Insurance claim advice

[Shellaphine]

Hi,just looking for some advice if anyone has had a similar experience at all? We (myself, husband and two children) were due to go on holiday 12th August abroad. Unfortunately last week my mum has experienced a stroke and is currently in hospital, she is 80. I know she was on medication for high blood pressure, but had not been admitted to hospital for this prior. I would like to cancel the holiday. We have holiday insurance with nationwide which is with aviva, they have stated I need to cancel the holiday first to process the claim, they cannot say if it would be definitely accepted. Has anyone had experience of a similar situation at all? Thank you for any advice

I’m sorry you’re going through this OP. I’d be very shocked if Aviva would pay out on this though. Although they can pay out for a parent as it is a close relative having a serious illness/injury (which a stroke does qualify as), the fact she has been on blood pressure meds will likely exclude this. High blood pressure is the leading cause of strokes and so these companies can say you knew essentially she was at the risk of having a stroke and booked the holiday regardless, so they won’t now pay out as you’ve accepted the “risk” as it were.

You need to look at the terms of the policy - it might just be for a death for example. They will have specific underwriters too so not every policy will have same terms

Thank you, my mum was not due to travel with us, sorry I should have made that clear.

Looking at the flex nationwide policy you might be ok unless they say that high blood pressure means this could be reasonably expected

I assumed that, as I say I would be almost certain that the high blood pressure meds will invalidate your claim unfortunately as that is the leading cause of strokes.

I’m not sure I agree that the high blood pressure would invalidate a claim, it’s just a risk factor and she hadn’t been hospitalised, but you certainly won’t be able to claim for anyone but you - to the extent anyone needed to stay behind it would only be you that the insurance might accept needed to do so.

So they would expect my husband and children to go? It’s a package holiday we would need to cancel the whole thing. There’s no way they would go without me. Such a nightmare :(

I would well imagine so yes, the very best you could hope for would be an agreement that there is a need for just you to stay behind

What’s her prognosis? Will she be released from hospital within the new few days or is it looking very serious? The reason for asking is that Aviva specify “unavoidably cancel” in their policy and I suspect your DM’s stroke 2 weeks prior to your holiday happening may not fall under “unavoidable” if it turns out to be a relatively minor stroke. So there’s a risk you go ahead and cancel and your claim is denied.

I don’t think anyone here can say definitively, but I disagree with @Mrsttcno1 that your claim would be denied as your DM’s stroke could reasonably have been expected to disrupt your plans just because she was on BP meds (I am on BP meds but as they control my BP I do not think I am going to have a stroke any time soon!).

I also disagree with @AgentLisbon that only you can claim - although I think that depends on the definition of “close relative” which I can’t immediately see defined in the policy.

However, I agree with @HundredMilesAnHour that the “unavoidably has to cancel” criteria likely depends on your DM’s prognosis - I would wait until closer to the time to cancel as if your DM is out of danger by then it would likely not be “unavoidable”.

It’s not minor, she will be in hospital for some time, it’s a intracerebral haemorrhage and so it’s likely there will be permanent damage and long term care required x

Thank you, I have spoken to her consultant who has provided a letter for the insurance. I have no other family that can support if I were to go, even if she is ‘stable’ in terms of in hospital receiving treatment. My mother in law has very kindly stated she will visit her if we cannot cancel, so there is that. It’s just a no win situation as we are also not in a position where we can loose the money spent on the holiday. It’s very much a gamble, I was just hoping someone may of been in a similar scenario x

If you absolutely can’t afford to loose all of the money then I’d honestly say if I was you I’d try and sell the holiday, a local fb page, friend or family member, even if you sell if for slightly less than you have paid to shift it then at least you’re guaranteed some money back. I honestly can’t see any way you’d get the whole holiday back on the insurance, best case would be your % I’d think so it is a gamble to cancel x

I would expect my insurance (not Nationwide) to pay out for cancellation due to an unforeseen hospitalisation of a parent. There's a £25k limit on my cancellation cover, but sometimes more basic cover have that at £5k or even less.

As a thought though, if your policy doesn't cover it, could you go on the holiday with your family but then just buy a flight so you can return earlier, leaving your family out there, and not be away so long. Or if the holiday is a 2 week one, then a return flight for a quick trip back half way through?

This is what it states, it states up to £5k cover, the holiday was £4900 for one week, so that would not be an issue. I just wish they could say yes we will cover it or no we won’t before you officially cancel. It’s seems so ridiculous. But I suppose there are so many scams there are procedures they have to follow.

Will the holiday company not allow for a change of dates if it’s a package holiday? For instance to move it to next summer or the October week. Sometimes there can be a difference to pay but would mean not losing everything. Not sure if it’s too close now for that to happen.

If the family wouldn’t go without you, then you may as well cancel and see what money you get back from the insurance.

No as it’s so close to travel dates it’s treated as a cancellation, I think that’s my only option and see what happens

First of all, I’m so sorry that your mum is so poorly - it’s a nightmare I’m sure. In your shoes I wouldn’t want to go either.
Thinking practically, do you think your mum would want you to miss out on the holiday, especially if you were to lose the money if you didn’t go? How would the children feel if they missed the holiday?
In reality, she’s going to be in hospital for a good few weeks and may need support when she’s moved to rehab. Your MIL has kindly offered to visit her as much as possible - she could FaceTime you from hospital so you can speak to your mum and vice versa if she’s well enough, so that might reassure you?
Ultimately, if you don’t go and the insurers won’t pay out, you haven’t ‘lost’ the money because you haven’t got that money. Don’t rush into any decisions yet, take time to decide x

Thank you so much for your reply, it is so hard, the children are only 8 and 10, so obviously have been looking forward to the holiday. My mum was also my dad’s full time carer as he has dementia, so that’s obviously a whole other layer I am dealing with too. Very much struggling to think straight, which is unlike me, so thankful for everyone’s responses x

Go on holiday.
Check flights back home if needed eg is it location with daily flights. ?
Then you can return if needed
No reason dh and dc to miss holiday

They paid mine ( similar but a terminal diagnosis) within 24 hours of the claim.

so sorry you have been through that xx thank you for responding xx