Can't find travel insurance

We always insured with Staysure whenever we went to France. On one trip I had very bad food poisoning and had to call a doctor in the night who came out and treated me. We then rang Staysure to put in a claim but they refused to pay out. Our mistake, but you don't think to ring the insurance company before the doctor when you're feel ill! We claimed on our EHIC card and even though it was both straightforward and a fairly nominal amount, it took them 12 months to reimburse us.

We get our travel insurance through AXA. It is expensive but they are very good. I had to claim on it seven years ago when I fell ill and ended up in a Greek hospital for ten days and they covered everything. That was for a condition I hadn’t had before and I asked them then how to get insurance in the future and they said they would cover us if we booked our travel insurance within two weeks of booking the first element of any trip (like the flight or a hotel for example). We had to claim again two years ago when coming down with Covid in the middle of a trip caused us to have to miss a part of it, and again they covered us for the missed part, although they took sixty days to come up with the refund they didn’t dispute it. I’m 74 and DH is 81.

I'm following this thread with interest. I was covered by annual insurance for a trip to the USA later this year and called them to say that I had unexpectedly been diagnosed with fallopian cancer. They instantly cancelled my policy stating that they don’t cover Cancer. Since then I’m having terrible issues finding anyone to cover me. I’m about to have my 4th of 6 chemo cycles so I’m hoping that I’ll find someone to cover me, I’m 66. Grandmama I hope you find someone to cover you.

You could buy a home BP monitor very cheaply, then do your own readings, twice a day, when you are relaxed, over say 2 weeks - and send the readings to your GP.

Staysure was fine for us a few years ago and paid out without problems when we had to make a claim. I have recently been told that Tesco is quite good if you have pre existing conditions but I think if you are waiting for any diagnosis it can be difficult.

Have you tried Saga? My DH has had 2 heart attacks over 2 years recently and they covered him, it’s not cheap but not too awful price wise

Like several others on here. Try your bank - they do ours at reasonable cost and although I am as fit as a fiddle Mrs S has a number of health issues but we are always honest and the excess is relatively small, especially compared with commercial insurance broker quotations as we are shortly off to Canada and the USA and a cruise back to UK

I can recommend Travel time insurance. I am well but have a number of pre-existing conditions & their quote was much cheaper than others, though it has jumped this year when I turned 70. I was glad that I had it when I found myself admitted to hospital in Majorca a couple of years ago for suspected DVT. They were excellent to deal with, no quibbles(even at 2a.m!) and allowed my husband to deal with everything for me even though he was not on the policy. I wouldn’t use anyone else now.
Maybe speak to your GP & explain the impact of their dithering?

We also use WI travel. Once you start there is no age limit, you just have to be fit to travel on day of booking and when you pay the balance. My husband has quite a few standard medications and semi blocked arteries which are all stable. I am type 2 diabetic. Last year I compared costs with other companies and it was very similar. The advantage being that I don't have to go through all the worry if declaring ever condition and medication. The cover doesn't go quite as high as some, but it is an annual multi trip cover. And I enjoy WI too.

Another one to try maybe - Endsleigh. They've always been quite flexible. I think they were originally student travel insurance but expanded.

www.endsleigh.co.uk/personal/travel-insurance/

Have you tried Saga? My parents used them I think and they both had quite a lot of medical conditions.

Also Aviva seem quite good about medical conditions. Their online form is quite straightforward as well with medical conditions then they phone you if they want any further info.

Staysure or Holiday Extras who were both much less than Saga. I don’t think any insurance company will cover any condition awaiting further diagnosis.

www.goodtogoinsurance.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_qexBhCoARIsAFgBletcA3j6HwTO1verFPuJcR5v6TJY5WceuKr1wJBUpzxgsU4HYJcv7xYaAnsGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I think these have the tv advertisement that says “All ages, all medical conditions, all destinations”.
I haven’t used them.

If not going to America, suggest use up any EHIC and then get a GHIC card.

Only you can assess whether your condition is going to affect your holiday. Are you prone to falling about, dizziness, are you fit for your age? Also, are you going with someone younger?

Also, GPs are recommended to give statins to everybody these days, bear that in mind. Are you taking any dietary measures to keep LDL down and increase HDL? Omega-3s are good for that, also plant sterols and red rice. They keep mine down before I go and get my annual blood test. Look into it, lots of reasonable info online.

Try goodtogo. I',m 85 with high BP (on pills that give me nasty side effects) and they gave me a cheaper quote than \StaySure.

My experience was that I was waiting to go for a heart monitor and until I’d had that I couldn’t insurance. Not even at a high price !! As soon as the test was done and all was fine I booked my insurance as usual.

Do you not have a European Travel card
Covered me in France

I cannot get annual travel insurance for my husband as he is 84 and has dementia. I have a travel policy with our joint bank account but it only covers us till we’re 80. I’m 71. Last year we had to cancel a trip from Devon to Yorkshire as we both caught Covid and were poorly. When I used my policy to claim back the cost of the accommodation they would only pay 50% because he wasn’t covered due to age. Worth noting.
I recently went to Gran Canaria for a week and got a weeks insurance for him for £127 with LV, got a good discount as we have our car and home insurance with them so worth checking to see if any your other insurance policies offer discount.
Also bear in mind some travel insurance policies are better than others when you need to claim on them.

We use Avanti. We go on Compare the Market to see what they’d quote us as new customers, then argue it from there.

We got ours through Payingtoomuch.com, both now on BP meds and statins. Had to speak to them after completing online quote. good value for long stay travel.

The issue is 'awaiting investigations'. I found no one would insure me while that was happening. We had to postpone our holiday. Once they knew what was what, there was no problem with Saga. We are due to go away in August and I'm just praying nothing new crops up!

The real problem, Grandmama, is that you are awaiting a diagnosis. As far as I know, no travel insurance company will cover you if you are having tests in order to diagnosis your medical condition. When I renew my travel insurance I am always asked if I am waiting for a diagnosis. Can you try to speed up the diagnosis of your medical problem?

You have put your finger on it when you said that you are awaiting tests & diagnosis. Companies are much more likely to insure you with a known condition that is being treated and stable rather than an 'unknown'.

I would check the current reciprocal healthcare agreements with Italy.
www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/health.

You are entitled to equivalent healthcare under current agreements. If so, then you can go with your GHIC and you will get any necessary care that arises, but will be liable for any costs that Italian nationals would normally pay (and you do need to check this, it can vary a great deal)
Your big risk will be 'repatriation' costs in the event of some catastrophic accident or similar.

In your situation, I would contact whoever you are booked with to see if they will give you a credit note for another time, when your heath situation is stable.

Good luck!

Up until this year I have always gone with Staysure for holiday insurance, very competitive, but this year their quote was as high as everyone else! I bank with Nationwide and simply changed my current account to a fee paying one, £13.00 a month and I got free holiday insurance and roadside assist! I did have to pay a surcharge for my age (82) and the fact I needed 3 months cover for my trip to Australia, but even taking these into account, it worked out about a third of the cost I was quoted for holiday cover alone! I only have high blood pressure, controlled with medication.

Moneyhelper.org.uk is a government website which recommends companies who specialise in travel insurance for people with medical issues. We got cover from a company called insurewith through that site.