Travel Insurance with lots of health conditions

[bellac11]

I havent been abroad in a while not since the Brexit thing and used to rely on the health card (cant remember the name) so rightly or wrongly didnt get health/travel insurance as we only went to Europe

So Im now searching for travel insurance, Ive only made it to the first page on a comparison website and I wants me to input my health conditions, I have tons! Im very middle aged and have had a plethora of diagnoses over the years, some are formal, some are GPs notes rather than a diagnosis per se. None of them are 'serious' as such,, but the usual depression and anxiety, migraine, tremor (informal diagnosis), overweight, high blood pressure, years and years ago I had a tumor, then kidney stones, various fibroids, IBS, PCOS, I cant even remember the full lot to be honest.
What do others do, I cant be the only one who has a nice collection of past and present 'ailments' ?

I have multiple conditions and find you can't purchase with a comparison website.
The link below is a list of insurance companies that do complex cases.
www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/insurance/use-our-travel-insurance-directory
I've used just travel this time for 4 of us 3 with complex medical history it's £250 for a week in the med which was cheaper than the others I tryed.
I always have to ring up and it takes a while to sort, have all your medical history /medications written down it will help.
I'm often surprised what puts the cost up and what doesn't eg well controlled asthma on 3 medications is more costly than a diagnosis which means tube feeding is necessary and that causes someone to be immunocompromised. You may be surprised.

Just to compare my conditions are
Cancer in last 3 years (not on treatment now)
Atrial fibrillation
Rheumatoid arthritis
Asthma
Bronchiectasis
SVT (a heart problem).
Some of them also want to know if you've had covid in last year.
The best price I got was with Jet2, not even a specialist insurer.

You can’t use the comparator websites if you have significant medical history- you need to go to one of the specialist ones directly. If you’ve got insurance with your bank account you can add on medical conditions but it’s cheaper to get a separate specialist policy if you have more than 2!
They are wanting to know about anything you are prescribed regular medication for or are under a specialist for. It’s harder to get if you are waiting for investigations / results etc as that makes your risk higher. I’m expecting to have to exclude certain conditions when I sort mine this year as I’m waiting for tests/consultants.

Usually they ask for details within the last 5 years. We use All Clear, you can do online or ring them but long delays atm. You have to add a condition and then answer questions depending on information you have given. Are you sure you are not missing the add a condition section. Some of the sites are difficult to navigate though.

We use spectrum insurance have previously been reasonable even though all of us have health conditions

I've just used Avanti. Only ask for details of things in last 2 years. If you don't put it down you won't be covered if it come up on holiday or gets cancelled due to it.
But you need insurance. What if you break something badly and need to be flown home? Or you have a stroke and family need to stay on etc. Bit dramatic examples!

Regarding excluding conditions some will not let you so it's all or nothing. It is a huge faff but be 100% honest as they look to wheedle out of responsibility if they can. Make sure you know why you are taking meds as they might ask how many for each condition. Some even ask if you have been to a gp in that time!.

@Roystonv

Usually they ask for details within the last 5 years. We use All Clear, you can do online or ring them but long delays atm. You have to add a condition and then answer questions depending on information you have given. Are you sure you are not missing the add a condition section. Some of the sites are difficult to navigate though.

Ive given up with comparethemarket

I went to staysure as advised on this thread, and its comig up as £55 for the week as comprehensive cover, but I have 11 conditions, some are historical but although I said 'yes' to say that I am currently under investigation, it didnt then ask about that. So I have it as one of the conditions, its only rhinitis or sinusitis but Im having tests etc for it.

Im too tired now to do any more!

@sm40

I've just used Avanti. Only ask for details of things in last 2 years. If you don't put it down you won't be covered if it come up on holiday or gets cancelled due to it. But you need insurance. What if you break something badly and need to be flown home? Or you have a stroke and family need to stay on etc. Bit dramatic examples!

I think Avanti and Staysure are the same company.

@bellac11

Thats very helpful and Ive just discovered (cant believe how dim I am) that the health card still exists!! Ive just applied for a new one

So with that in mind do I get travel insurance after all..... never used to bother but Im older now and should be more sensible

You should always have had insurance to travel abroad. A GHIC card (replaces EHIC) will provide some emergency treatment (not always free!) but it won't cover quarantine hotel charges, medical repatriation costs or extended accommodation abroad.

Extended accommodation and/or medical repatriation ( by road or air ambulance) can be necessary due to some injury or medical condition which your commercial flight operator won't allow on their plane.

They might not cover conditions undergoing investigation. It is a minefield and takes me a good few hours every year even though I am familiar with requirements.

I really don’t think travel insurance companies care if you have sinusitis. It’s for ongoing long term medical conditions.
I have 3 medical conditions, I used compare the market who asked me specific conditions and asked if I was on any medication, also asked if I’ve ever been treated for mental health problems including depression. I then had a few companies to choose from.

OP I would go for an annual policy with stay sure. It’s not much more money than single trip IME

@Jellybean100

I really don’t think travel insurance companies care if you have sinusitis. It’s for ongoing long term medical conditions. I have 3 medical conditions, I used compare the market who asked me specific conditions and asked if I was on any medication, also asked if I’ve ever been treated for mental health problems including depression. I then had a few companies to choose from.

Well my sinusitis/rhinitis is the condition that Im currently having tests for (scans/bloods/MRI) etc so Im under a consultant for all that, I take medication for it so difficult to say whether I should mention it or not given that these are the questions.

I dont know how to get to a stage on 'compare the market' where it asks you about the specifics. It didnt event take me to that page, it just went straight to quotes and there were none.

Go to the Martin Lewis money saving expert website and find his info for travel insurance for pre existing conditions. It's all very clear. He has a list of providers to contact.
I managed it and have some very "serious" conditions 😊

They are only interested in health conditions that are going to cause a claim

My DS has nut allergies and hayfever , rhinitis . They are only interested in the nut and seed allergies as they are lifethreatening. Thankfully he works with DH and gets annual insurance with no medical declaration for a really reasonable price.

I have multiple conditions and use All Clear travel without issue. They're a specialist and TBH my quote from them yesterday for an annual multi trip policy was cheaper than the mainstream insurers. Had better levels of cover too. I found them via the Stroke Association when I struggled to get post-stroke coverage last year. Their customer service is brilliant too.

As above poster I used all clear as recommended due to my history. That happened 25 years ago! But I need to make sure I’m covered just incase!

I always do a family one and a separate one for me (works out cheaper) it’s annoying but i always make sure I take out travel insurance.

Have any of you had to claim on all clear?
Just wondering because all their good reviews are about the process of buying and the price, not so much about when you need to claim.

If you don't declare things & it later becomes a problem you won't be covered if it's in your GP notes, I think even if the things aren't related. DF once visited the doctor before going on holiday. Doctor wasn't fussed and said that they would deal with it when they got back form the holiday. As it was, the GP had missed something rather obvious & serious (the start of gangrene) & they had to fly home from their holday. The insurance didn't cover it as DF hadn't thought to update the insurance company. The only flight home which were available were business flights so they lost the cost of those & the cost of the holiday (they were only 2 days in).

I claimed with All Clear horrendous, unsympathetic process but that was when they were with Mapfre not Zurich as now. Yes we are still with them as they did manage Covid future credits well but will try others next year.

AA only asked about certain things in the last five years. That might be worth a look.

Ive now been on compare the market, wont let me put in any conditions and comes back with no quotes

Money Supermarket, only comes back with 3 (very cheap) quotes from a company Ive never heard of

Medical Travel Compared, comes back with the same quotes as above but warns it wont cover conditions under investigation

Stay Sure, their own quotes, 'comprehensive cover' is £55 or £122 for annual

I dont know that I can face doing any more, its exhausting and I seem to keep remembering things Ive suffered from. I havent put the tumor on, is that necessary?

They all just ask for you to list your conditions, they dont specify they only want to know if its within a particular timescale.

The staysure quote is around what I pay for annual worldwide. They never cover under investigation

The AA asks you to confirm that you dont have any conditions that you dont have a full diagnosis for and I cant confirm that, so they're out