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.

She didn’t even check if it covered it.

I've never been to Cape Verde, but it sounds like the issue might be the isolation and small numbers as much as the poverty. There's a lot of societies where many of the people are desperately poor but services exist for those who can pay for them. A place where there just aren't certain things even if you could throw money at them is something completely different.

Mind you, I never go any further than the Med so there's that.

Cape Verde is notorious for it's lack of medical facilities and tourist illness.
Shigella virus is common and can be deadly.
As to travel insurance, mine costs about £500 due to health conditions. I can't travel at all ATM , not because I'm too ill but because I have undiagnosed conditions which travel insurance wouldn't cover and I'm on an NHS waiting list 8 months long.

However good your insurance all the insurers use the same few claims handling companies who are notoriously difficult to deal with. Especially when you are abroad and dealing with a foreign health system in another language.

I remember a famous wealthy sportsman was in a car accident in Nigeria. They have fancy hospitals for the rich but no ambulance or paramedic service to get you there.

CV has a few basic clinics. If a tourist is ill they are airlifted to Tenerife. Though several have died in the last year alone.

It’s an awful place. Beautiful beaches and the hotels are unbelievably luxurious but unless you never leave the resort you’re acutely aware of how exploitative the entire thing is.

There are charities that will repatriate the remains for a small donation. One was started by a guy who lost a close family member overseas and found himself in dire straits.

Yeah I remember reading that. Would put me off.

The death occurred over 2 years ago.

@Danhausenrocks

we have annual cover through the bank and every few months we call them to add any new medical conditions and list any visits /calls/emails to the gp using our nhs apps as reference so nothing is missing. Our insurance company is good and so far hasn’t added surcharges and did remark a few weeks ago they wished all ongoing insurance customers would be as diligent as they hate refusing to pay but they need to know before your travel (or even book) the risk level of you the insured.

@AWeeCupOfTeaAndAnIndividualFruitTrifle Are you saying that having a holiday abroad is a right or have I misread you somehow???

My mother is 84 and has a plethora of illnesses. She was desperate to go to Florida one last time. The MAIN cost was her insurance. That was paid first.

I live in a British seaside town. Remember them? The ones struggling to thrive because of families going abroad????? We have long golden beaches, cheap accommodation (as well as expensive), outdoor swimming pools, parks, country houses, gorgeous cafes and restaurants, strict disability rules and inclusions, business owners just desperate to give you and your family memories to last a lifetime and all backed by the NHS.

As a hard working family I don't question your 'right' to a holiday but I assure you it doesn't have to be abroad and this way you don't need the travel insurance either!

The average reading age of adults in the UK is between 9 and 11 years old. Have a look through a travel insurance policy and imagine a child in year 5 of primary school reading it.

Totally agree. Nightmare. But, as with all insurance, and because I'm also dyslexic, I normally insist on a phonecall and make sure that phone call is recorded and that I have access to a draft of it. It's a complete pain in the behind but it does make sure I've covered as much as I can.

The point is that the company saved a huge amount by not having to pay for repatriation - body or ashes.

It’s not allowed in Cape Verde, according to media reports.

If she had travel insurance but didn't realise it doesn't cover repatriation it's very harsh to judge and not fair, it's the insurance companies you should have a go at. We had a holiday booked for Canada then covid struck (we'd booked with a Canadian airline so ATOL didn't cover it), we had adequate insurance, when we tried to get a refund on the flights insurance told us to go to the credit card, credit card told us to go to insurance, back and forth..... 4 years it took us to get a refund and then we found out that the insurance had authorised the refund months before but had 'forgotten' to tell us!

Yes I didnt get that either, that poster seemed to be implying the only way anyone can have fun, spend time with their family or "make memories" is to go abroad. Why?

Sure, you might want to have a fancy holiday abroad (totally get that) but there are many things I am sure we all want right now, but cant afford them! A holiday abroad is certainly not a necessity.

I would never travel without travel insurance. But do feel very reassured that we have an amazing charity in Ireland who will repatriate any Irish citizen who dies abroad. The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. They don’t just deal with providing the money they handle everything. Just amazing people who support people in their darkest hour.

I think travel insurance is the biggest scam going, but it’s your responsibility to check your policy

Yes this. ^

I do feel for people who DID take out insurance, and the insurance company pulled everything they could out of their arse to not pay out.

I have known this happen before! About 7 years ago, this woman I know who was 67 at the time took out travel insurance for a coach trip to Germany, and she fell and broke her ankle (in Germany.) The insurance company wouldn't pay out because she neglected to disclose a heart murmur that she has when taking out the insurance. It had NOTHING to do with the fall she had, or her broken ankle, (she slipped down a small flight of (8) steps,) but they wouldn't pay out... Cost her nearly 5 figures for the medical bill. She was one of the lucky ones! Some peoples medical bills abroad run into 10s of 1000s of pounds - (even 6-figure sums in some cases!)

And sorry @JulietteHasAGun Your friend paid £5000 in insurance ALONE for a holiday to Florida? LOL, sod that for a game of soldiers! No way would I pay that. I just wouldn't go. Terminally ill or not. That price is outrageous!

Im in a position that i travel without covering my presisting condition. Most places won't cover me, and those that will have it around the seven thousand pound mark.

I therefore only travel to Europe where the average cost is about £10000 if I get ill and need hospitalisation for 2 weeks. I do have that in the bank as my life. Savings so would use that. I wouldn't travel to the US though as much more expensive.
I am insured for other illnesses, and the last time I got ill with my condition.I needed hospitalisation was fifteen years ago.

Most travel insurance covers repatriation, getting insurers to pay though that's a different thing.
I don't really see the problem of being buried abroad- if you have strong beliefs or wishes then you need to check your policy carefully.

I have some sympathy with the person in this case, however, in general, it is just part of the entitlement culture we now have - it’s always someone else’s fault, and someone else’s responsibility to sort it out.

I used to work in travel insurance, specifically adding activities and medical histories to policies. Repatriation was always part of the cover, not just when your dead, but also the eyewateringly expensive medical repatriation if you became ill/had an accident. The story here is a bit weird, it doesn’t suggest that she contacted their insurer which is the standard procedure, it also doesn’t suggest she spoke to the travel company rep, nor does it say that she contacted the local British Honorary Consulate for advice (what you have in smaller places that acts as a branch of the embassy).
The article is about a court case against Tui for repeated outbreaks of norovirus at a particular resort, the burial is just tacked on with no real information about the insurance cover, what there is doesn’t stack up.

Yes exactly which is why I think there is a lot missing from this story and its not as its being portrayed

I recently bought travel insurance from the post office. It was something like £58 for a single trip and £67 for an annual policy. I opted for the annual as the difference in price was so small. I think when you go into most websites they give you the option so people should automatically be able to work that out surely?