Why you should have travel insurance

[Ellmau]

Sorry this link is from the DFail, but it is a salutary tale about what could happen if you either don't have travel insurance, or as in this case, don't declare your pre existing conditions to save a little money in the short term: Family of British grandmother, 52, who was found covered in blood in a luxury Turkish hotel claim she is being 'held hostage by a prison camp private hospital' who won't let her fly home until she pays tens of thousands of pounds in medical bills | Daily Mail Online

(I do feel sorry for the family, and if we could avoid being too judgmental that would be nice, but I hope it might make people think about their own decisions.)

Are you sure about that one? Spoke to my GP yesterday as I needed meds for an ear infection and he seemed surprised when I said I supposed that meant another call to the travel insurance.

I usually would yes, for anything that comes up before you fly.

We can’t get travel insurance. Both DH and I have cancer, and I have other conditions, and we’ve been turned down so many times, or been quoted in the thousands. We don’t go abroad at all now.

There are companies that specialise in this - have you looked at the macmillan page on this and tried staysure (and saga if you're >50) or gone through a broker? very unlikely that you are genuinely uninsurable.

In my experience yes. We had to cancel a holiday because I had a threatened miscarriage. I answered all the questions about ongoing medical issues but forgot to mention I attended the GP 3 years prior after I injured my coccyx after a fall. The insurers told me my claim was invalid because I didn't declare it. Even though my pregnancy was covered.

Eventually we argued as it was a one time injury and I didn't need any further treatment it didn't meet their own definition of what I had to declare, but it took us a long time to get them to pay out. I'm now declaring absolutely every single GP attendance.

Thanks, useful to know. I've never travelled much for various reasons. I won't derail the thread further.

A lot of times it isn't getting insurance that is the issue. It is people reading what they are covered for.
For example jet biking may seem a really common holiday activity but you might assume it is covered whereas in many cases it is not.

I don't bother anymore. I always used to get insurance but once when I started with my hideous UTIs and was in so much pain I could not stand up, never mind go on holiday, the insurer refused to pay out, said that I should I have seen a dr who may have advised not to go. I STILL have not seen a dr, since covid you just cannot get a GP apt. 🙄

As long as you've got six figure savings in the bank, or your family has the money to repatriate your body if needed, then travelling without insurance is fine.

A family member on a recent holiday developed an infection. Treatment cost £1700, fully paid for by insurance within a few weeks. This was literally just for doctor’s appointment and the administration of a 3 day course of antibiotics, He was waiting for an operation and had declared this. Infection was linked to the op he was waiting for. I have an annual policy that I just renew.

As Martin Lewis always says, buy it when you book your holiday and definitely not worth not disclosing pre existing conditions, yes your insurance will inevitably cost more but the risks of not doing just aren’t worth while and essential to ensure it covers what you doing, DS recently went trekking in Madeira, not an issue you’d think , but as much of it is in mountains above 3000m, his normal insurance just didn’t cover it, cost about £16 for one that included helicopter search if needed, really not worth the risk

Ok, to be clear, I've already bought the insurance for an upcoming trip and presumably now need to declare the GP visit since then?

GP said should be fine to fly by then, incidentally.

It’s pre-existing conditions and any GP or hospital visit. I’m waiting hernia surgery. I’ve tried so many companies as well as the cover included in my bank account. Until I’ve had the op and been discharged, no one will insure me. Tedious. I’ve missed two possible trips to a friend in Spain but it’s not worth the risk, as this DM report shows, the family say she had insurance but hadn’t declared existing conditions.
I try to be positive but ido believe these companies will use anything to avoid paying out

What an awful situation, her poor family. It does sound as if she had some serious pre existing conditions that she didn’t declare to her insurance company. Now her family is dealing with the consequences. 🙁

Agree.

I see all the time people buying cheap insurance that doesn't cover them.

I list and have everything covered.

Having experienced the nightmare of becoming ill and needing a hospital on holiday, insurance is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Even in Spain the staff had little English, and the hospital wanted a thousand euro payment before they did anything at all. And that was for a relatively minor issue. Luckily had decent insurance.

I only buy insurance of I'm going on a cruise or outside Europe. I have had fantastic emergency care in Spain, France and Greece

Obviously, it doesn't cover repatriation costs but we have decided that if we died abroad we would just get cremated there and have a memorial service in the UK

Like any insurance is a gamble as to whether its worth it

Always a personal choice

its incredibly selfish not to take out insurance. Its always the family who then have to try and find the funds, which inevitably leads to a crowdfunder.
I had to claim last summer for our holiday of a lifetime after H had a large stroke 3 weeks beforehand. Thankfully I was able to claim the full amount back on insurance. Nearly 10k.

And repatriation if you're seriously ill and can't come on a normal plane? Costs for your family ro stay out there?

"The family believe the likelihood of claiming the money on insurance is 'slim to none' due to pre-existing medical conditions."

That suggests to me that she did have insurance, but that either there were conditions excluded from it or conditions she hadn't declared.

@Maddy70 there is a lot of ground between walking out of a doctor's and dying. Stroke, broken limbs, heart attack, coma. I know someone who had to get a special
Flight home due to leg break and another who had a stroke and had to ambulance from the south of France.

What's your plan if you were to say have a stroke or have serious injuries from a car accident? You could end up spending weeks and weeks in hospital and months before you could be deemed safe to catch a regular flight. Presumably you can afford that level of care for months, or a medical flight home, or even your partner or family being able to stay nearby? So if you can afford that then why not just pay for insurance so you don't have to?

Her son sounds like a right muppet. The medical staff in the "prison camp" saved his mother's life. She's lucky she isn't dead.

Im just about to renew my travel insurance, there are more conditions to add but equally there are a number of referrals in process that Im waiting to see someone about. Last time I enquired, there is NO travel insurance which will touch you if you are awaiting investigation.

So if you've been to the doctor and you've been referred for a scan or awaiting a diagnosis for something you cant get insurance.

You dont mention Italy but I tried to get emergency treatment at a hospital in Italy recently and they refused to treat me, even with my Health Card, without payment due to Brexit they said. The cost was more than I knew a private doctor would charge and it was less than my excess would be, so despite her suggesting I should claim it on insurance, I wouldnt be able to claim anything.