A really stupid travel insurance question

[alexandrasm]

I currently have travel insurance through my bank. I pay £18 a month and they cover all pre existing health conditions, I just have to renew that cover once a year. I’m thinking though, that it’s a lot of money to be spending each month. I’m considering cancelling that and just moving to buying for each trip. But I have a few issues:

1. back in 2023, after my first smear, I was referred for a colposcopy as I bled during the smear. My smear came back clear and by the time I got to the colposcopy clinic, which was at a private hospital, they turned around and said that my BMI was actually too high to be treated there. They said id be contacted by my local hospital to be booked in there. I never was, and when I’ve chased it I’ve been told it’s not something they can deal with as the referral was closed on their systems.
2. I had sinus surgery last year and I think that needs to be disclosed
3. I’m currently awaiting an appointment with a consultant physiotherapist for a knee injury. It’s unlikely that I’ll be seen, scanned and diagnosed before my next trip in August.
4. I’m still obese, but my BMI is now 36 and not 56 like it used to be.

based on those I think I’m unlikely to actually be able to get any travel insurance, at a reasonable price? Can anyone point me in the direction of a policy that I won’t have to spend hundreds for?

I used AllClear travel insurance- I did have to phone to get a quote but it was easy enough. I just had a couple of things to declare- one issue reviewed at hospital and then discharged, and then an ongoing issue I'm on a waiting list for. Think it was £38 for the year, or I could have just paid £7 for the one trip I had booked.

they turned around and said that my BMI was actually too high to be treated there.

that is awful. You must have felt so upset. What a crappy hospital

It was so embarrassing. I had arrived, checked in and everything. I was terrified and they just told me in the waiting room that my bmi was too high to be treated there

Staysure maybe? DH has loads of issues due to previous brain tumour and that was one of the only ones we could get to cover him for our business travel. Wasn’t exactly cheap but wasn’t astronomical either.

Does your bank cover you for other things as well? Mine covers phone insurance, AA membership and travel insurance so it's worth it to just use that (for me). Am about to claim on my travel insurance for medical expenses of £300 and used the AA for a call out a couple of months ago.

I get AA, and phone insurance.

it might be worth it to keep it, but I’m just considering looking elsewhere

Does your bank insurance definitely cover you for unknown risks - the pending appointment for example?

i used to use tesco and all my pre existing stuff was covered (migraine, thyroid etc) then had to use specialist while waiting for a hospital appointment and not only was that not covered but every other condition was also excluded. Pissed me off massively.

If a hospital can’t treat you because you’re too overweight, it doesn’t sound like a hospital you want to go to!

£18 a month for travel insurance, breakdown cover and mobile phone cover? You won’t get better

I've used Trawick International for my last few trips. I can't see the point of paying monthly for travel insurance unless you're a very frequent traveller.

Just get a quote online for annual travel insurance and see what the price is. None of us can tell you if it will be cheaper. I pay a lot less than that for a family plan (me plus 2 DC) but none of us have substantial medical conditions or history. What you will need to do is declare everything I'd say. Certainly anything where youve had a referral. I am not sure about weight but I dont think that needs to be declared.

It seems unusual that your travel doesn’t require you to inform them of new conditions, pending diagnoses, etc. I would check this no matter what. Too many horror stories about insurance claims falling for non disclosure.

I wish there was a consistent standard for the insurance industry relating to medical declarations. When I last bought it some asked me for 5 years, others 2 years, some asked for details of medication but most didn’t. Having to try to remember every single medical consultation for years as god forbid you forget something and it’s used as the aha! no you’re not covered as you missed seeing gp about something totally unrelated. (We dont have an nhs app in Scotland). I don’t trust them and think that in fairness to consumers this aspect really needs to be fairer and more consistent. I know …. a rant sorry OP!

I have a similar plan with my bank but I still need to declare pre existing conditions and any time in hospital in the last two (I think) years - I had to pay an additional amount because of this so might be best to double check with them

How often are you travelling? Annual policy generally works out cheaper if you go abroad more than twice a year. It may even work out cheaper if you go twice, I can't remember exactly how they compared. We are a family of 4 and we have worldwide cover as a annual policy, as we are going to both Africa and the Carribbean this year, with extra cover for all the devices, that was £311, so £18 doesn't seem bad to me.

I’ve spoken to them and they’ve said that yearly if I make a disclosure it covers everything pre-existing. My concern is this knee issue which I’m feeling like I’ll never get a diagnosis for. My specialist appointment at the hospital was meant to be next week but it got cancelled and I’m just waiting for it to be rebooked now, but I know i probably won’t be seen, scanned and seen by an orthopaedic surgeon in that time, so I’m basically screwed!

I have travel insurance with my Halifax bank account and if you are waiting for anything like treatment, scans, procedures etc they will not cover anything at all not even pre existing which has been diagnosed and is stable. I know this because I had an argument with them because they took money for the upgrade for some new conditions but when I went to add something I mentioned I was still waiting for an ultrasound they said no we don’t cover it and also if you’re waiting on something we will not cover any condition at all. They apparently shouldn’t have approved the upgrade previously and I went on holiday not knowing I wasn’t actually covered. I did get my money back but we went to all clear and took out an annual policy instead.

However if I wasn’t waiting for the scan then all I would have had to do was inform them of my conditions and paid the upgrade.

Some companies will just exclude a condition like your knee, if you're waiting for a scan etc, and it's not likely to be life-threatening or anything.

The other stuff you might have to declare but it doesn't mean you won't be covered - sometimes it just raises the price a bit, sometimes not at all.

It's undiagnosed conditions that are the problem, if they are anythingn that could potentially be serious. But other things that you know about, you can generally get cover for. So telling them you had surgery is OK - doesn't mean they won't cover you. They might ask more questions, though.

I couldn't get cover for ages when I was on a cardiology waiting list, then had to pay a fortune with a provisional diagnosis as it was the worst possible case while waiting for a scan. It improved after that.

Some companies only ask about the last year or maybe two years - I think Aviva is like that.

To be honest I’m tempted to just come off the waiting list for this, and let it lie. It’s nowhere near as painful anymore.

How is that crappy?

I don't know if coming off the list be enough best to check

Surely it has to be?

I wouldn’t assume so. Just the fact you’ve been referred is probably enough to be reportable. I don’t trust insurance an inch so I would check this for sure.

I have a long list of pre-existing conditions and have used lots of travel insurance.
They usually ask for two years history but some want to know more. If you are awaiting treatment some will cover you for everything, some will just exclude that thing and others will throw up their hands and refuse to cover you for anything.
I'm currently with Aviva via Nationwide bank. It cost me £350 on top of the £18 a month. They won't cover anything "undiagnosed" but are flexible if it's diagnosed but awaiting treatment.

Your list is really very minor conditions and I don't think you need a specialist insurer. Just do a few online forms and compare but be sure to disclose everything you have seen a doctor about in the relevant time.

I wish there was more industry standardisation around travel insurance, it's a minefield.

OP - I travel quite regularly and have considered a packaged bank account but currently doing my car breakdown and annual travel policies are cheaper separately (not too fussed about phone cover but I don't have an expensive phone).

It's a matter of spending a couple of hours doing comparisons as already suggested by PP and include everything because insurance companies are not your friend in the event of a claim. I'd get your Dr agreement you don't need to be on the knee list any longer, then you can declare as discharged, otherwise that could mess up something completely unrelated down the line.

Also think about where you'll likely be travelling in the next year eg.g. if just Europe then only buy that cover. I currently have worldwide excluding the US because I don't plan on going there for the next couple of years and including US cover massively bumps up the price. If a necessary US trip unexpectedly came up I'd then just buy a single trip policy.

Edited to add, when doing your comparisons use cashback quotes too as that can help bring the cost down too.

I've discovered if you are on a waiting list for a referral for anything...most insurers don't want to know.
The comparison sites all ask the same question "are you or any of your party on a waiting list for treatment or waiting for a referral...." Something like that. If you select yes, a message pops up saying they can't offer a quote. There are a few who will cover i think. It's just a proper ball ache.

Agree with above post. Hard to get any insurance if there’s not a concrete diagnosis or you’re waiting to be seen. My annual travel policy is £485 with Insure and Go. No one else was under £600 and some wouldn’t quote at all.