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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To lie on travel insurance application?

87 replies

Amoamasamat · 02/06/2017 22:12

Just bought annual travel insurance for the family. There were the usual questions about prior medical conditions. Thankfully we have none, except dh was diagnosed with depression several years ago and still takes a medium level dose of ADs. He's not now depressed thanks to the ADs but he is still being 'treated' i.e. receiving medication although hasn't seen his GP for a year. (He actually believes the ADs right an imbalance of chemicals in his brain and that he will take ADs for life.)

Without really thinking I ticked the NO box for mental health condition.

So, we lose our luggage, the airline goes bankrupt or dh breaks his arm doing a back flip into the pool - is our insurance null and void due to my lie? Unless a claim is mental health related, would the insurance company ever know?

OP posts:
Original poster
Amoamasamat · 02/06/2017 22:45

OK. I'm convinced. I'll ring.

OP posts:
IfYouGoDownToTheWoodsToday · 02/06/2017 22:46

Ive been on Ads. We had free travel insurance with our bank and I had to pay extra because of the depression but it was about £30, to cover me for a year.

If your H had a serious accident/ illness which cost tens of thousands, they would ask for his medical details and would not pay out if you have lied. Can you afford tens of thousands of pounds to cover medical bills? If not, I suggest you are honest.

TrueColors · 02/06/2017 22:46

YABU and silly. It'll probably only increase the premium by a small amount.

TrueColors · 02/06/2017 22:46

Sorry we cross posted. Glad you're not going to lie. :)

AnathemaPulsifer · 02/06/2017 22:46

I only had to pay £40 extra for something that had a serious chance of causing an issue. Honesty 100% best and only policy for insurance, they'll happily take your money and only check facts when you really need them. Some medical emergencies could bankrupt you.

IfYouGoDownToTheWoodsToday · 02/06/2017 22:48

it is an easy enough oversight

The insurance company wouldn't give a toss about your "oversights". They just wouldn't pay out because in their eyes you have not fully disclosed.

WorldsacpeLove · 02/06/2017 22:49

How would they know

They can ask for medical certification / verification from your GP or other health provider. They do do their digging before paying out.

I have a complex health situation and I had my GP go through my insurance form with me so that I knew we were on the same page with what boxes I was ticking and that I was ticking boxes that reflected my medical records.

user1487372252 · 02/06/2017 22:51

It's a risk. You can weigh up your opinions. You'll save if you get no insurance and don't need a claim. You'll save if you do what you want to do and they don't ask for records. You will potentially lose if you do need to claim and they hold your pay out on this one thing. You need to weigh this up and decide what makes most sense to you.

YoureNotASausage · 02/06/2017 22:52

Insurance companies usually find it cheaper to pay out than do major investigations or get involved in court cases etc. That's why it's so easy to get away with insurance fraud and why premiums are so high. I bet they'd never check unless your claim was massive.

Sara107 · 02/06/2017 22:53

We applied for mortgage protection insurance and dh was excluded from any health related claims due to having a bout of tennis elbow. So you could find any and all related health issues excluded, even if he steps on a bit of broken glass or something. But I wouldn't lie about it - if he had an accident or illness you would have to disclose his medication.

user1487372252 · 02/06/2017 22:54

(Sorry just noticed you said you were going to ring). Hope you have a nice holiday.

youarenotkiddingme · 02/06/2017 23:02

I don't pay extra for my ds having autism. So don't assume there's a premium.

Just say you rocked no MH problems because your DH doesn't suffer MH problems because he takes medication so you are just checking you've completed it correctly.

That way you're not encouraging them to think you'd a) be prepared to pay a premium and b) that it's an issue.

If they add a premium say you want to cancel as are in cooling off period and want to explore other companies to get a competitive price.

Bit I get what you are saying. My mum has cancer and refuses to even buy insurance at £300 to include cancer.

StarUtopia · 02/06/2017 23:02

Our luggage went awol once. We got nothing - even though we were insured. You need up to date receipts/invoices for EVERYTHING inside the case you are trying to claim for. It's a joke.

They never pay out. Who the fuck has receipts for every item of clothing they take on holiday, the hairdryer, ghd's, the actual suitcase etc etc!

Beachhairdontcare · 02/06/2017 23:03

Don't forget they will look for ANY reason at all not to pay out. And you've handed them one.
Honestly, it's not worth the risk.

WinBigly · 02/06/2017 23:03

He's on AD's and you ticked 'no' to MH conditions. They won't pay out, they'll use it as a (legitimate) excuse not to.

Get the policy amended. Ironically I doubt it will make any difference to the cost of the insurance anyway.

ChildishGambino · 02/06/2017 23:04

What's the point of taking out insurance if you know if isn't adequate cover?

Answer: none.

dotdotdotmustdash · 02/06/2017 23:06

That's why it's so easy to get away with insurance fraud and why premiums are so high. I bet they'd never check unless your claim was massive.

My Dd had to visit an international hospital while on a school trip to China. The insurance company wanted a complete medical history from our Gp and took 3 months to pay out about £350.

Zebra31 · 02/06/2017 23:09

How would they know?

If for example dh breaks his arm and needs a cast, would the insurance company really have access to all his medical records?

It's not so much your DH breaking his arm. I doubt they would check that. However, they would without a doubt check if he had an accident and seriously injured himself (major head injury resulting in surgery or prolonged hospital stay or he needed repatriation) which would cost insurers tens of thousands. Is it really worth you not having any financial cover and end up trapped in a hospital abroad with no way of paying medical bills in the tens of thousands? Call them, let them know you made a mistake and update the information.

C8H10N4O2 · 02/06/2017 23:12

Typically the key points are whether or not he is under ongoing investigations and seen a specialist in the last X months. If its a managed condition it may not attract a higher premium but you will have to talk to them rather than go through the check box system.

For any preexisting condition always disclose and get a quote. For most conditions there are recommended insurers and specialists which can work out cheaper than mainstream policies which assume no problems.

For longer term but managed mental health conditions like depression, axiety etc most policies should not charge additional or at most a small percentage. For other conditions you might pay no extra but have more uninsurable exclusions eg dangerous sports if you have skeletal conditions

queenofthebored · 02/06/2017 23:12

Its never worth lying even by omission on insurance forms, it will invalidate your insurance - basically you are committing fraud. I worked in insurance for years and if there is any reason not to pay out they won't, this may not be such a big deal for a lost case or missed flight but it would be a huge deal if it was medical.

Imagine this scenario - your DH slips on a wet balcony floor and falls several stories from hotel balcony causing devastating life changing consequences. The medical bills, medivac flight home and loss of wages and other expenses total in the hundreds of thousands. At this stage a series of specially trained staff start examining the claim in minute detail remember the company deals with hundreds of fraudulent claims a year and its in the financial interest of the company to not pay a single penny more than they have to - this will include medical records at this stage they will discover a history of depression including the fact your DH is on medication and has been for a number of years. Your policy does not cover any pay-out for suicide or attempted suicide - you have no CCTV or independent witnesses to prove it was an accident and you are already known as a liar by not giving full disclosure. They will claim the policy is invalid because full disclosure was not provided and will not pay.

The scenario given is not based on any case I know of but I know of plenty of very sad cases where cover was denied because full disclosure was not given to save a relatively small sum and the consequences ended up being devastating.

NEVER lie on insurance forms even by omission its never, never, never worth it

FuckYouLinda · 02/06/2017 23:40

The other claims, for stuff like lost luggage is a load of shite because you need proof of purchase for any contents you are claiming for and who has that like? For travel disruption or cancellation it's good but for medical care it is utterly essential IMO.

I used to work in Medical/Travel claims. Declare it.

Either they'll decide it's irrelevant and not add a loading to your policy, or add a small extra fee, or may tell you that anything related to MH is excluded but that stuff unrelated like a broken ankle for example is covered.

I've seen the hundreds of thousands of pounds paid to hospitals or repatriation organisations to adequately care for an insured abroad and it would bankrupt you or leave you utterly destitute if you had to pay directly.

It's just not worth it for the few quid travel insurance costs.

Tartyflette · 02/06/2017 23:57

There was something on the radio (You and Yours?) a couple of months ago about insurance companies asking GPs for claimants' full medical records -- it seems they have no right to do this, they can only ask to see any part of the history that might be relevant to your claim, (eg - If you suffer a heart attack abroad, thry can ask whether you have had previous indications of, or treatment for, heart problems) , and some GPs do refuse to give the Ins.companies anything other than purely relevant information, due to patient confidntiality concerns. Which is quite right IMO, the insurance companies are just on a fishing exercise if they want full records. I think you can ask your gp not to disclose any info other than that which is relevant to a specific health insurance claim. The issue arose because of listeners' concerns that sensitive issues (fertility?) that were not relevant to their claim for a fall that resulted in a broken ankle were being disclosed .

Lozzy5790 · 03/06/2017 01:33

Tartyflette: you're right. I work making decisions on travel insurance claims and we send a form to the Dr along with a disclosure letter for the patient/insured to sign, and it asks things like 'on the date the insurance was taken out was the patient suffering from any heart conditions or related conditions e.g. high blood pressure?' 'Were they on medication for this?' 'At the time they booked their holiday was there any indication that they would not be well enough to travel?' If, say, they were cancelling due to a heart attack.

If someone had mental health problems and broke their ankle or lost their case then it would still be covered - we wouldn't even go to the Dr for things like a broken ankle or a car crash because by default these things are not pre-existing.

TittyGolightly · 03/06/2017 01:40

He actually believes the ADs right an imbalance of chemicals in his brain

That's precisely what depression is.

BritInUS1 · 03/06/2017 01:45

You need to tell them otherwise your insurance would be invalid