Travel insurance

[Poodley]

Posting for traffic - AIBU to clueless about travel insurance, and could anyone recommend what I should get or what I should look out for?

Travelling to France (Eurocamp) with DD5 and two other families. I don't drive (not sure if that's relevant but I want to make sure I'm covered if the worst happens and we need an ambulance). We're both reasonably healthy although I take thyroid and ADHD meds, and she has a (fairly mild) allergy to penicillin (Dr said she can still have it if needed but should be watched closely just in case).

Obviously I want to make sure we are both fully covered health wise, and also if things go wrong with travel or theft - but mainly concerned about health.

Which are the best insurance companies? Are there clauses I should look out that might exclude things that we actually need?

If you can't tell, this is my first time abroad with my child, and even pre child I hadn't been anywhere for years. Believe it or not I used to be quite jet setting!

You need to ask your gp receptionist for a statement of facts/diagnoses/medication that you need to disclose to your travel insurance provider. Go for a 5* defacto policy with zero excess and disclose all the things on your print out from the gp AND any previous surgery or inpatient stays.

I have mine with Aviva through my Nationwide bank account. For the majority of things you only have to declare issues in the last year (obviously cancer etc. is different). We had to claim when we were in the US and they were fine.

Ooh, glad I asked - I had no idea about any of this!

Staysure are meant to be good for preexisting conditions. The key is disclose everything including minor trips to the gp in last 2-3 years - my insurance through bank doesn’t add anything for my list of minor ailments but I have to disclose

Those aren't likely to bump the cost up much.
Go to a comparison site and pick one with 5* rating. Insurers vary as to how far back you have to go but it's usually two years. So anything you've seen a doctor about or had a prescription for.
The excess keeps the premium down. Imo it's for unforeseen catastrophic costs rather than minor ailments.
Take a GHIC card with you which will give you urgent care on the local equivalent of the NHS.

My insurance is with Admiral. My annual policy was about £16 so not bad at all.

You could try a few comparison sites.

@Poodley - you don’t need anything from your GP unless you are unsure of any medical conditions you have or when you last were seen by a medical professional.

Use something like compare the market to get a list of quotes. Then work through a couple of reasonable ones on the company’s’ websites. They nearly all asked the same questions - for example, I have high blood pressure - when I add that as a condition, every company then asks how many meds I’m on for it and if my meds have been increased in the last 6 months.

The main thing is to be totally honest. Depending on the focus, form will sometimes ask have you ever seen a Dr for/suffered from/been diagnosed with X or it might ask in the last 2/5 years have you ever been……

They also ask about cancellation insurance ie if you decide not to go but not because of illness etc.

No excess/lower excess will increase the cost of the insurance so consider that also.

It’s pretty straightforward online unless you have a complex medical conditions/terminal diagnosis etc.