Airbnb travel insurance for elderly relative?

[MrsGhastlyCrumb]

Hello- can anyone advise here? We are going on a ten day family holiday and bringing a relative in their mid to late 80s. I haven’t been involved in booking their travel etc as we will be travelling and staying separately.

Apparently they have used the ´blanket’ Airbnb travel insurance option when booking. I raised concerns as I know that usually premiums increase significantly at this age and want to make sure they are adequately covered.

Travel is to Spain for just under a fortnight. Relative is in earlyish stages of Alzheimer’s (diagnosis came after the booking was made). They can’t walk far but can cope ok with frequent rests. Heat may be a concern although relative was born and brought up in a very hot climate so may cope better than expected- I assume also there is aircon in accommodation for hot periods of the day.

We would be really grateful for thoughts/recommendations - even if not strictly travel insurance related. Thanks so much in advance…

Not sure if I have totally understood you correctly, but to check:

You are travelling with an elderly relative
You have booked an Airbnb, and therefore I assume you have booked flights yourselves rather than going through an agent? I don't totally understand what you mean by Airbnb insurance but I think you probably mean the insurance they offer for cancellation?

Normally I would book my own separate travel insurance with cover for everything as the cover tends to be better and includes cancellation, medical insurance, repatriation etc etc. I haven't travelled with an older relative with cognitive decline, but be aware you will pay higher premiums and need to declare any health concerns.

My guess is they relative doesn't have enough cover if relying on Airbnb insurance alone.

The main problem potentially is them listing medical issues at the time they took out insurance and then they need to update the insurance company with anything diagnosed since, if they don’t their policy may be void for medical issues. Do make sure they have ghic cards because for Europe this does cover a lot of health related cost but not repatriation. Specialist insurance will be more comprehensive eg try all clear, staysure or saga if once they update the insurance company the insurance company will not cover.

Thank you both!

Booking which includes relative has been booked by my sibling: I will check about the GHIC card, we do have ours but I’m not there to check at the moment. No agents involved as far as I am aware.

The Airbnb insurance allegedly covers health as well- am assuming they took up a higher cover option rather than just the one for cancellations. However I suspect they haven’t updated any details regarding relative specifically. My concern is that they would jump on this to invalidate the policy if the worst were to happen.

Will get on my laptop in the morning & look at options from specialist providers vs compare the meerkat etc as I think worth it to have a decent service who offer assistance if needed rather than sharks who will do anything to avoid having to pay.

Alzheimer’s is a presumptive diagnosis at the moment from a specialist nurse home visit which took place very recently. There is a diagnosis of an eye condition but nothing else particularly concerning.

If it has not been declared then they will almost certainly invalidate the policy, should it be deemed to have caused any issues while you are away. Insurance premiums will increase but it is important you have the right cover.

How far advanced is the Alzheimer's? One thing to be aware of, is that changes in surroundings can increase confusion. Any history of wandering could get worse while away, and you may need to factor in disturbed sleep patterns etc. And if the weather is hot, it can be difficult to get enough fluid into people (regardless of dementia diagnosis) which in older people can lead to UTIs, and increased risk of delirium which then complicates any pre existing dementia.

The Alzheimer's society has a great helpline which might be worth calling for travel advice.

I would agree that depending on the individual and the stage of the dementia, holidays can be a really bad idea. Being out of familiar situations can be very scary and disorientating for them.

Any insurance that actually covers this relative properly having declared all medical issues will cost at least £2000 because of the high risks both of something happening and of treatment being complicated if it does. You can buy normal-price-range insurance products where you declare pre-existing conditions and anything related to that is specifically excluded from cover, and I used that when travelling during active cancer treatment, but I don't think that wpuld work for dementia because anything that happens is likely to be linked to or exacerbated by the dementia. The insurance already bought will only cover refunding your money spent so far if you cancel the whole thing, it will not cover you in the event of any incident.

If you are determined to go, just get the relative's GHIC sorted if not already got, and hope for the best. In the event of an incident you will have to self-fund any additional accommodation costs and any additionally complex travel costs so you may face losing thousands, but you may be ok.

You all need proper travel insurance which will cover all medical issues, repatriation if necessary. When DH was taken ill in USA our travel insurance even paid my expenses in a motel for a month. However, all existing medical issues must be declared when the policy is taken out. Yes, this will put up the cost but if you claim the insurance company will get your records from your GP and can refuse to pay out. GHIC only covers emergency treatment and whatever basic treatment the locals are entitled to.

My father, whilst his level of dementia was not too bad in the UK, on leaving his home & regular environment he deteriorated appallingly, far more than even his doctors expected & they’d said he’d be ok to travel.
He was showing behaviours that he didn’t do at home.
He wandered out of his room & was found on a different floor, no idea where he was.
Luckily the residents that found him were amazing, took him to reception & kept him there overnight until his wife woke up & went down in a panic to report him missing (she’s a very deep sleeper so hadn’t heard a thing).
He also started urinating in the corners of their room.
When we got him home, fortunately his confusion mostly passed & it hadn’t provoked too much of a decline.