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Travel

Can't find travel insurance

(127 Posts)
Grandmama Tue 23-Apr-24 19:21:45

DD1 and I are going shortly to Italy for a week. I'm 76, active, not overweight, no health issues that impact on my life but I can't find travel insurance. In September I was diagnosed with high cholesterol. It is now normal but am awaiting a further consultation to see if it is familial hypercholesterolemia. Since September I have been monitoring my BP and sending my results regularly to my GP. It fluctuates between normal and high and generally averages out around 135. She has not yet recommended medication but has put me on the list for a 24 hour monitor and then decide if medication needed. Awaiting diagnosis and tests goes against me on insurance applications. I feel in the best of health. A gransnetter mentioned Spectrum but that's out of action at the moment and sent me to Albert and Eddie. They turned me down. I'm waiting for a reply from a couple of other companies. Any suggestions from gransnetters?

Grantanow Wed 21-Aug-24 17:19:08

What I find odd us that after taking out travel insurance and having declared all pre-existing conditions the insurers require one to declare anything new afterwards and before travelling. It seems to me they want it both ways - accepting risk at the outset but then wanting to charge additionally or even refuse to accept a new risk.

Sillymoo Mon 12-Aug-24 13:38:07

V3ra

nfoptravelinsurance.org.uk/

This company was recommended to me by a friend last weekend.
You have to join the organisation, and be under 74 to take the insurance out but after that there's no upper age limit.

We are insured with nfop but you have to have been a member for a year now I think. We pay approx £500 per annum for us both.

Maggiemaybe Mon 12-Aug-24 13:07:28

I’ve searched for this thread as we’ve suddenly found ourselves in the same position as the OP - one of us having to have tests and our Italian holiday balance due this weekend. I rang Avanti and they will insure us (phew!) though not for any pre-conditions of the person awaiting a diagnosis. If we get the results of the tests before we leave in September we can ring up and have them all added to the policy. As the pre-conditions aren’t serious ones, I think we’ll go for it.

henetha Thu 13-Jun-24 09:45:41

I was lucky to find holiday insurance for just £259 for eleven days in Spain recently. As I'm 86 I thought that was a bargain.
Luckily I didn't have to claim, that might have been another story.

David49 Thu 13-Jun-24 07:45:56

At 75 my normal BP is 160/80 stable with meds, we pay around £1000 for both of us for annual travel worldwide as part of household insurance.

ExDancer Wed 12-Jun-24 17:16:01

Oooh david that's a little harsh! Some of us never had the spare money to travel when we were younger, but worked hard and now retired we have the cash and time available to splash out.
I never went abroad until I was in my 50s and do feel somewhat cheated to find insurance so expensive, even though I'm healthy, apart from slightly raised blood pressure. It seems anything above the ideal of 120 and you're 'out'.

David49 Wed 12-Jun-24 11:46:09

As we get older and have less good health our premiums will go up, the US can be especially difficult.
Italy should not be too difficult, we dont book a “package” trip, if booking a flight you can pay extra and get free cancellation, the same on hotels, free cancellation is often available. For basic health insurance a GHIC card gives some protection

You are asking the insurance company to take a risk on your health, if it’s not good, should you be travelling?.

ExDancer Wed 12-Jun-24 11:10:33

Good-to-Go accepted me at 83 with BP of 140/65 (to Morocco). I forget the price but it wasn't astronomical as I'm a skin-flint when it comes to holiday additions.
I also have osteoarthritis which I declared.
I didn't use it so I've no idea how good they are at keeping their promises.
Worth a 'try'.

LoobbyLoo Wed 12-Jun-24 10:57:01

Same as other posters looking for a reasonable annual travel insurance. We are going on a cruise to various places i.e. Barbados etc in October, tried all as suggested in previous posts (I think) and all quotes are well over £1000.00 for 2 people, we have medical issues (not serious) like BP and cholesterol but that's it. Does anyone have any recommendations? Getting brain fogg now confused.

Lydie45 Thu 09-May-24 11:06:09

I got my insurance for a holiday to America from Avanti. It cost about £500 for a year. I have some health issues including COPD caused not be smoking as most people assume but lung damage due to whooping cough as a child.

Primrose53 Sat 04-May-24 15:59:50

Marydoll

That is a brilliant price! I paid nearly £1000 for five days in New York before the pandemic!
That was with the only company who would insure me.

Worth a try next time Marydoll. 👍

Marydoll Fri 03-May-24 14:46:33

That is a brilliant price! I paid nearly £1000 for five days in New York before the pandemic!
That was with the only company who would insure me.

Primrose53 Fri 03-May-24 12:42:01

Sorted the insurance just now. Both of us insured for a week’s holiday in Ibiza. Answered all questions about sleep apnoea and high BP for husband and High cholesterol and Hiatus hernia for me. Tried M and S and it was £116 and we tried Avanti which was just £59.15 for us both and that was after about £10 discount.

Primrose53 Tue 30-Apr-24 17:14:19

Staysure wouldn’t insure my husband either about 3 years ago.

Marydoll Tue 30-Apr-24 17:11:09

Me neither Siope.

Siope Tue 30-Apr-24 16:28:11

We have told them everything, which is why we pay an additional premium. But the whole process is bonkers, and I have no idea how insurance companies assess risk; Staysure, for example, which is often recommended on Gransnet and elsewhere, won’t touch my husband with a bargepole.

Ikiesgranma Tue 30-Apr-24 15:00:27

Siope

We have worldwide, multi-trip insurance via our (paid for at £15 a month) Co-op account. It’s goes up to age 80, with no age-related extra charges. They do charge more for pre-existing conditions, but my husband who has a life limiting illness and a history of cancer, pays only £70 extra.

The account also includes RAC membership and mobile phone insurance. In total, we pay, therefore, £250 per year for all of those

Up to 45 days per trip.

I looked into taking out the bank package but when I rang them they couldn’t cover me because I had several medical conditions. I now have terminal cancer and am on palliative chemo and no one will offer cover. You need to tell them every single condition you have even things like an under active thyroid or if/when you need to claim they can refuse to pay out. I once rang Staysure to check that my insurance was still valid (it was an annual policy and I apologised for coughing during the conversation. I was due to go away the next day. The call handler immediately said that I needed to pay an extra £35 to cover my cough. He told me that if I hadn’t told them my whole insurance would be void. They will wriggle out of paying out given any opportunity.

Marydoll Tue 30-Apr-24 08:54:32

My friend's son fell from a balcony in Greece and ended up in ICU. The insurance did everything to get out of paying out. They even tried to say he was drunk.
It was a very difficult process trying to prove otherwise. He was eventually repatriated home.

Another friend suffered a brain hemorrhage in Pisa. He was in hospital there for ages, until he was repatriated back to Glasgow to ICU. On this occasion, the insurance company pulled out all the stops.

Oopsadaisy1 Tue 30-Apr-24 08:49:51

At the end of the day the only way to rate a Travel Insurance company is to actually make a claim, or read reviews of people who have.

I’ve claimed twice for holidays that I was to ill to go on and received refunds via Saga.

But I don’t know anyone who has actually been ill on holiday and had to claim for hospital procedures or repatriation.

Primrose53 Mon 29-Apr-24 20:35:07

Momac55

Hi did you use this company, are they legit - they seem too good to be true

Which company are you referring to Momac55

Momac55 Mon 29-Apr-24 19:09:49

Hi did you use this company, are they legit - they seem too good to be true

Momac55 Mon 29-Apr-24 11:42:43

Hi, have you used this company. I have been looking for travel insurance myself and this sounds too good to be true

GrumpyGrandy Fri 26-Apr-24 16:39:39

Saga quoted £515 pa for us at 75yo. OH had open heart surgery last year and had been signed off by the surgeon, also on an array of meds to manage things like BP and AF. I have mild glaucoma.

TonysBride Fri 26-Apr-24 09:55:19

Try StaySure Insurance. We got ours through them. Reasonable price. They were recommended by Silver Travel Advisers. I have all sorts of health problems and they covered me no problems. Good luck.
I don't know what All Clear are like, but they supposedly cover all sorts. They're the ones with the really annoying TV ads lol

JustkeepswimmingDonna Fri 26-Apr-24 09:02:00

flowers