This holiday insurance requirement is ludicrous and should be changed

[Sunshineandoranges]

I have just been watching Rip Off Britain. It seems that almost every holiday insurance has a clause which says that in the event of a sudden bereavement meaning you need to cancel your holiday ( the man’s father had died suddenly), you are only covered if you had declared any pre existing conditions the deceased person had. So according to that logic many couples would have to declare not only their own health conditions, but four possibly elderly parents. My adult children don’t even know some of my pre existing health conditions. The presenter said anybody taking out holiday insurance should declare all pre existing conditions of anybody whose death might mean cancellation of holiday,even minor health issues to cover themselves. So, lovely family spend thousands on holiday, granny dies so they have to cancel,no insurance cover unless the company agree to make a goodwill payment. Admiral Insurance refused to pay and wouldn’t change that decision. So, AIBU to think something needs to be changed about this?

Theu will do anything in their power to avoid paying out. Theyll even drag up a verruca someone had when they were 12.

greedy corporate bastards

I wouldn't expect holiday insurance to cover death of a parent.

I always thought it was if a member of your party was unwell and unable to go rather than other people.

I suppose that’s viewed, from their perspective, as choosing to cancel rather than having to for unavoidable reasons. Yes Granny is dead but in theory you can still go on holiday.
Not saying that’s right but that’s their view.

I have to say the Admiral insurance we had did pay out for us when mil was suddenly taken ill and we were told she would die just before we went on holiday. They refunded us everything as obviously we had to cancel. Mil was not travelling with us and we certainly hadn't informed them about any of her previous conditions.
We were amazed quite frankly.

We got paid out when my DF of 91 was diagnosed as terminal just before we left. He had a pacemaker and had had three heart ops. BA cancelled our flights with a refund and the holiday accommodation was refunded on the insurance.

I don’t know what the answer is or how they make their decisions but I’d never travel without insurance and the cost is quite minimal when you look at the overall price of the trip especially if you get annual. It covers so much else too

the big problem is, a lot of these things are hidden in terms and conditions that people don't ready in detail. they just think, "I have insurance, everything is covered"

maybe there should be a star rating so that you know that if you get 5 star insurance, you pay more and it covers more. or an easier way to see exactly what is covered.

How many elderly parents would want to disclose their health conditions to an insurance company if they were not travelling?

This. There was a news piece a few days ago that they wouldn’t cover bringing a person home after a major illness as she hadn’t told them she was on HRT. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I would need to advise them of that.

This doesn’t sound right to me. I have spent hours on the phone to insurance companies trying to explain my own pre existing conditions there is no option to add those of people not on the policy!
I agree that insurers will find any possible way to avoid paying however
people think they are insured and don’t think to consider the Ts and Cs carefully. Most of the time they won’t need to claim so get away with it. Insurance is the biggest con of all, IMO

It is quite clear every time I’ve taken out travel insurance that you need to declare any prescription medication, so I don’t know why you think you wouldn’t need to declare HRT?

Your own meds and conditions, fair enough. Other people’s? Surely not.

Insurance in general is a huge rip off. We were hit by a van on a blind corner on our way the airport, DH had driven the car to work (50 mile round trip) the day before. Car was billowing smoke and would hardly move and the insurance company (Aviva) said they were only paying for cosmetic damage as the car must have already been broken. It was absolute bullshit.

My insurance is through my bank, I’ve had it years and years. I’ve called to advise them of two health issues I’ve been diagnosed with (and the medications I take for them), but genuinely never once thought to tell them I’m on HRT, seen as menopause is a natural part of a woman’s life, rather than an illness🤷‍♀️

But the questions include something like "are you on any prescribed medication" so I don't know how you can answer no if you're on HRT.

Seems crazy, what if your parents want to keep their medical stuff private and you don’t know about stuff. Also how did the insurance company find out? They surely can't insist on a 3rd parties medical notes. Especially when that person is dead and can’t consent. They can just insist on a death certificate for evidence

I have insurance so that if myself or one of my family is ill before the holiday I can get my money back OR if something happens whilst I'm on holiday I'm covered for the cost. In a worst case scenario the cost of flying a body home runs to the thousands.

I don't expect it to cover me for all circumstances that would lead to holiday cancellation although it would be nice if I could be covered for death of a parent stopping or cutting short a holiday.

Dh had to go home early from a holiday to deal with an urgent work issue in his business. He didn't think to get money back from the insurers and couldn't have if he wanted to!

Menopause (and associated treatment) is now excluded from travel insurance - you still need to tell them but it's not excludable iyswim. Big thing in the press a few weeks ago and was advised as such my my insurers when I arranged eyewateringly expensive insurance for both me and DD recently - we both have VERY stable long term health conditions that mean an annual policy is £££ so it was nice to hear I wouldn't pay a premium for hrt too

Sounds like poor insurance to me. I have packaged insurance from Nationwide and they paid out when we were due to visit FIL and he had a major accident and was in hospital which meant we cancelled our trip booked for the summer and went earlier to see him. They covered the cost of the cancelled trip.

I think you are right, it’s a choice isn’t it. That’s what they will say. It’s insurance for you not others. My daughter was unable to fly home as she had chicken pox, insurance would pay for flight alterations and additional (shit standard) accommodation for her and one parent. As far as they were concerned both parents didn’t need to stay. Which is true.

i dint think insurance pays out for much !

This surprises me. We use the search engines for health insurance every year. Although I have a couple of existing health conditions that I have to declare, I don't recall ever being asked what health conditions my parents all loved ones not travelling with me have. After all policy is for me and my family travelling with me, not for anyone else

Insurance companies exist to make money.

We didn't go on any long haul holidays for 10 years as MIL was in a care home.

It's a gamble if you know you won't get refunded.

Daughter had anaemia when she started her periods. She slipped by the pool and needed stitches and a hospital stay. They didn't pay out because of the anaemia, which had never been treated and was about 8 years previous.

I wouldn't expect insurance to cover if you needed to cancel due to death of a relative. Obviously absolutely awful if it happened but they really cannot cover every eventuality.

Regarding medication of course you declare everything you take from hrt to iron tablets.

I think it depends on what the issues are eg you don’t need to disclose the normal day to day older person issues but if they have a terminal diagnosis or a serious condition which a reasonable person would realise could affect holiday labs than no it’s not covered. The crucial question is always was it foreseeable?

we didn’t declare mils illnesses and she died shortly before we were due to travel, TUI said we could change the date only paying any difference in price but we decided to go anyway

While I don't necessarily disagree that holiday insurance might be a rip off, I just don’t think they can cover you for every eventuality. The older people get, the bigger the chance there is of them dying. If you have a parent with a heart condition, high blood pressure or cancer there is a very high chance they could die before you go on holiday. If the insurance companies insured for all eventualities then premiums would be doubled/trebled for everyone. If there is a likelihood that someone’s death/ illness may stop you going on holiday you should need to declare their conditions.
An old persons death/illness need not always stop people going on holiday. I know people who have gone away after a family members death, to get back before the funeral.
As older people, we are trying to see the places in the world we want to before we get even older. Our insurance for our last 3 week holiday was already over 1k. If this premium was doubled or trebled it could be totally unaffordable. We still have an older parent (in their 90s) and older siblings( in their 70s) so there is a high chance of something happening before we go away.