Gransnet forums

Travel

travel insurance

(83 Posts)
sandye Wed 07-Jun-17 17:54:03

Can anyone help please? I have some pre existing medical conditions. None require more treatment but are monitored about every 2 years. The problem is I have been quoted £431. An absolutely ridiculous amount. Can anyone recommend a reasonable insurance company. Or do I have to have insurance?

Poly580 Sat 10-Jun-17 17:49:18

I always take insurance. It would depend on your existing condition. As an example I suffer from depression. It never used to come up on insurance forms but it does now. I would never need any treatment on holiday. I use Asda insurance. They will insure you excluding your medical condition. You can do this online too. You have to be honest with yourself about your condition, if there is a possibility you will need treatment on holiday then the extra now is coppers compared to a bill in let's say USA. Hope this helps

grandtanteJE65 Sat 10-Jun-17 17:15:37

If you find a company that will insure you at a reasonable rate and if you follow CassieJ's very sensible suggestion to phone and talk to the insurer to make sure they will cover you, ask them to send you written confirmation that you have told them about your medical conditions and that they are willing to cover you.
That way you can prove, if you need to, what you had spoken about on the phone.
Hopefully you won't need the insurance, but as everyone says, you do need to be covered.

Daisyboots Sat 10-Jun-17 17:12:51

It's bad enough getting travel insurance when you get older if you live in the UK but even worse if you live abroad in Europe. I have used Staysure for some years but just after I renewed last year people found Staysure were no longer covering people who live in Portugal. They were the cheapest but even that was around £300 and the few other companies offering insurance to people abroad were wanting excessive amounts. Maybe I shall have to see if we can get cover locally.

chrisw Sat 10-Jun-17 17:09:37

You can have annual insurance cover through Nationwide. It is not just for single trips. You can also extend it to 180 days per trip too which is great for us as we have a house in France. We have always had travel insurance cover and I have found that the Nationwide is the best and the cheapest.

JanT8 Sat 10-Jun-17 15:32:16

Definitely check out Martin Lewis. I always use Money Supermarket as a starting point for all sorts of things.

murrec Sat 10-Jun-17 15:30:08

I have quite a few health problems and found it difficult to get travel insurance until I found World First. They were fantastic. Google them and read the reviews. Hope this helps

Annitona Sat 10-Jun-17 15:10:35

My husband got lung cancer and we were quoted last year for ONE WEEK in Italy £2600 by SAGA and even more by other insurers. Needless to say we didn't go!

Stella14 Sat 10-Jun-17 14:33:29

I pay about £400 for a couple for an annual policy (there is often little difference in the cost of those and single holiday) with Allclear. There are cheaper policies out there, but Allclear are renown for efficiently and promptly helping when we need them (bear in mind that they are also a broker for other companies and this won't be the case for all of them). There are cheaper policies out there. I defaulted to Insureandgo for a year, but I always had a niggling worry about if they would give anxiety free support should the worst happen.

Coco51 Sat 10-Jun-17 14:27:03

Have you tried Saga?

jaymbee36 Sat 10-Jun-17 14:12:17

I followed Ruby41's advice and just got a quote from Holdaysafe.co.uk and was quoted £156.86 - a bit different from the £635 from my last holiday THANKS RUBY41

Lupatria Sat 10-Jun-17 13:50:30

i recommended staysure to my friend as she'd had a hip replacement over six months before and she had a very good quote and decided to take it up.
unfortunately she collapsed and died the first full day of her holiday but her son was able to repatriate her and also get a payment from them.
horrible example but i would still recommend them.
my other friend, who went with the first one, also had travel insurance and had to cut her holiday short so claimed. unfortunately she had awful problems with them and ended up having to pay quite a lot.
so i'd recommend staysure to anyone - have you seen the adverts on the tele with a group of older people with pre-existing conditions at a swimming pool?

albertina Sat 10-Jun-17 13:48:21

Yes it is ridiculous. They have us where they want us when we get older.
Also, does anyone else feel patronised by the Staysure ads ?

Bluebe11 Sat 10-Jun-17 13:44:05

Try Travel Insurance 4 Medical.co.uk

minxie Sat 10-Jun-17 13:22:52

Yes it is, my partner has cancer and doesn't require treatment at the moment and we got it for less than a £100. Can't remember the name but shop around

annemac101 Sat 10-Jun-17 12:38:03

Insurance companies don't seem to charge extra now for Type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol or high BP my hubby has these. I have Cystic Fibrosis but I will be 60 this year so it's obvious it's well controlled. I take antibiotics with me and have a health check up before I go but Insurance companies don't want to know that,the name just frightens them. For the past two years I have used Get Going insurance and paid about £35 for both of us however this year they won't insure me ( I've never claimed) there's no loyalty with them. I finally found Puffin Insurance and Im paying £77 for both of us. I've never been able to get a yearly policy always been refused because of health. I'm not an invalid, I do exercise classes every day of the week to keep myself well but there's no negotiating with them. It's vital to get holiday insurance and tell them all your health problems because if you have an accident and break something you will have to tell your medical problems to hospital staff and if you've not declared something they won't pay out. Martin Lewis website is good at directing you to insurance companies.

sarahellenwhitney Sat 10-Jun-17 12:36:15

Meant to add with medical insurance you have to declare all existing medical conditions and if you have seen a doctor recently for that condition to lie could cost you dearly. Medical help in Mexico! I pass on that one

sarahellenwhitney Sat 10-Jun-17 12:26:00

Mercedes55.
Not just naïve but selfish. If by some chance they were taken ill or heaven forbid one passed away what then.
The NHS is great in your own country but not great elsewhere. I hope they have a generous family.

nanalounet Sat 10-Jun-17 12:20:02

Try Blue Bear on line. My husband has SERIOUS medical issues and they insured on an annual basis for about £300 or thereabouts. There is a large excess however should you need to claim on it. I think the excess is about £1000.00 However, we felt it was worth it so that we can travel. Other Insurance companies wouldn't insure him. The only one that would, and we had been with them for a number of years were Staysure. They wnated almost £800 this year.

sarahellenwhitney Sat 10-Jun-17 12:18:05

I think travel insurance is a priority be it a few hundred or a few thousand miles you intend going More so medical insurance.My test came 2 months after nine eleven when I travelled to family in the U.S Within a few days I came down with severe stomache pains my family took me to the nearest hospital in a snow storm to make matters worse
I was then sedated and taken by ambulance to a very large hospital when in a matter of an hour they had taken out my appendix I was given a private room 24 hour attendance The bill came to quite a few thousand I was covered for the lot.but not only that it covered priority boarding, no queuing, on the aircraft and a taxi waiting at Gatwick to take me home three hundred miles away.I was originally booked for a bus but my insurance covered private transport My advice never skimp on travel or medical insurance you just never know.

tigger Sat 10-Jun-17 12:05:20

Try the National Farmers Union, mutual organisation, good policies

saoirse1961 Sat 10-Jun-17 11:50:47

Try All clear I had heart problems a few years ago. I've had a transplant now so don't know how much it will be!

SallyCollings Sat 10-Jun-17 11:40:19

Google good value travel insurance and tryba few. That's a very high quote you had. Too high.

Ruby41 Sat 10-Jun-17 11:30:03

My DH and I, both late 70s and both with pre-existing medical conditions (mine cancer) got a very good deal from Holidaysafe, which was recommended by Which. Suggest you try them on Holidaysafe.co.uk.

Mercedes55 Sat 10-Jun-17 11:25:10

I'm not very well versed on travel insurance as my last holiday was back in 1973 when I was 18! However I have just booked a weeks holiday in the UK and OH and I both have pre existing conditions. I suffer with agoraphobia and he is due to have a TKR next week. I did buy travel insurance as I assumed it would cover us for anything apart from our pre existing conditions. Am I wrong to assume this?

We have some friends who go abroad every year, always long haul destinations. This year they are going to Mexico for 2wks. He's just had knee surgery and has had a small heart attack. She is still recovering from cancer and is due to have reconstructive surgery in the Summer. They say they can't afford travel insurance so travel with no insurance which I think is really naive! of them.

Glenfinnan Sat 10-Jun-17 11:23:41

Try Staysure we find them good