To think travel insurance is an utter scam?

[ragingruby]

Before taking out annual travel insurance, declared health conditions of menopause and insomnia - both managed by medication. Have had some issues recently with piles. Got anusol from GP to manage.

About to travel later this week. Rang to advise of Insurance company, Staysure, re new condition (as their documentation notes you have to). They said they will continue cover but not for the pre-existing conditions and neither for the recent condition, the latter of which they said don't just emerge suddenly so I must have known about the piles for some time and hadn't told them.

I'm like 'what???'. I've just told you!

They wouldn't budge.

So, despite previously insuring the conditions of insomnia and menopause, both of which are being managed, they've decided now not to. Apparently I'm covered if I die and need repatriation or for medical aid if in a car crash though I suspect they will say if I was driving, I was likely not to have had enough sleep!

Not going to renew my cover with them next year. Renaming Staysure as 'StayAway'. What's the point?

Anything you saw your GP for and anything they prescribed medications or treatment for, it's prudent to declare it.

If, to take an example the lady above who has lung disease but not on medication, if she ended up hospitalised with any sort of breathing illness, her travel insurance would not cover her as it was diagnosed by a GP and she didn't declare it, medication or not.

The OP is not going to land in hospital with insomnia, but the medications she's taking might say, be a crucial factor in any driving accident if that drug was proven to cause impairment. Or if her menopause meds have known side effects that could result in hospital care, that's where those small things can become an expensive problem.

There's also the flip side that many hospitals abroad LOVE to see an insured person coming. I got a UTI on a two week package holiday once. I went to a local GP who insisted I go to the hospital. All I needed was an antibiotics prescription but the hospital was insistent on admitting me and putting me on a drip and "it's ok because you have insurance". They will do a full (expensive) work up for things you never needed and not care that you might get rebilled by the insurer when you get home.

When I travel I set up a whatsapp group with DH and add in the flight & hotel details and documents, travel insurance documents and the emergency number for the insurer all in it so it's on us at all times. Pictures of passports as well.

The most important thing to remember in any medical emergency is to call the emergency travel insurance line immediately so that they can coordinate the best care you need and prevent hospital from artificially inflating the bill.

I wouldn't have declared any of those things as medical conditions for travel insurance. They are nowhere near serious enough .

You have to declare every reason you've visited a GP in the last two years. Some are completely irrelevant but insurers have access to your medical records and can (and will) avoid paying out for the most spurious of reasons.

Yes you have to declare everything or the insurance becomes void.. even if you end up needing treatment for something else like a fall or something you caught on holiday.
Read all the small print.

It's very handy, unless the public system is shit in the destination country then you'll really wish that you had the travel insurance for a private hospital.

Travel Insurance would also cover things like an interpreter, or extended accommodation for a partner or re-arranging missed flights / medicalised equipment or assistance on flights due to that hospital stay that the GHIC wont cover.

Same. It’s absolutely bonkers to declare minor ailments.

@Peridot1 You have to declare anything that requires prescribed medication over the previous year even if it was short term. Was told this by the Post Office travel insurance agent.

I’ve never filled out a travel insurance form which has asked about GP consultations , they’ve always just been declare existing conditions and any unfinished / awaiting hospital treatment . I would not list menopause because it’s not an illness .

This is useful to know. What pissed me off was their recorded message whilst waiting for them to answer the phone ... said on a reassuring voice ...'we know that changes to health happen ...'. Then they insist on excluding the conditions I'd honestly advised them about!

If you've honestly answered the questions, ticked the boxes, read the small print as to what has to be declared, etc., then you're absolutely fine.

That's why it's so important to actually read the T&Cs, small print, questionnaires, declarations, etc.

That includes checking what they mean by "pre existing conditions" which will be defined/confirmed in the details somewhere. You can't just make your own criteria as to what you deem to be "pre existing conditions". You have to follow what they deem them to be.

You tell them what drugs you are taking. Absolutely. But that’s not the same as labelling it a ‘medical condition’.

For those who wouldn't mention the seemingly trivial conditions as either they're too minor or you don't see them as medical conditions, then I'd suggest to stay away from Staysure because a) they don't see them as minor and b) they define them as health conditions and expect you to declare them.

It can jeopardise a medical claim even if it's unrelated to what you are claiming for (see my OP about them saying I should have declared piles earlier as 'they don't suddenly appear'.
I don't know about other insurance companies though but I won't be insuring with Staysure again. They didn't even call back when they were supposed to and I had to chase them.

It's not about severity of the condition. It's about the likelihood of you costing them money.

A basic overnight stay in a hospital in the US costs an average of upwards of $3,000 dollars. Some countries are cheaper of course, but if your insurer feels that you lied or lied by omission on your declaration you are on the hook for that money. They will pay, but they'll send debt collectors after you when you get home.

Attached is the standard preamble from a comparison site. If you click on the image to view it in full it says you have to list any reason you've seen a GP in the last 12 months. It includes examples such as headaches or water infections. I've found with most of the insurers when you actually go in to get a quote it specifies 2 years rather than 12 months.

@ragingruby

I don't know about other insurance companies though but I won't be insuring with Staysure again. They didn't even call back when they were supposed to and I had to chase them.

Most insurers are just "fronts" or trading names, and are little more than "agents" for a very small number of proper insurance firms operating in the background.

Yes, they're trading as different names, have different websites, have different branding on letters/claim forms, etc., but when you phone them to, say, make a claim, you're talking to the "back office" firms who answer the phone as "ABC" or "XYZ" according to what number you called them on, which flags you up as a customer of ABC or XYZ on their phone/monitor when they take your call.

I don't know the exact details as to whether Staysure are genuinely a complete insurance firm, or whether they're a "front" for another firm, but you may well find yourself dealing with the same background firm if you think you're going with a different insurer.

There may be a few dozen firms on comparison sites etc., but less than a dozen "real" insurers sitting behind them!

That's part of the reason why you should be careful if making a number of different applications, i.e. disclosing a hospital stay on the quotation request with ABC, but not declaring it on the quotation request for XYZ - it may well be the same firm behind both who'll be able to see other applications/quotation requests using the same name/dob etc. They do the same when it comes to motor insurance and likewise can cross check applications/quote requests using the same car registration number, driver name/dob etc etc.

They don't all ask, but one of the first things they will do when you need treatment abroad is request your medical records from your GP. If you've never spoken to your GP about menopause or gotten medication for it, then for you it's not an existing condition, but for other women it might be a medicated condition that needs declaring.

They can also deny any claim if you fail to notify them as soon as possible when you fall ill. I create a whatsapp group with DH with the insurers emergency number to call, and attach the policy documents. I also do the same with the hotel and flights details, just in case of emergency.

It really isn't a scam. It's so necessary. Used it with DS when away and had gastroenteritis, needed a drip for a few days because of dehydration. Missed our flights. Insurance covered the hospital cost and the new flights. Worth every penny.

they said don't just emerge suddenly so I must have known about the piles for some time and hadn't told them.

WTF? Of course piles can emerge suddenly. That very thing happened to me on holiday last year! I went to the loo, wiped, and it felt odd, and by the end of the day I couldn't sit down. No build up to it at all. It was fun trying to source cream/suppositories for it in one of the poorest countries in sub-saharan Africa, I tell you.
Such ignorance from whoever you spoke to.

Having spent weeks with a relative in intensive care after a heart attack while he was on holiday- I saw first hand how the insurance definitely tried to get out of paying for repatriation to the UK, despite the doctors in the hospital saying it was his only chance of survival as the surgery he needed was not available in their country. The insurance tried everything to get out of paying- the insurance company dr was insistent he stay where he was (incidentally the insurance company dr had previously been struck off by the gmc before being reinstated)
anyone who thinks the conditions are not serious enough to consider declaring, or for some other reason should not declare them is completely misunderstanding how insurance will work in the case of an accident/illness- you want the insurance company to resolve the situation as soon as they can, your relative’s life can literally depend on it- you don’t want anything that will muddy the waters, or cause any delay whatsoever.
My relative had comprehensive travel insurance and it was a nightmare- we ended up paying for medical repatriation ourselves and claiming back from the insurance company once back. Not everyone can afford £50k though- we were extremely lucky.
my advice would be to be as honest as you can be, give them chapter and verse and go over the top with the information you provide.

This is absolutely correct! (Retired senior travel specialist here.)

Yeah staysure are crap

I had to file a claim for a cancellation and they refused, even though we had medical evidence for cancellation etc etc.

So I looked into it and had to claim with their subsidiary/ underwriters, Davies group, instead.

Claim was refunded with them.

Just to add for context, trip of a lifetime was cancelled due to a heart attack

A family member was staying with relatives abroad and then going on to another destination a week later.
The relative who lived abroad died in a tragic accident the first week of the holiday so family member cancelled on going plans and asked insurance to fly them home after the funeral.
The insurance company said it was their decision to cut the holiday short and refused to pay out.
It took 2 years of fighting with insurance company until the ombudsman told the insurance that they were being ridiculous and must pay out.

If I have to declare menopause, then I'm gonna declare my 10 year olds verrucas (individually), my 13 year olds puberty and resulting dandruff, the little bit of flaky skin on my face that I saw a dermatologist about and he just said to get some salicylic acid cream for, my occasional athletes foot etc.

Declaring menopause.. pah!

Why bother taking out insurance at all? If anything happens they won't pay up because you have not fully disclosed your health conditions. Even if the medical emergency was completely unrelated to the three conditions you have they wouldn''t cover you as you have not been honest. They insist on access to health records before they pay unless it's a very small claim.
It doesn't matter whether you take medication or not, the fact that you have, for example, osteoporosis, increases your risk of needing hospital care and would therefore increase your premium.

Lots of health conditions don't increase the premium but many do. I have 11 conditions declared and my insurance is £££. In spite of having annual cover I can't book a holiday at the moment as I am awaiting test results for something trivial.