standard travel insurance anymore.

Exactly - I can’t remember all the tiny ailments I have been to the doctor with over the years. I have so many ENT problems investigated and all were benign but I could tell you anything about each one. I’d be more than happy to tell an insurance company they can simply have access to my medical records. It is way too onerous to make people list every single thing that might be relevant.

Did you go to a private hospital or did you choose public?
Did you use your travel insurance? Maybe it would have been simpler to register for Medicare.

If you register with Medicare you should get some back if the treatment was in a public hospital.

You're definitely not supposed to mention everything you've seen a dr for.

You're definitely supposed to mention pre existing conditions and any current treatment. And anything you have seen a Dr for recently and are still waiting to be resolved. Bloating and tummy aches from a few years ago wouldn't be a problem. Existing IBS requiring ongoing treatment might well be a problem.

The problem with IBS is it’s a blanket term used to describe a variety of symptoms and often in my opinion carelessly applied. I’ve had various gastric issues and a couple of doctors have used the term IBS to describe it without coming up with a definitive diagnosis - it’s not a diagnosis in itself really. So people on here saying you should have really disclosed it are perhaps not understanding that it’s barely helpful to use it in any form, let alone for insurance. And it sounds like some jobsworth at the insurance company would try to say they’re linked anyway, so disclosing it wouldn’t have helped.

Yes, this too. You have to complain internally first.

Non-declaration is non-declaration. Whether you think it has anything to do with your current condition or not. The proposal forms are quite clear everything must be declared.

OP has stated that it was something mentioned in passing several years ago and for which nothing was taken any further, and that she'd genuinely forgotten. She completed her insurance proposal in good faith - that's the important bit from an insurance point of view - and the company are repudiating on those flimsy grounds and unfairly so, IMO (ex insurance bod).

OP, lodge a formal complaint as soon as possible (make sure you state that it's a complaint, all sorts of things kick in at that point for an insurance company under Financial Conduct Authority "Treating Customers Fairly" rules) and be prepared to take it to the Ombudsman. There's more information here: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

I've known many an insurer try it on to see if they can get away with it, knowing full well they're liable. They can be absolute fuckers and it's why I will go with a reputable "brand" when buying insurance. They can all be slippery buggers but at least the big names have a reputation they're interested in protecting and established complaints handling teams.

I am mindful to include everything - as I don’t want the risk not being insured, but worry that it would be easy to forget something

I'm the same, @CarefulN0w, but nearly came a cropper when I first had my hearing aids and honestly didn't think they'd be interested. I called them just in case and it turned out they did indeed want to note this on the policy - though happily they didn't charge me extra

TBH I still can't quite work out why they needed to know ... maybe they had some idea I wouldn't hear the bus that could have run me over?

Typo

It could do, I don’t know.

I just know that you’re supposed to declare absolutely everything you’ve seen a doctor for, no matter how minor and no matter whether it led to a diagnosis or not.

It’s the same as not declaring accidents to your car insurance even if you don’t claim. You’re still supposed to tell them and they can deny your claim and cancel your policy if they find out you’ve not been honest.

You need to have exhausted the internal complaints procedure before you can go to the ombudsman. If the complaint is rejected the Telegraph and Times consumer columns regularly help people in this situation.