Do travel insurance really need this much info?

[fairgame84]

Just for a week in Tunisia (we're visiting family before anyone questions why we would go there).

I declared our current medical conditions - DS has depression and autism. I have reflux and tachycardia. All good.

I realised after that DD (4 months) was prescribed infant gaviscon when she was 2 weeks old. Turned out it wasn't reflux, it was tongue tie. Rang insurance company to see if it needed to be declared. Yes it does. As does every single ailment we have visited a doctor or received medication for in the past 2 years!

They want to me to declare everything from a uti in pregnancy, cervical ectropion, bv, thrush, infected toenail, infected fingernail. I asked if he was sure he needed all of that and he said he definitely does. Poor bloke had to hear all my bloody gynae issues, I was so embarrassed 😳

Debating whether I need to phone back as I forgot to declare DH low sperm count.

Is this normal? I don't remember doing this before or maybe I was doing it wrong.

Recurring thrush can be a sign of diabetes.

It was a one off.
Don't buy scented loo roll 😬

In case this helps anyone, you can get good value single trip insurance with Endsleigh. There are no health screening questions at all - they just automatically won’t cover pre existing conditions.

You tend to need much more detail with annual policies. We now have a family policy for the least complicated family members. Then single trip for my more complex (health wise) teen DC.

In some countries you can’t buy anything to treat it over the counter, so you could be in a situation where you need a doctor’s visit abroad for it. For that reason, I’d declare it.

I'll look at endsleigh.
I'm still in the cooling off period with tesco so can cancel.

You also need to be careful because if you forget to declare something small, they can actually reject all medical claims, depending on policy wording.

@fairgame84 you’re welcome, btw 😬

Bizarrely OP, I had a very similar experience today with Coverwise Travel Insurance. I was just renewing an annual policy, but had to call up as I have changed credit card since they last took payment.

Eleventy billion questions later, they told me I would have to pay almost DOUBLE because I had told them I regularly take co codamol for back pain that I have had for over 30 years. Plus I was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss last year.

I told them not to bother and just signed up with another company online. They asked the expected questions about heart issues, strokes, diabetes, cancer, but nowhere near the level of investigation I had earlier.

Never experienced anything like this before. I wonder if it’s due to the impact of covid related payouts?

A friend was diagnosed with cancer and tried to cancel a holiday

Insurance didn't pay out because they had not declared having a gall bladder out YEARS ago

@Munchyseeds2 they are such utter bastards.

There is another really cheap company for people with fairly stable health:
www.globaltravelinsurance.co.uk/no-health-questions

Money Saving Expert recommendation ^

Sorry I should have said thankyou. I was trying to reply while wrestling DD

I've clearly been reading it wrong. I am sure the wording on ours was any existing health conditions, things you are being treated for or awaiting results for and any conditions you've had ever from the list e.g cancer. That's with Staysure who specialise in health conditions.

That's just crazy.

Do I declare a broken arm from when I was a child?

So if I have a heart attack on holiday and hadn’t declared a small patch of eczema they would not pay out.

This is unlikely to be true - but it's more complex than that.

So if the stats say that people with eczema are 7 x more likely to get infected rashes and 3X more likely to need antibiotics they will include that in their calculations. If the stats say that 2% of people who go to the GP with XXX have a heart attack within a year - then they will include that in their calculations. If the stats say that someone who gets regular UTIs has a higher risk of XXX then if you don't tell them and you get XXX they have a right to decline.

But if you forget to declare a spot on you chin but you claim for a fall off a motorbike - they won't use that to decline a claim.

I also only had to declare any condition which I'd required hospitalisation for (note actual medical condition) or anything I was at the time of applying taking medication for.

So thyroxin for hypothyroidism. Randomly I did add menopause/HRT although it made no difference to the price.

And that was using a company specifically for pre existing conditions.

I wonder why it's so inconsistent in terms of what you have to declare

Yes actually that rings a bell with mine

@WonderingWanda I would bet a large sum of money that no insurance company in the land will insure you for undiagnosed conditions that are currently being investigated. And that definitely 100% applies to Stay Sure.

@BedKnobsAndBroomStix I think you might have misunderstood what I have written, I was saying that you had to declare anything you are being investigated for. But I don't recall anything that said all conditions you've ever been treated for.

@WonderingWanda i did misunderstand- thought you were talking about what you’d be covered for! But I now realise you meant stuff you need to declare.

As in, they were excisions/things to declare

I've got mine through my Lloyds bank account. There's a very long list of ailments that you don't have to to declare even if they are recent. It makes it much easier to know what you need to declare.

I went with these in the end. They don't cover your existing conditions but we don't need them covering.

I rang my bank for cover but they wanted every single ailment declared just like tesco did. I just feel that if I've forgotten something minor they will use it as an excuse to invalidate the cover.
They suggested I contact my gp to get my medical records so I don't miss anything, I'm sure the receptionist would love that! 😂

Glad you have sorted it out, OP!

I used Holiday Extras last time I went away. I had to declare DH's glaucoma as it an ongoing condition that he uses eye drops for, but that was it. I didn't have to declare anything.

What I don't understand about travel insurance is why they won't decouple the medical part from the rest of it. The fact that you had cancer 10 years ago doesn't make you any more likely to have a flight cancelled or delayed. So why can't you buy the insurance separately?

I just feel that if I've forgotten something minor they will use it as an excuse to invalidate the cover. They suggested I contact my gp to get my medical records so I don't miss anything

It's just ludicrous. You need medical cover overseas for things like heart attacks, serious stomach bugs and accidents. Not all the things they spend ages asking you about.

Recurring thrush can be a sign of diabetes well it could, but even if it is, you're not going to need treatment for type II diabetes while you're away for a week. And even if you did need to see a doctor to get a prescription, wouldn't that be covered under the GHIC card for most places people commonly go on holiday to? It wouldn't be an insurance claim. I always take Canesten away with me anyway, just in case and I expect anyone with recurring thrush would take something with them.

When I went away last weekend, it said that I wasn't covered for any illness a family member had that might necessitate cancelling (whether travelling with you or not). I suppose that means nobody is covered for having an elderly relative, then. My mum isn't ill but she is on the waiting list for an eye operation. It seems a bit ridiculous when she could get to the top of the list tomorrow or next year.