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Original poster

Travel Insurance and pre-existing “condition”

58 replies

PussInBin20 · 09/02/2023 11:20

Hi, just wondering whether anyone has had a condition excluded and what you did ie did you take the risk and go on holiday anyway or just not go?

My DH was investigated a couple of years ago for heart palpitations - he was fully checked and nothing found to be wrong but he was put on statins as a preventative measure. I think this was mostly because DH said both his brother and Dad have had heart attacks.

He was a bit paranoid after this, thinking he is next although he has had a full MOT and nothing deemed wrong.

Now I know the insurance company won’t see it like this and I am guessing they will exclude all heart things - especially as we are/were thinking of going to Disney/USA.

I don’t go on the big rides but DH would with DD13 but now I am thinking we can’t ever go as I don’t want to risk losing our house if the worst was to happen!

What can we do?

OP posts:
Ginisatonic · 09/02/2023 11:22

Declare it to the insurance company. Many companies will cover - they will just charge a higher premium.

Brendabigbaps · 09/02/2023 11:26

I wouldn’t even risk not declaring it. Most insurance companies won’t give the option to not cover it, they’ll either say they can’t insure or raise the premium.
we have this all the time as we all have pre existing conditions, non of which are ever likely to cause us issues on holiday.
you just have to use the insurance companies who cover conditions, staysure are good, we use them a lot. jet2 insurance too.
your days of £30 for a family premium is gone tho.

UnaOfStormhold · 09/02/2023 11:31

I wouldn't go near the US without comprehensive, high value travel insurance based on full declaration of medical history. Yes, it's a pain to have to declare it and pay extra but there are too many cases of claims being refused due to totally unrelated medical conditions that weren't disclosed - it's often as bad as being totally uninsured except you paid for the privilege!

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Holidays
Businessflake · 09/02/2023 11:33

Ginisatonic · 09/02/2023 11:22

Declare it to the insurance company. Many companies will cover - they will just charge a higher premium.

This. Have you tried staysure? They are marketed as over 50s (you don’t mention age) but specialise in pre-existing conditions cover.

tanstaafl · 09/02/2023 11:41

We took out insurance just last month for a trip in March.

The medical section asks for details of conditions in the last two years.

Why don’t you just pick the top three holiday insurers as recommended on the www.moneysavingexpert.com site and go through the ‘Get a Quote’ process, declaring DH condition?

It might not be as expensive as you’re fearing.

Sirzy · 09/02/2023 11:44

You may have to pay more but personally I judge anyone who is daft enough not to get insurance!

Snailsaresweet · 09/02/2023 11:47

Declare it! A lot of the insurance choice websites will help you find the best deal if you have pre-existing conditions. I have hypertension (high blood pressure) and its never really been that expensive.

Mumsafan · 09/02/2023 11:49

I have a pre existing condition and I declare it - it hasn't increased it substantially and I didn't want to need to make a claim and my non declaration meant rejection.

ZuliKyanLarsFoz · 09/02/2023 11:51

Another vote for staysure. You put all of your conditions in and you are covered. They don't seem to take the piss with their premiums either. My parents just got an annual cover with pre existing conditions for £270 which is about £400 cheapest than the competition.

WarningToTheCurious · 09/02/2023 11:53

We have an annual Staysure policy that covers DH’s pre-existing conditions - we just pay a bit more for cover. I think adding DS’s mild asthma added about £5 to the policy for instance.

Mabelface · 09/02/2023 11:54

There's also the fact that no condition was diagnosed, therefore he has no cardiac issues and many, many over 50s take statins.

MaggieFS · 09/02/2023 11:55

Declare it and pay the extra!

WarningToTheCurious · 09/02/2023 11:56

Also the Staysure claim line was good when DS needed an A&E trip in Turkey - quick response and sensible advice that meant we didn’t need to claim in the end.

UnleashMyPicasso · 09/02/2023 11:56

Declare and pay the extra

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/02/2023 12:02

You may have to pay more but personally I judge anyone who is daft enough not to get insurance!

What about people who simply cannot get it - should they just accept that they can never go abroad?

Whenever the question of life insurance comes up, people frequently say that you're stupid/irresponsible not to have it - backed up by the marketing from the companies themselves (until they summarily reject you) - but if your health and family history mean that your life is effectively not considered worth insuring, where does that leave you? You still have to keep living that 'worthless' life as well as you can. Or are we just saying that being significantly disabled or having very bad genes automatically makes you 'stupid and irresponsible'?

WarningToTheCurious · 09/02/2023 12:31

What about people who simply cannot get it - should they just accept that they can never go abroad?

Not to the US for sure.

greenbackers · 09/02/2023 12:37

My DH has a condition which means he cannot get life insurance - he's been on borrowed time since his 20s though he is now nearly 50... We have good death in service benefits which make up for it.

He is able to get holiday cover without a problem - we've used Staysure and the Post Office (strangely) are really helpful and cover pre-existing conditions without a fuss.

Original poster
PussInBin20 · 09/02/2023 12:37

I wasn’t intending not to declare it but I just assumed as it was the US, that travel insurance wouldn’t cover it at all. We have worldwide travel ins with our bank account but I will try Staysure as suggested if they don’t cover it.

Thanks all!

OP posts:
Abraxan · 09/02/2023 12:42

I wouldn't go without insurance it without declaring a condition.
Travel insurance companies can, and have, refused to pay out for medical issues even if the reason isn't for the declared condition.

I don't use the companies that exclude my health conditions as don't want to risk it. Knowing my luck I'd have a flare up and need treatment and have to pay out.

I just pay a high amount, compared to Dh and Dd, to have my conditions covered.

Abraxan · 09/02/2023 12:44

I'm currently insured with Insureandgo

Airupnonsense · 09/02/2023 12:45

I have a condition that I declare. Just be warned - it’s a bit extra to Europe. To USA it’s a lot extra! I’ve just paid over £250 for insurance for the 4 of us for two weeks. I think insurance to Europe a few months ago was around £60

NeverDropYourMooncup · 09/02/2023 12:47

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/02/2023 12:02

You may have to pay more but personally I judge anyone who is daft enough not to get insurance!

What about people who simply cannot get it - should they just accept that they can never go abroad?

Whenever the question of life insurance comes up, people frequently say that you're stupid/irresponsible not to have it - backed up by the marketing from the companies themselves (until they summarily reject you) - but if your health and family history mean that your life is effectively not considered worth insuring, where does that leave you? You still have to keep living that 'worthless' life as well as you can. Or are we just saying that being significantly disabled or having very bad genes automatically makes you 'stupid and irresponsible'?

Oh, maybe if long term sick and disabled people have a special capacity for handling bills of £2.3m because they've had a stroke or been in a crash, they wouldn't be irresponsible. But they don't.

Insurance companies are basically bookies - they work out the odds of people claiming and for how much compared to the price charged. It isn't that some people aren't worth insuring, it's that something is either more likely to go wrong or if something does happen, the costs are going to be astronomical.

Take somebody with an incurable progressive cancer. They go on holiday and break an ankle. As part of treatment, the US hospital discovers they have extensive metastic disease during scans. They then have a seizure and sustain a brain injury due to hypoxia and are then in HDU for three months. They either stay there because they are too sick to fly home or a HDU air ambulance is chartered.

Or like the ex FIL, be terminally ill from COPD and heart failure, come out of hospital and get on a plane to Cyprus. And promptly get into a mid air emergency where he had to be resuscitated on the return flight. As they were just crossing the Channel, they landed at the planned airport, but had it been a couple of hours earlier, they could have been diverted anywhere.

Will a tenner really cover those costs when multiplied by 7000 other passengers that week? No. If they pay £250 and 4000 other people with similar conditions pay the same each week, their costs might be covered, though.

Insurance companies are not charities. And anybody who travels uninsured is daft.

QuitMoaning · 09/02/2023 12:48

My partner developed dangerously high blood pressure between booking and flying to Orlando several years ago. The doctor wouldn’t sign him fit to fly until 3 days before we left.
We involved the insurance company (I buy annual cover) as soon as we knew and as long as we had Doctors approval they would cover everything but we had a £500 excess on anything to do with high blood pressure. No increased premium and no increased excess on any other cover e.g. broken leg or lost baggage.

Tell them, you may be surprised.

youhavenoidea123 · 09/02/2023 12:48

Phone the bank. I have nationwide flex account travel insurance. They have added pre existing medical conditions for an additional annual charge of £55.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 09/02/2023 13:33

Insurance companies are basically bookies - they work out the odds of people claiming and for how much compared to the price charged. It isn't that some people aren't worth insuring, it's that something is either more likely to go wrong or if something does happen, the costs are going to be astronomical.

No, I realise this. If they made it clear that they were after customers who were likely to be profitable for them, it wouldn't be so bad; but I find it insulting that they flood the TV with adverts and send out endless semi-personalised mailshots, urging you to 'do the right thing' - usually with reference to 'if you love your children, you'll make sure they're protected' - and then, if you respond, you find that what they really meant was that they only consider it essential if you're much less likely to need it - which makes no sense whatsoever. Nasty.

It's a bit like a corporate equivalent of a parent persistently encouraging and coaxing their child to eat vegetables, so they can grow up strong and healthy; and then, when the child agrees to try some, telling them that there aren't any after all - so they'll just have to not grow up strong and healthy - but that it will still somehow be their fault, because they're stupid and irresponsible for refusing to eat non-existent vegetables.