travel insurance

[david lloyd]

Derek Uzzell - 2016-11-16 9:40 AM

 

Comfort Insurance’s travel-policy-related FAQ says

 

Question: I have an existing medical condition; can I still have cover under this policy?

 

Answer: We operate a fit to travel policy which operates on the following basis:

 

To be covered, You must be healthy, fit to travel and to undertake Your planned Trip;

 

The insurance will NOT cover You when You are travelling against the advice of a Medical Practitioner (or would be travelling against the advice of a Medical Practitioner had You sought his/her advice);

 

The insurance will NOT cover You when You are travelling with the intention of obtaining medical treatment or consultation abroad;

 

The insurance will NOT cover You if You have any undiagnosed symptoms that require attention or investigation in the future (that is symptoms for which You are awaiting investigations/consultations, or awaiting results of investigations, where the underlying cause has not been established).

 

The insurance will NOT cover You if You or anyone to be insured on this policy have been given a terminal prognosis.”

 

This is just a summary statement, of course, and it would be essential to study the Travel Policy and Key Facts documents carefully for more comprehensive information.

 

http://www.comfort-insurance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Travel-Policy-Wordings-April-16.pdf

 

http://www.comfort-insurance.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Comfort-Travel-Policy-Summary.pdf

 

Whilst this wording seems to imply a more liberal approach to pre-existing conditions it has not, in our case, proved entirely to be so. We did insure with Insure&Go for a while but they proved to be very expensive for people with pre-existing conditions and it was, in fact, Brian Kirby who directed me to Comfort Insurance and their travel policy - which, I believe, is only available if you have their Home and Contents Insurance. We were already insuring the van with them but the quote for House, Contents and the Travel option came to less than the total we were already paying elsewhere and they did cover us for some pre-existing conditions. In addition, they do allow longer periods away from home which is important not just for travel insurance but also for the house and contents - particularly as most standard policies have an unoccupied limit of 30 days.

 

However, my wife has had a couple of problems since then over the last two years and Comfort when notified of these, have immediately excluded them. The most recent is still ongoing so I can understand that being excluded but the previous one has been rectified by surgery and cannot recur (gall bladder removal) but they still exclude anything that could be linked to the original problem.

 

Still, they provide the best all round option for us at the moment.

 

David

[Wallynnette]

Yeah Staysure was another that guaranteed they would take me on. That is until I mention the subclavian steals, stent not a problem but they couldn't find any reference to it. Actually I had to see the nurologist yesterday and he was another that had only come across it once in 30 years. I get basic travel ins but not for previous conditions. Total bummer !!

[Brian Kirby]

The "free" travel insurance associated with Nationwide's current account has not been mentioned. I somehow doubt that it would cover the OP, but others with insurance problems may wish to check how it might work in their cases.

 

It is fairly simple: if you have the relevant Nationwide current account the insurance is part of the package. In basic form it assumes normal health and 30 day trips, and accepts up to two pre-existing conditions (subject to approval). However, by paying supplementary premiums the trip duration can be extended, the age related restrictions can be extended, and further medical conditions can be covered (again subject to approval). The cover is provided by UK Insurance Ltd, and the extensions to the basic package have to be notified to, and agreed by, them, following which an extension certificate is issued confirming what is agreed. Because the basic package is "free" the cost of the extensions is very competitive with the cost of other, "stand alone" insurance packages. UK Insurance are easy to deal with, and the policy wording is in clear English.

[StuartO]

Brian Kirby - 2016-11-18 11:38 AMThe "free" travel insurance associated with Nationwide's current account has not been mentioned. I somehow doubt that it would cover the OP, but others with insurance problems may wish to check how it might work in their cases. It is fairly simple: if you have the relevant Nationwide current account the insurance is part of the package. In basic form it assumes normal health and 30 day trips, and accepts up to two pre-existing conditions (subject to approval). However, by paying supplementary premiums the trip duration can be extended, the age related restrictions can be extended, and further medical conditions can be covered (again subject to approval). The cover is provided by UK Insurance Ltd, and the extensions to the basic package have to be notified to, and agreed by, them, following which an extension certificate is issued confirming what is agreed. Because the basic package is "free" the cost of the extensions is very competitive with the cost of other, "stand alone" insurance packages. UK Insurance are easy to deal with, and the policy wording is in clear English.

 

I relied on a "free" Nationwide travel policy for a while but when I triggered their mechanism for referral of a pre-existing condition it rapidly became too expensive to stay with and I went to LV instead.  As I recall it only coveredEurope too, so you had to ring up to "extend". 

 

These policies are all underwritten by insurance companies and the insurer which Nationawide have used presumably give Nationwide a really cheap deal for the basic policy, for which only healthy people will qualify, because the insurer can make real money when people ring up about a pre-existing condition.  When I did this I got the distinct impression that it was not a question of whether I would be charged extra, merely a question of how much.

 

Better in my experience to avoid becoming a captive customer in this way and shop around for better value (and cover).

 

[crocs]

I'm with Brian on this one. It's sometimes cheaper to pay the extra premium with a bank account policy than to get cover separately. But, there'll be exceptions to that too.

 

My one with RBS is also underwritten by U.K Insurance who, I suspect, will be market leaders in this segment which will help keep premiums down.

 

Fortunately, I've never had to claim for health issues but they dealt with a delayed luggage issue extremely well, paying out the full amount on receipt of appropriate documentation.

 

Robert