Travel Insurance for the 65+ Community

we looked at M and S but it fell short although it seemed to be better than many. there were too many if and/or buts not fully explained. we have taken Age Concern the last two years. right price, right cover, worth you looking at. however, as I have said all along, ANY and EVERY insurance firm is the best UNTIL the time comes to claim, and then we find out. I agree SAGA is to be avoided

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You obviously have to disclose all aspects of your health to them. Anything missed out even though not relevant to any claim you make gives them the excuse to void it.

We have used Insure and Go for a joint World Wide Annual Policy up to when I was 75. I have not yet tried to renew it since my last birthday. They basically ask

1 Are you Pregnant 2 Do you have or have been treated for cancer in the past five years. 3 Are you at present having or waiting for hospital treatment or had investigations in the past six months. They disregarded the prostate operation I had within that period as it was not a major item. 4 Do you suffer from a psychiatric condition 5 Do you suffer from heart or circulatory disease.That one caught me out first time until reading the policy as it obviously includes hypertension.But that is OK so long as it it controlled by no more than two medications that you've been on for at least six months. More than two meds and their is a surcharge. I then mentioned my aortic aneurysm but they would not cover that, just put it in as an exclusion. 6 Any close relatives suffering from anything that could cause you to cancel your holiday. The first year I used them I got a very efficient young man. The next twice a dim Essex Girl. When I asked to renew it she started on all of the questions. I said that apart from being a year older it was all the same. She said that due to the data protection act she was not allowed to access my earlier data. Another that I might try next time. Derek

Insurance contracts are subject to the doctrine of /uberrimae fidei/ utmost good faith. The original case was Carter v Boehm:

In brief the proposer is the only one in possession of all the facts and has an absolute duty to reveal them to insurers.

Unfortunately, that's not necessarily true. Most insurance policies allow you to claim if a close relative dies or is taken seriously ill, but the proposer does not always know of any pre-existing conditions such relatives may have, nor does he actually have any right to be told if he asks.

I'm not sure how insurance companies approach such claims, but it seems ignorance may be the best situation to preserve, ie you should not ask, and you certainly shouldn't be told. Knowledge may render your insurance difficult to obtain or any claim difficult to make.

That's precisely why the doctrine applies. If it's somebody close enough to you to make you cancel a holiday then they're close enough for you to know/get the information.

No you're not, that's my point. You're entitled to cancel your holiday if, say, your mother dies shortly before you're about to go, but she's not legally obliged, nor is anyone else, to tell you, even if asked, if she has any pre-existing medical conditions. Those are matters that she may wish to keep private, which you have no legal right to know about.

I once could not get an answer from my mother when I phoned her the night before we were going on holiday. I assumed that she was out on one of her many social events. It turned out that she had been knocked down by a car that evening and had forbidden her sister to contact me as she knew that I would not go on holiday if I knew. Derek

But since all insurance is probability based, that is just another of the variables the insurance companies put into their actuarial model. The companies realise that people won't know (or won't admit) all the time and account for it. So long as all concerned are willing to take the odds and pay for the bet, it doesn't really matter.

Unfortunately, I don't think insurance companies play that game. If a parent dies shortly before your holiday is due, as happened to me, they ask for the cause of death then argue it was a pre-existing condition and therefore not covered. That's even though I had no legal right to demand the information the insurance company would doubtless have liked.

It seems to me you do yourself down if you actually ask. If you do and you're told, you then have to declare it to the insurance company and they may decline to insure you or increase the premium. If you don't ask, you cannot in all good faith say anything, and that seems to be better. It's a strange position.

Talking to Customer Service Staff - probably in India or worse a school girl in Essex - it is impossible to make them understand various medical conditions of older than average folk. I have a slightly enlarged prostate, and I HATE discussing such an ailment with a mere school girl &/or someone unqualified who is reading from a script - but that was Marcus Hearne - all on a £1 a minute 0870 no. Luckily I was at work and they were paying. Anyway I mentioned 'prostate' and the girl immediately replied "Oh, you mean prostate cancer, we can't insure you for that.' After many minutes I failed to convince her that this was actually a benign condition - or so I hoped. 'But you are under a consultant then?' 'Yes, I said, on an annual visit check-up basis.' 'And what medication are you on?' 'Oh I take a few tablets, if that's what you mean.' 'So you're on active medication then? What is it?' 'I haven't a clue but it is supposed to shrink the prostate and make it easier to urinate.' This went on and on, until I'd had enough of such intrusive questioning. AND my travel partner would also have had to have answered the same questions for her insurance. AND I would have had to have had a commensurate intimate knowledge of her ailments and medications. That's why I we went elsewhere such as to STA and M&S. CJB.

How come you're reluctant to discuss your medical condition with someone unqualified over the phone, yet you have no problem at all doing so in front of every Tom, Dick, and Harriet reading these news groups?

It seems a trifle inconsistent.

They should not be concerned about BPH. I reported it every year for eleven years prior to having laser surgery without any problem with the various insures we used in that time. I'll be reporting it again next time as my prostate has regrown. Even with prostate cancer being the No 1 killer of men (10,000 a year in the UK) many times more die with it than from it. Derek

Talking to Customer Service Staff - probably in India or worse a school girl in Essex - it is impossible to make them understand various medical conditions of older than average folk. I have a slightly enlarged prostate, and I HATE discussing such an ailment with a mere school girl &/or someone unqualified who is reading from a script - but that was Marcus Hearne - all on a 1 a minute 0870 no.

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0870 numbers cost 10ppm

tim

No they don't, on most tariffs they cost the same as a normal geographic number.

You're probably thinking of 0871.

If he has been through every possible prostate examination there is nothing left that can possibly embarrass him:-) Derek

What is your travel partners embarrassing problem? I think we should be told. Victor

Isn't that what normal geographical number cost now (assuming that you aren't on a tariff that includes them)?

tim

Not normally. They have been edging up recently as telcos seem to be pushing people towards inclusive packages, but AFAIK none are at that level yet.