Can't find travel insurance

Comes with my bank account. No extras to pay fully covered, don't even have to tell them I'm travelling. I'm still only 66 though.

The minute anything changes, you must inform your provider, otherwise it invalidates your policy.
DH had a poisoned finger, I had to take him to A&E, where he fainted with the pain.
It had to be declared and stayed on his policy for three years.

I think some posters don't really understand what a minefield this is and that some people are uninsurable. Age is only one factor, I'm not old and I don't have cancer, yet no-one will insure me!

I had to travel to Lyons on a course with my work and the L.A had to disclose all my conditions or their travel insurance would have been invalid.
I decided after the pandemic, if insurers thought I was such a high risk, it was probably too dangerous for me to travel abroad!

I used to have my travel insurance with the Coop , no problems there. Then at the age of 80 I found one with Fish and paid about £230 for annual (I cant be sure of the exact amount ) then we had covid, so no one was travelling. Now at the age of 86 I am turned down by some companies and was quoted over ~£500 for annual and £200 ish for one week. I am still looking . I do agree that any hint of waiting to see a consultant is high cost.I have COPD by the way. Does anyone have experience of getting travel insurance at my age. I have friends in France I would love to see.

1.5 years ago, when we went to the Far East and stayed there for 2 months, I managed to get travel insurance for me and my husband who is 80+ through my bank, NatWest.

I already paid the account fee every month which covers family insurance. It cost an extra £375 and the travel insurance was valid for a year.

We are with AllClear.......we do have worldwide travel through our bank account but it DOES NOT cover certain pre-existing medical conditions so is actually useless to us.

AllClear were favourable in cost and you should always declare everything when getting quotes - if you fall and break a leg the travel insurers won't pay out if you didn't tell them about another condition already diagnosed.

Are you a member of the WI as they link with a company and offer a policy that will cover you provided you have not been told you cannot travel
It has no upper age limit once commenced but unfortunately I think you may have to be under 70 or 75 to start it so probably not any good for you but maybe others who read this thread

My late mum came with me to Ibiza for a week every September. Goodness we had some fun times! Once she got to 80 her travel insurance went up so high she didn’t bother! 😱 it stressed me out but she just shrugged. She said ‘I’ve got my EHIC that’ll do’. I tried to point out repatriation costs etc and she just shrugged. ‘Cremate me and fling my ashes in the Mediterranean and raise a glass to me. I’ve had a good life, I’m not bothering with insurance.’ She wouldn’t be budged.

We enjoyed another 5 years of annual holidays together. I love the last pic I have of us enjoying a cocktail together in pretty Es Cana.

I’d be too nervous to do this but she was a pragmatic determined woman. Whom I loved very much.

I expect the difficulty is that you do not yet have a named disorder or a diagnosis. I have friends with serious disorders who can get (expensive) travel insurance because by having a known disorder the insurers can calculate risk of pay out and charge accordingly.

Urmstongran love the sound of your Mum and Es Cana is where we are going this year. My husband has been saying the same. He doesn’t want a funeral or any fuss and just says leave me there! Even if he passes away at home he wants his ashes scattering in our horse field.

In some countries, despite having a card, you may be asked to partly contribute to your care, just as those resident in that country have to do.
It does not always cover medicines etc.
Best to check before hand.

What if you do not die, but are seriously ill and need to be repatriated? What if you do not have the funds?
What a terrible situation for a family.to be in.

I said this to my mum Marydoll. 😮
Ah well.

I can imagine how hard it must have been, Urms.
For that reason, I have decided to give up any thought of going abroad.going abroad.
I couldn't put my husband and family through all that stress and worry if I was relying only on an EIHC card for treatment.

Having valid medical insurance could make the difference between being treated in a basic hospital and one geared up to treating serious conditions and accidents.

Thank you so much for your responses. This morning I rang Avanti and spoke to a helpful agent and now have insurance with them - thank goodness, DD1 and I were thinking we might have to cancel.

PS One of the insurance sites I looked at mentioned a site called Money Helper 0800 138 7777 that can help if there's a problem with insurance/health issues (I haven't used it so no idea if it's any good).

In 2022 I went to France with DS and family. I wasn't going to bother with insurance but DS asked me if I would and ofcourse, selfish me, I had forgotten that they'd have to deal with me had I conked out. So I paid up. And luckily we all survived.

Also worth noting that if you are travelling as a family you should all be on the same Travel Insurance Policy, otherwise if one of the party needs to be repatriated the rest of the family can’t come back with them as their policy would be a totally separate one and your injury ( or I illness) can’t be claimed on their Insurance.

Policies that are provided for a nominal amount with a Bank Account- don’t you have to declare existing illness to the Insurance provider? Something I’ve often wondered.

Oopsadaisy1

Also worth noting that if you are travelling as a family you should all be on the same Travel Insurance Policy, otherwise if one of the party needs to be repatriated the rest of the family can’t come back with them as their policy would be a totally separate one and your injury ( or I illness) can’t be claimed on their Insurance.

Policies that are provided for a nominal amount with a Bank Account- don’t you have to declare existing illness to the Insurance provider? Something I’ve often wondered.

Yes you do but a lot of people don’t do so. My friend’s husband has had major heart surgery, smokes like a trooper and I mentioned this to her and she said he hasn’t declared any of this but still thinks he’s insured! I said they might as well not bother.

I will just add he is a well educated senior member of staff in the NHS so you would think he would know better.

Yes , Oopsadaisy, you do have to declare all your present and past ailments on policies related to bank accounts.
My DH and I went to France for five days and we were insured through our bank. They wouldn’t cover him for heart condition, but we reckoned as we were only there for five days it was worth taking a chance. Second day, DH became really poorly and was admitted to hospital with heart problems.
He was hospitalised for five days and, thanks to Brexit, not all of costs were covered by EHIC As he was recovering well, the hospital wanted to discharge him, but would only do so if he was medically repatriated via ambulance from France to our local hospital near south coast of England.
Cost us £6,000.
Hospital said if he had needed surgery, we may as well say goodbye to our house !

Oopsadaisy1

Also worth noting that if you are travelling as a family you should all be on the same Travel Insurance Policy, otherwise if one of the party needs to be repatriated the rest of the family can’t come back with them as their policy would be a totally separate one and your injury ( or I illness) can’t be claimed on their Insurance.

Policies that are provided for a nominal amount with a Bank Account- don’t you have to declare existing illness to the Insurance provider? Something I’ve often wondered.

Yes you do , I’ve got travel insurance through my bank . I have no health issues but I had to declare DH high bp and cholesterol, as my policy covers him as well . It was another £50 .
We’ve been away with our AC and they both have their own annual travel insurance. So I assumed we didn’t need a policy for all of us . It seems a bit ott to have to have 2 policies each .

Tenko

Oopsadaisy1

Also worth noting that if you are travelling as a family you should all be on the same Travel Insurance Policy, otherwise if one of the party needs to be repatriated the rest of the family can’t come back with them as their policy would be a totally separate one and your injury ( or I illness) can’t be claimed on their Insurance.

Policies that are provided for a nominal amount with a Bank Account- don’t you have to declare existing illness to the Insurance provider? Something I’ve often wondered.

Yes you do , I’ve got travel insurance through my bank . I have no health issues but I had to declare DH high bp and cholesterol, as my policy covers him as well . It was another £50 .
We’ve been away with our AC and they both have their own annual travel insurance. So I assumed we didn’t need a policy for all of us . It seems a bit ott to have to have 2 policies each .

It would just mean that the whole family wouldn’t be able to travel back with the person who had to be repatriated, or stay on if the person was in hospital for any reason, just the ones on the Policy.

If you are waiting for tests or results I doubt you will get travel insurance
Had to cancel a holiday 2 years ago because I was waiting for a blood test

I have just insured yesterday with Allclear for mine and my husbands medical travel insurance for £183.36 for a year on their gold standard. Although my husband has been signed off from cardiology it’s the fact that he’s been to the hospital and GP for appointments in the last two years.

I also have ongoing medical issues with my brain, eye and arthritis. They were very thorough in their questions and felt my quote for a year was reasonable for European travel.

We have paid more than that just to cover a 10 day holiday in the past.

Try Compare the market.com you will find a company who will insure you. It sounds like you have less wrong with you than myself and my husband so there shouldn’t be a problem. Fingers crossed for you

Our insurance is through Holiday Extras. I'm 76, hubby is 77, I'm diabetic. No problems at all!

Staysure are very good.

It’s all such a worry.
I went with AllClear and, like you, was awaiting test results/treatment at the time. My recollection is that they were only interested in issues over the last 2-3 years.
I hope you find something soon!