Travelling with an inguinal hernia

[JamesLovesVietnam]

Hello people. I have an inguinal hernia and I’m travelling to Vietnam in just over two weeks. I was in hospital yesterday and have been placed on a waiting list for Surgery. This creates complications for travel insurance. I have read a forum post here which has enlightened me to some degree. I would like to ask the community … is it worth declaring if it is not life-threatening? Is the cost likely to be astronomical in comparison to the standard £78 I have been quoted for no medical conditions? Can anybody offer any advice based on personal experience please? I’d be really grateful for any feedback. Thank you. James.

Personally I’d be completely open and honest and suck up the cost . How many times do we see go fund me’s from stupid people who don’t get insurance.

You have to declare it, otherwise if something goes wrong (even if not with this issue) your whole insurance could be invalidated. You absolutely must get comprehensive medical insurance and declare everything, ringing them directly if necessary (sometimes they don’t have the appropriate drop down box online). I have complex autoimmune issues and my insurance for a trip to Spain for a week (for example) costs me £150 with Staysure but I wouldn’t chance going without it, I wouldn’t want to be one of those idiots launching a go fund me because I don’t have insurance.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me, Hattie. I know deep down you are right it’s just that I can’t get a quote without calling them and I wondered if anybody knew anything that here first before I do that.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me Sparrowsandbudgies. I know you are right as well. So I’ll give them a call later on today.

You simply must tell them otherwise your insurance for absolutely anything will be invalid. I had an inguinal hernia and was on the waiting list and one morning I woke up in pain and found I couldn’t walk. I’m not sure I would go to Vietnam if I might need medical treatment. I seem to remember being told that expats and the wealthy get on a plane when they are ill. Please explore what would be available.

Thank you Rocknrollstar. I want the community to know that this is not an easy choice to make because it should be obvious that anyone with a condition should declare it and get insurance for it. The issue is I don’t want it to take half of my spending money and destroy my holiday.

I had this exact issue (inguinal hernia, holiday to Vietnam whilst awaiting surgery!) 20 years ago. I was dreading informing my insurer but the price hardly changed so I was pleasantly surprised. Vietnam is absolutely wonderful and probably my favourite country to visit, but you do not want to be there without valid medical insurance!

More recently, my daughter was diagnosed with a couple of heart conditions (nothing serious, but still something I was worried would increase our insurance), and our quote actually went down by £5 when they added those conditions in!

Get your insurer informed and have a great holiday!

Thank you SmilingZebra. This is an extremely helpful response. And I am happy to hear from someone who has shared my precise experience. You’re right. Vietnam is amazing. And I simply cannot cancel my holiday because of my condition. I was discharged from hospital yesterday because I was informed by the consultant surgeon that my condition is not life-threatening. Having said that I do like to make sensible choices. So I will take your advice and tell my insurer. And go from there. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. I deeply appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective. .

When my husband developed a medical issue, I informed the insurance company straight away and it didn’t cost any extra as it had not been an issue when we took out the insurance.

@JamesLovesVietnam You're welcome! I really hope you have the same experience I did and that your premium doesn't increase by much (if at all). Let us know how you get on!

Thank you once again, SmilingZebra. I really appreciate your feedback. And yes, I promise I will post my experience here for everybody to see. Somebody posted above that they went to Spain and it cost £150 per week for travel insurance. I’m going to Vietnam for three weeks and to 3 different locations. So I pray to God it’s not gonna be £500. Because that would just destroy my entire holiday experience and increase my appetite for taking a risk.

Do you already have a policy in place? If you don't, I've always found that taking out an annual worldwide policy has been significantly cheaper for my family than insuring us just for two weeks in Vietnam. Very strange, but just thought I'd mention it incase it might help you out!

I’d be far more concerned about the possibility of it rupturing whilst in a country like Vietnam than the increased travel insurance costs!!

I’ve been there on holiday and it’s an interesting country but I wouldn’t want to have emergency surgery in a country where I don’t speak the language fluently.

Thank you once again for the above two replies. I had begun to investigate the worldwide policy but it came to a conclusion that I had to call them to go further. So then I went to the single trip and met with the same conclusion. So after my tea break in a few minutes I will call them and get a definitive answer. And I think that if I did need medical help in Vietnam, I would be amongst medical professionals, some of whom would speak English. I will also take a written note in English and Vietnamese and keep it with me all the time in case anything happens… this is a good strategy surrounding language barriers.

Just to give everybody an update. I have spoken with my insurance company stay sure. And they are wanting to know the name of the procedure I am going to have. I told them I do not have this information even though I read them the letter sent to me by the consultant surgeon yesterday. I have contacted my Surgery and been given the name of a particular procedure. I have gone to previous messages to find the original Surgery referral message to confirm this and I am unable to login because the access code is more than seven days old. I then found a link to get the NHS app where all of my information is in one place, but I am unable to join it at the moment because I do not have photo ID. So the story ends here for now. I’ll post an update as soon as I have more information. The girl at the insurance company said she would phone me back in two hours. So watch this space.

Can you use your passport as photo id?.

So. Just to give everybody an update. I managed to find insurance yesterday on money supermarket for £102. And another one for £106. And then a few others with prices escalating from there. I would just like to express my gratitude to everybody in this community who helped me with all their contributions. Each and everyone has been extremely valuable. Thank you so much. James.

when you bought the new insurance have you declared you are on a waiting list for surgery? It that’s rather than the hernia itself that’s likely to be the issue and tbh I’m surprised you got insurance…..

Or have you just got quotes on the comparison site and you still need to go through full declaration with insurance company?

Thank you Sinkcat. Yes, I have fully declared everything and told them that I am awaiting a surgical procedure and this is the quote that I’ve got. But I still have to go through the formal procedure of clicking on the link after the prices have been quoted on the main page.

Yes I can use my passport but it is locked in my storage depot. I don’t have access to it until I go there. So I don’t have it to hand.

So. I’ve come back to give everybody an update and to tell the story of a happy ending. I have finally managed to get travel insurance for an Ingenial hernia for £102 for three weeks so I can travel to Vietnam. The company that is providing the cover is called “Insure & Escape” and now that I have had experience with them I would highly recommend them and will be using them myself in the future. I started filling in the online form and then when a technical error would not let me proceed… I called the company and spoke to a young woman who helped me finish off everything over the phone including putting in my credit card details through a secure line. The service was amazing. And the price for my condition is totally acceptable. I would like to express my gratitude to this community for contributing to my experience and for prompting me to make sure that I would not go without adequate insurance. I extend my sincere gratitude to everybody who contributed to this conversation. Thank you so much. James.

So. I’ve come back to give everybody an update and to tell the story of a happy ending. I have finally managed to get travel insurance for an Inguinal hernia for £102 for three weeks so I can travel to Vietnam. The company that is providing the cover is called “Insure & Escape” and now that I have had experience with them I would highly recommend them and will be using them myself in the future. I started filling in the online form and then when a technical error would not let me proceed… I called the company and spoke to a young woman who helped me finish off everything over the phone including putting in my credit card details through a secure line. The service was amazing. And the price for my condition is totally acceptable. I would like to express my gratitude to this community for contributing to my experience and for prompting me to make sure that I would not go without adequate insurance. I extend my sincere gratitude to everybody who contributed to this conversation. Thank you so much. James.

I'm really pleased it's all worked out well for you - have a great holiday and I hope you're not waiting too long for the surgery once you're back.

Awww thank you SmilingZebra. I really appreciate your kind thoughts. And yes, I know this second time in Vietnam will be amazing. The first visit opened the door. The second is going to blow the roof off. I’m going back to Saigon. Then Con Dao island. Then back to Saigon. And then flying up to Hanoi. It’s an amazing country. Can’t get enough of it. I really appreciate your contribution to this conversation. Thank you so much. I’m really so grateful to. Kind regards. James.