Insurance for medical condition

[jeanlyon]

No, we have three conditions between us. We always go for annual multitrip. I should have said that is for Europe and not Worldwide. Our insurance company told us that annual often works out cheaper than single trip.

[dgs1956]

I found Latitude and insurance with are good..

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I've just taken out my insurance with Latitude. It was slightly over £100 cheaper and customer service was very good. Thanks for recommendation.

[Patsy Flower]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

 

I must admit that I haven't taken the plunge and started ringing round yet - I dread doing it.

 

It would seem that as we will be cruising I need Cruise Insurance which from what I have read is different from normal cover due to different destinations. I would assume that a normal annual insurance policy would not be enough. I am sorry if I appear to be ignorant about the different types of insurance but we have always had an annual policy and thought it would cover cruising.

 

Could someone please clarify.

 

Thank You.

[jeanlyon]

Hi there, why not do some quotes online. Really easy. Insure & Go, LV, Staysure, you can do it all online. In fact, most of the time, they have a little box saying "are you going on a cruise". They all cover cruises, so you need not worry about that. If you are cruising in Europe, ie northern Europe or the Med, then you just choose Europe instead of Worldwide.

Edited December 10, 2015 by jeanlyon

[jh1809]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

 

I must admit that I haven't taken the plunge and started ringing round yet - I dread doing it.

 

It would seem that as we will be cruising I need Cruise Insurance which from what I have read is different from normal cover due to different destinations. I would assume that a normal annual insurance policy would not be enough. I am sorry if I appear to be ignorant about the different types of insurance but we have always had an annual policy and thought it would cover cruising.

 

Could someone please clarify.

 

Thank You.

 

I think you will find that, though some annual travel insurance policies won't cover it, some will. For instance my own insurance includes cover of "up to £25,000 per year towards the costs incurred for your removal from a cruise ship or liner". It's with AXA PPP Healthcare: https://www.axappphealthcare.co.uk/intermediaries/amplify/products/annual-travel-insurance/

[jeanlyon]

Hi JH, I'm not sure what you mean. My cover is £2 million for repatriation and/or other medical cover?

[Mysticalmother]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

 

I must admit that I haven't taken the plunge and started ringing round yet - I dread doing it.

 

It would seem that as we will be cruising I need Cruise Insurance which from what I have read is different from normal cover due to different destinations. I would assume that a normal annual insurance policy would not be enough. I am sorry if I appear to be ignorant about the different types of insurance but we have always had an annual policy and thought it would cover cruising.

 

Could someone please clarify.

 

Thank You.

 

I'm afraid the devil is in the detail - and it only by looking at the policy that you will establish what is , and isn't covered. But a good insurance policy should give you a synopsis of the policy which should be easy to understand. Some "normal" annual insurance policies will indeed cover you for cruises, but you will need to check and you need to make sure that if you are cruising anywhere outside of the EU - particularly USA - that you are adequately covered. My advice is shop around, and don't go for the cheapest without checking the small print. It may be fine........but it may not!

[jh1809]

Hi JH, I'm not sure what you mean. My cover is £2 million for repatriation and/or other medical cover?

 

The question is whether that repatriation cover includes the cost of being airlifted off a cruise ship at sea should a medical emergency make that necessary. I think that possibility, because it could be very expensive, is the reason that some travel insurance doesn't cover cruising. If the ship happens to be in port when a passenger falls ill, then presumably the costs are no different from someone taking a land-based holiday.

[balf]

Hi there, why not do some quotes online. Really easy. Insure & Go, LV, Staysure, you can do it all online. In fact, most of the time, they have a little box saying "are you going on a cruise". They all cover cruises, so you need not worry about that. If you are cruising in Europe, ie northern Europe or the Med, then you just choose Europe instead of Worldwide.

 

 

The OP has a medical condition so would not be able to get a quote on line.

 

David.

[jeanlyon]

I am sorry, but you are wrong. The companies I quoted all do medical questionaires on line. We have 3 medical conditions between us. You follow the questionnaire and it asks certain questions. It then tells you what it will add to cover the medical conditions.

 

Insure and Go, Staysure, LV, to name but a few.

[Host Sharon]

My insurance company (provided with a fee paying bank account) told me they would not cover me for any premium when I was diagnosed in May this year. I wanted to book a cruise so went seraching. I finished up with Staysure who were not the cheapest but seem to have a reasonable reputation. Going to the Caribbean in January 16 so very much under the US medical system and they are charging me £320 for the trip. Still seems an awful lot but I guess it depends on the illness and how much you want to go. I talked it though with them and they were very supportive. Hope this gives an idea.

 

I have just booked with Staysure too. they seemed reliable and were one of the few that would cover me fully for 104 days at an affordable price of just under £500.

[Host Sharon]

People should not forget that if they take out insurance only for the time they are going to be away they will not be covered if something happens before they cruise. I broke an ankle about 5 weeks before a cruise on Queen Victoria. As we have an annual policy I was covered and got all my money back, including the deposit plus the money we'd paid to CPS for the parking. Had I only taken out insurance for the nights we were going to be away I would not have been able to claim.

 

But surely that's what cancellation cover is for, from when you book.

[jeanlyon]

Yes of course she would have been covered, you state the dates you are going to be away and if something happens then you are covered. However, you need to take out the insurance as soon as you book the holiday, then cancellation is covered. If you take it out just before the holiday and you booked well before that, you wouldn't be covered for cancellation.

[balf]

I am sorry, but you are wrong. The companies I quoted all do medical questionaires on line. We have 3 medical conditions between us. You follow the questionnaire and it asks certain questions. It then tells you what it will add to cover the medical conditions.

 

Insure and Go, Staysure, LV, to name but a few.

 

 

Yes, you are correct. It's such a long time since I tried on line but for interest I just tried again and got as expected "sorry we cannot cover you with your condition"

 

I have found I can usually get more satisfaction from a human.

 

David.

[jeanlyon]

Sorry to hear that. My husband has heart conditions and they are always covered, albeit at a price.

[dsrdsrdsr]

Yes of course she would have been covered, you state the dates you are going to be away and if something happens then you are covered. However, you need to take out the insurance as soon as you book the holiday, then cancellation is covered. If you take it out just before the holiday and you booked well before that, you wouldn't be covered for cancellation.

 

I don't think that's quite right, either. You're covered from the day you take out the insurance. I've done that myself when I booked over a year in advance for a world cruise, and no insurer would give me that long a policy - I had to wait, and risk my deposit, until within a year of departure before I could insure the trip; but it was insured from the day the policy started.

[AnnieC]

This site may be more useful than the usual insurance comparison sites: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-insurance/pre-existing-medical-conditions/

[balf]

Sorry to hear that. My husband has heart conditions and they are always covered, albeit at a price.

 

 

I have a supposed heart condition according to the insurance industry: replacement valve 15years ago and nil trouble since, yet my OH had a bypass around the same time and this is accepted with no extra charge.

 

The problem is the points system, exceed the limit and they aren't interested.

 

David.

[jeanlyon]

Try Insure and Go.

[Slugsta]

I end up having to phone and speak to someone, even with companies like StaySure. At the moment my problem is that I am (still) awaiting another surgical procedure. For this reason StaySure will not cover any of my pre-existing conditions and even told me that no-one else would either. I got cover from Insure and Go, just under £200 for 1 week - although the quote for an annual policy was much more than twice this so I have left that for now.

[joolsb]

I was diagnosed with and treated for cancer at the start of the year. My insurance company who I'd used for 10 years without claim immediately washed their hands of me, even though I could provide evidence of being cancer free and in remission. I trawled through all the comparison sites to no avail, and was preparing to forego any cruising for the foreseeable future, when I looked at a Macmillan forum on this topic. Someone suggested Nationwide' s account that includes insurance. They'd had to pay a relatively small extra premium on top of the monthly cost, which from my perspective sounded well worth it.

 

Since we already had an account (altjough not the one with insurance) I phoned their insurance line and spoke to the most helpful man. Their screening questions were slightly different from all the others I'd been asked (where as soon as I answered "yes" to the first question ("have you been diagnosed .....within the last year"), the computer immediately said "no"!). I really felt that I was being treated as an individual and was able to actually discuss things with him.

 

The result was they agreed to insure me - at no extra charge! We changed our account, and for the same cost as my old insurance I've also got phone insurance and car breakdown thrown in too!! I am not covered for anything relating to the cancer I had but since I'm assured that's all gone, it's not a problem.

 

We immediately booked a lovely Caribbean cruise which was fantastic!

[2irisheyes]

Just as a matter of interest I have today completed the Insure and Go medical questionnaire for myself and OH for a trip in April, worldwide but excluding USA, Canada and Caribbean. OH would be covered for his one condition but my conditions would be excluded and I was instructed to phone them for assistance which I have not done. So it seems there are occasions when the online questionnaire does not work. I do have a list as long as my arm some of which are more serious than others. The questions were the same as Able2travel and other companies use by phone so I fail to understand why they will not cover me unless they just do not cover more serious conditions like banks.

[balf]

As I understand it works on a points basis. So many points for each condition, exceed the limit and cover is refused. And there are other silly rules in such an inflexible system. If you are no longer having treatment for a condition that condition will be fine, but if you are still having treatment the assumption is that you still have it. Correct in many situations but for instance a heart valve replacement is excluded because you have to take warfarin for life. Nothing to do with the valve but needed to keep blood from clotting through the valve.

 

That's why cancer in remission is accepted. You are not having treatment so the will accept you.

 

David.

[2irisheyes]

balf - One of my heart valves has been replaced twice but I have been able to get cover from Able2travel and some other companies. I am not on warfarin as it is a tissue valve (not mechanical) and therefore warfarin is not required. I have also used All Clear but Able2travel has proved a better option for me.

[Scriv]

joolsb, we also have that package and have also found them very good to deal with. They are very thorough and you do have to tell them absolutely everything about your medical visits, but they are then very reasonable. And we also get the other benefits of breakdown cover etc. included as well.