Another day, another person with inadequate travel insurance

[JulietteHasAGun]

So very sadly a British man has died in Cape Verde while on an all inclusive Tui holiday with his wife.

She believes his travel insurance wouldn’t cover repatriation of his body so has buried him in an unmarked grave over there and had to come home without him. Which must be very distressing for her. I do sympathise but also think why on earth don’t people get adequate travel insurance. I know it’s expensive as you get older and have pre existing conditions, etc.

friend of mine it cost 5k in travel insurance for her mum to go to Florida for 2 weeks when terminally ill but they paid it. I pay £hundreds for Dd due to her medical issues.

If i couldn’t afford it I wouldn’t go. They could have gone to Spain and had a cheaper holiday, then afforded holiday insurance as well plus being covered by ghic…..though obviously that wouldn’t cover repatriation.

Have to say I’m surprised Tui didn’t help out as they have their own planes especially because there’s lots of rumblings about Brits dying in their hotels over there due to Norovirus, stomach bugs being rampant in their hotels and this guy died after a severe episode of d&v.

DH and I agreed that if anything happens we will be buried where we are - no repatriation. Probably easier for us as atheists (maybe) but I see no point in spending that money unnecessarily. Plus the bureaucracy.

Agreed, I thought the same thing.

I think that’s unkind. I always buy travel insurance but I’ve never made a decision based on repatriation. I don’t recall seeing it as option in the quote websites like excess is or dangerous sports or value of medical cover. In future I’ll look into it, although I’m in the fortunate position that if I were to die on holiday my family could pay for me to come back.

I think one of the issues is that people think you have to buy an annual policy, which of course is expensive. Many do not realise you can buy a single day's insurance or multiple days to cover your holiday.

More like another person shafted by an insurance company

The story is two years old! Seems odd she didn’t use the TUI rep to facilitate her insurance claim.

The most insane travel insurance exclusion / trip up I’ve ever heard is a few instances where a woman gives birth prematurely abroad and the company refuses to pay for the baby’s costs as they’re not the insured party.

stresses me out so much when I see heavily pregnant women going abroad!

She doesn’t believe travel insurance would cover repatriation . To me, that reads like she hasn’t asked because she doesn’t have any.

There is no facility to cremate a body on Cape Verde!

a mean post,
you have to pay and then claim surely?

No one is going to check if it’s adequate for every circumstance though

Another thing to realise is that you need to declare every medical appointment you've had in the last 2-5 years when you take out your travel insurance. I did mine yesterday, and my husband was asking me why I put down that I had had flu last year

But the reality is, last year when I had flu, I was prescribed an inhaler to help me breathe for a few weeks as I was coughing so much it was making me choke. If I was ill with a breathing issue, if i hadn't declared it, the insurance could say "well you've got a preexisting condition..."

When I went through and added in the muscle sprains/back pain I've had it didn't make a single bit of difference to the price because I'm not recieving any treatment and haven't done for over a year. But at least I know because I've declared them, if something does crop up, I've got reassurance they can't weasel their way out of it.

The main reason insurance doesn't cover 100% is the failure to have declared an accurate medical history. Repatriation is easily £20k, where possible cremate in place of death.

I felt like this trying to claim on supposedly "lifetime" pet insurance for my old dog, and the company tried to say that whatever it was wasn't covered because it wasn't "injury" but also "illness" (grass seed in her ear which then got infected). I was like...what on earth am I paying insurance for then!

Ultimate kick in the teeth was to find out a few years later that the insurance also didn't cover her end of life and cremation because it was "just" from old age.

I do think that travel insurance is tricky and they try and wriggle out of paying, even when you would have had a very reasonable expectation that you were covered for exactly that scenario.

Not a day goes by without a go fund me popping up on social media begging for funds to pay someones medical bills abroad, because they thought nothing would happen, or didnt read the T&Cs .
It should be mandatory at the point of booking.
No insurance=no travel.
There, thats easy

We bought annual cover last year - we both have health conditions that inflates the cost. We had to cancel a holiday because mil had a fall - they refunded everything without a question and our premiums were reduced for the following year. We took 7 holidays last year so it was very good value for money!
One of our kid’s mates didn’t get insurance - broke her leg in a motorcycle accident - fortunately her parents bailed her out.

We have drummed it into our (adult) kids that not taking out insurance is financially reckless for them and probably us, as we’d end up having to do the same as their mate’s parents.

Yes what does this mean? Did she get cover including repatriation or not? I always check that.

i t hink you have to go back 20 years for medical history

I doubt it, for repatriation costs. Most people could not pay upfront costs for that, it's going to run into many tens of thousands if not hundreds?

It’s all very well saying companies should check if you have insurance but they are not going to know all your medical conditions or if you are going to ride a donkey and have cover for it

The first thing i check when i renew my insurance is the repatriation clause.
I dont get why anyone wouldnt.
I dont give a shit about a lost suitcase.
My main reason for getting insured IS repatriation.
Bonkers that anyone thinks not is ok.

Repatriation also includes getting you back by air ambo if needed. It's not just for those who die abroad.

Not always expensive, I've just bought mine, it was under £20, does include repatriation.

No cruise cover and Europe only at this point, no skiing etc.

But even my last policy which had cruise and all world was only about £60.

Maybe she did not expect her husband to die abroad, and thought the travel insurance would cover health cost because most people when they take out travel insurance would not think they would need it to repatriate their loved one?

But why not?
It must be one of the most devastating things to havs happen.
Surely not having to worry about cost would make it somewhat less dreadful.
If u can afford a holiday u can afford insurance.
And i have claimed for illness. 1250 for a doc to come to the hotel for noravirus. They paid out without question.