travel insurance

[derek pringle]

any help appreciated,

our travel insurance is up for renewal and was wondering if anyone could recommend a GOOD insurer who does not just look to whack up the premiums too much for pre existing medical conditions please.

I would really appreciate from anybody who has had to call on the insurance service as I reckon that is when you can tell as good company or not.

Also, we are insured through our Premier Account at Barclays but again not sure what the value is of these add ons to current accounts.

Any advice or info. please.

 

cheers

derek

[lennyhb]

With the bank policy's it depends on who is underwriting it. I know the Lloyds one is excellent a friend had a head injury in Barbados after hospital treatment they flew a nurse in from Canada to accompany him home and flew him & his wife plus nurse home first class. I think lloyds underwriter is AXA.

[johnnerontheroad]

Hi Derek,

 

We used this company last year they were by far the cheapest we could find. We also had Barclays cover a waste of time if you have pre existing conditions, when we asked for a quote it was a re mortgage job.

 

http://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/ look bottom right insurancewith

 

 

Good luck

 

Dave

[colin]

Your Barclay's insurance may well be invalid if you have pre exsisting conditions, if you are paying for your account it may be a time to evaluate it's worth.

We use https://www.the-insurance-surgery.co.uk/ it works like compare the market, give you a list of companies that will insure your condition.

[chris]

My husband is over 70 with medical conditions. We are currently on a 4 month tour of Europe and in Hungary. The ONLY companies that would cover us for such a long trip etc were Sureterm. Camping and Caravanning club too. Cost us over £400 though! Caravan club possibly if you are a member. If you want less than 90 days then there is a lot better choice.

Chris

[Mrs T]

The cover by Lloyds TSB is deducted from your account automatically unless you cancel, it was £300 per year and covered most hazards as far as we can remember.

 

To the couple driving through Hungary, just imagine what it would cost if there was a serious hazard, £6,000 plus perhaps, then £400 is nothing.

[whisturx]

I have been using http://www.insureandgo.com since we had medical conditions to declare. Policy premiums are very reasonable compared to others. Not that I have ever had to claim ! But I was recommended by a friend who did, and apparently had no problems

 

[lennyhb]

Lloyds platinum plus account is £17 a month (£204 a year) we only pay £8.50 as we have a staff account wife has a lloyds pension, but you get 3.5% interest on balances up to 4k which cut £140 off the bill if you keep your balance at 4k or in our case costs us nothing.

[colin]

Just been checking the Lloyds cover, for some reason going throu the links on Platinum account it ends up on silver cover, and this doesn't cover for pre existing conditions.

[nowtelse2do]

We have the EHICplus. Looks good for over 65s. Having never used it yet ,so wouldn't know.

 

£59 for both of us.

 

Dave

[starvin marvin]

Just insured both of us with Insure&Go, this was the best price I could find to cover our pre-existing conditions for an annual Worldwide multi-trip policy, I had to pay extra for our next trip which is over 31days as I'm over 65.

 

Incidentially if you have raised cholesterol this is also a pre-existing condition which attracts an additional premium at the same rate as if you have had cancer! I guess because of the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

[Brian Kirby]

Sorry, seems Warners have a BOGOF on posts! :-D

[Brian Kirby]

It might pay anyone with a Nationwide Flex Account to contact them regarding medical conditions and extended travel time. You are "allowed" one medical condition FoC, and they don't go hysterical if more than one. However, we haven't especially complicated conditions, so we haven't explored the outer reaches of what would be accepted! Ours was extended to cover 90 days absence, and the premium for the medical and the extra time was £90 this July. The basic provision is "free" with the account, and covers to age 75. There is currently the possibility to retain the insurance past this age, but we're not there yet, so I haven't explored thet either.

[lennyhb]

starvin marvin - 2013-07-28 2:43 PM

 

Just insured both of us with Insure&Go, this was the best price I could find to cover our pre-existing conditions for an annual Worldwide multi-trip policy, I had to pay extra for our next trip which is over 31days as I'm over 65.

 

Incidentially if you have raised cholesterol this is also a pre-existing condition which attracts an additional premium at the same rate as if you have had cancer! I guess because of the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

 

I think with high cholesterol it depends if you are taking statins, had this when looking into pensions I was taking statins so they offered better rates, when I got new quotes as I'd stopped taking them due to reactions I got a worse rate as not taking medication did't class it as a medical contion. Exactly the opersite to what you would expect .

[PJay]

Brian Kirby - 2013-07-28 7:19 PM

 

It might pay anyone with a Nationwide Flex Account to contact them regarding medical conditions and extended travel time. You are "allowed" one medical condition FoC, and they don't go hysterical if more than one. However, we haven't especially complicated conditions, so we haven't explored the outer reaches of what would be accepted! Ours was extended to cover 90 days absence, and the premium for the medical and the extra time was £90 this July. The basic provision is "free" with the account, and covers to age 75. There is currently the possibility to retain the insurance past this age, but we're not there yet, so I haven't explored thet either.

 

 

We are with Nationwide, and YES they do cover over75, as we Both are.Also have 90 days extension, but does cost more than you pay, but do have medical conditions, also Only have Europe cover now.

PJay

[Airstream]

Hi,

We have cover through our Barclays acct - "additions active" and it is very comprehensive and underwriten by Aviva

They accepted both my wife'sand my own existing medical conditions without extra charge including my heart attack last year and all our medications

Cover is world wide with a max trip of 31 days and 183 days per year, trips over 31 days will cost £? per trip depending on the number of days over the 31

The charge for our Euro ramble Sept/Oct this year is £60 for the two of us

This cost seemed ok and it was only one phone call as they already have all our details so no screening/forms etc

Regards Ray

[Bartonfolk]

We are both insured with Age Concern. My husband has heart and lung problems but we still got excellent rates for 3 months in Spain at Christmas. He had a short telephone interview with Age Concern then was accepted, he is 70 next year. Hope this helps

[derek pringle]

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies so far,some interesting and different stances from Insurance Companies.

I will go through the suggestions you have all made as the premiums will probably differ case by case and condition by condition.

Airstream--- Barclays does seem very good but they will not cover my condition, so I am surprised they cover Heart Conditions but glad they do for you and your hubbies sake.

My condition is a mobility problem and such not life threatening so maybe there is some other reason for them not covering it, medication for instance.

Brian-- does your insurance cover 1 x 90 day or is it multi trip?

Starvin Marvin--what is the EHIC plus?

 

thanks again for all your help

derek

 

[John 47]

Hi

 

We always use "Insure and Go" because the rates are competitive and they have no problem with either of Jenny's pre-existing conditions. Their cover is also valid for trips of up to 90 days, which is longer than some offer. Worth a look.

[nowtelse2do]

derek pringle - 2013-07-30 8:54 AM

 

Starvin Marvin--what is the EHIC plus?

 

 

Hi derek. If (I hope) you have your EHIC card, it's an upgrade insurance of the EHIC card. Google EHIC then scroll down until you see EHICplus, click on and read.

 

Dave (not Starvin, just had lunch :-D )

[Brian Kirby]

derek pringle - 2013-07-30 8:54 AM

 

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies so far,some interesting and different stances from Insurance Companies.

I will go through the suggestions you have all made as the premiums will probably differ case by case and condition by condition.......................

Brian-- does your insurance cover 1 x 90 day or is it multi trip?..................

thanks again for all your help

derek

Derek

Is is multi trip, with a maximum trip duration of 90 days. Apologies for lack of clarity. :-)

[derek pringle]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses Brian and Dave to my direct questions.

Dave, yes we do have EHIC cards but was unaware there was an upgrade available,will read as you suggest. You see we have been insured through Tesco Travel but they EXCLUDE my condition on the policy and as premiums are going up I see this as dead money. Do not have a problem travelling without insurance for this condition but do want value for money and cover if poss.

cheers

derek

[Bulletguy]

Travel insurance seems to be worse than searching for a decent premium on a vehicle, especially if with pre-existing medical conditions which bumps up the premium. A bit harsh as many people suffer some kind of ailment simply from age and little else.

 

A friend of mine no longer bothers with travel insurance. Four years ago he had a stroke, next his heart began to weaken, and now currently battling with Cancer so I doubt any company would insure him.

[snowie]

nowtelse2do - 2013-07-30 3:09 PM

 

Hi derek. If (I hope) you have your EHIC card, it's an upgrade insurance of the EHIC card. Google EHIC then scroll down until you see EHICplus, click on and read.

 

Hi there, some interesting suggestions.

 

I've just Googled EHICplus, and paste the following from their website;

 

"The EHIC card is available free from the Department of Health.

?HICPlus Travel Insurance has no affiliation with the DoH."

 

It may well be good value in a very difficult market, and we all have experience of excessive or inconsistent quotes. Just don't go thinking that it is an extension of your EHIC cover, it's not.

( I really dislike companies that use this sort of "misleading" company/product naming,

regards

alan b

[nowtelse2do]

Hi Alan (snowie) I took up the EHICplus because of the recommendation of the Money Saving Expert website, but admit that I did not see the statement that you mentioned. Looking more closely at the policy it is pretty much in line with other insurers and with an age limit of 79. I took the Annual Multi-Trip - 31 day max trip at £51.93p for both of us. They do do 45 and 60 day durations either on Annual Multi-Trip or just single-trip.

 

All pre or ongoing illnesses must be declared and to contact them. All European Members participating in the EHIC are covered plus Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Isle of Man, Northern Cyprus, Monaco, San Marino, Serbia and Turkey.

 

The main clause is that you 'MUST' have the EHIC card.

 

Anyone using this insurance do need to look at what illnesses are covered but it does give a long list of coverage and some activities, eg. Abseiling, Bungee Jumping (with a licensed operator) there are quite a few more.

 

The company Mapfre Assistance is regulated by the FSA go to www.fsa.gov.uk/register

 

I feel comfortable with them, but hope we don't need them :-D

 

Dave