Travel Insurance after Heart Attack

[reggie747]

I'd like to tap into the collective experience on TZ about who may have insured your travel needs with medical cover.

I had a heart attack in May 2020, had a single stent fitted and now take Aspirin and a few other smarties every day to keep the balance right. I'm 55 yrs old.

We've planned trips to Holland in September and New York in October and obviously I'll need insurance to accompany these.

My first (and thus far only) port of call was the Post Office. They're coming back to me with around 650 quid for my younger partner and I to cover us for these two week long trips.

Initially, I thought that was a bit loaded but Hey, it could be the going rate.

Can anybody offer me alternatives they may have used before I immerse myself in the Google thing ?

Cheers

[KavKav]

[QUOTE=reggie747;6023697]I'd like to tap into the collective experience on TZ about who may have insured your travel needs with medical cover.

I had a heart attack in May 2020, had a single stent fitted and now take Aspirin and a few other smarties every day to keep the balance right. I'm 55 yrs old.

We've planned trips to Holland in September and New York in October and obviously I'll need insurance to accompany these.

My first (and thus far only) port of call was the Post Office. They're coming back to me with around 650 quid for my younger partner and I to cover us for these two week long trips.

Initially, I thought that was a bit loaded but Hey, it could be the going rate.

Can anybody offer me alternatives they may have used before I immerse myself in the Google thing ?

Cheers[/QUOTE

Hi there, I think I can offer something useful.

Four years ago, I had a heart attack and had two stents fitted, like you I take aspirin and the various smarties. I took out a annual travel insurance policy in June this year for my 60 year old wife and myself,(European with no winter sports) all medical history declared in full. One significant difference between us is that I am 70 therefore I would expect to pay considerably more than you and the policy I found was with the AA and the premium for my wife and myself was a total of £238.54 which I thought was fair value and it makes your PO quote look a greedy nonsense!
I know we are not ‘like for like’ but even with your New York trip, I would expect you to be able to find a policy for a lot less than your PO quote!
It shows the value of shopping around and I hope you get sorted to your satisfaction.

[reggie747]

[QUOTE=KavKav;6023716]

I'd like to tap into the collective experience on TZ about who may have insured your travel needs with medical cover.

I had a heart attack in May 2020, had a single stent fitted and now take Aspirin and a few other smarties every day to keep the balance right. I'm 55 yrs old.

We've planned trips to Holland in September and New York in October and obviously I'll need insurance to accompany these.

My first (and thus far only) port of call was the Post Office. They're coming back to me with around 650 quid for my younger partner and I to cover us for these two week long trips.

Initially, I thought that was a bit loaded but Hey, it could be the going rate.

Can anybody offer me alternatives they may have used before I immerse myself in the Google thing ?

Cheers[/QUOTE

Hi there, I think I can offer something useful.

Four years ago, I had a heart attack and had two stents fitted, like you I take aspirin and the various smarties. I took out a annual travel insurance policy in June this year for my 60 year old wife and myself,(European with no winter sports) all medical history declared in full. One significant difference between us is that I am 70 therefore I would expect to pay considerably more than you and the policy I found was with the AA and the premium for my wife and myself was a total of £238.54 which I thought was fair value and it makes your PO quote look a greedy nonsense!
I know we are not ‘like for like’ but even with your New York trip, I would expect you to be able to find a policy for a lot less than your PO quote!
It shows the value of shopping around and I hope you get sorted to your satisfaction.

KavKav,

Thanks for the swift response and yeah, the difference between both sets of them numbers is quite remarkable. I'll have a butchers after my dinner and pursue that avenue (of hope)

Cheers

[reggie747]

Well that was short lived. I tried AA travel insurance and was declined !!!
Best keep looking then.....

[thieuster]

This sort of health insurance is included in our form of NHS. You pay a certain amount/month. No matter if you're going abroad or no matter how your health condition is. Our travel insurance is only for flight delays etc. Or when you go on a skiing trip, you can 'improve' your transport if you break a leg; a plane is more expensive than an ambulance. I'm sure you know perfectly well if the NHS doesn't cover health issues abroad or not. Still I'm amazed that it would be the fact.

I've never told an 'third party insurance company' (I don't know a better term) that I had an heart attack back in 2011.

Netherlands is health-wise no problem for ex heart-patients. You'll get proper treatment even without the papers when you're brought into a hospital; no need to show a credit card or similar. The paperwork will follow later. NY is different I suppose.

BTW: New York is not good for (former) heart patients. Prices in shops, restaurants are so eye-watering high at the moment, that you'll get a heart attack after you've seen the bill.

(If you have questions about the Netherlands, drop me a PM. And my wife is and was a regular visitor/worker in NY for the last 19 yrs or so; she's nearly a native there).

[Waldorf]

I used this company and nobody else came close, very helpful.
https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/

[hilly10]

My next door neighbour is 68 with heart problems he priced a 48hr trip to New York with his son who works for a well known airline so the seat would be peanuts. Insurance quote £385. He also told me Cruising is a complete no no as the premium is as much as the Cruise, all to do with logistics.

[markrlondon]

This sort of health insurance is included in our form of NHS. You pay a certain amount/month. No matter if you're going abroad or no matter how your health condition is. Our travel insurance is only for flight delays etc. Or when you go on a skiing trip, you can 'improve' your transport if you break a leg; a plane is more expensive than an ambulance. I'm sure you know perfectly well if the NHS doesn't cover health issues abroad or not. Still I'm amazed that it would be the fact.

There are 'GHIC' and 'EHIC' cards but these entitle one only to state-provided healthcare within the EU and Switzerland at the local pricing rates. Travel insurance (including medical cover) goes significantly further than the basics of medical care.



P.S.
There's a brief guide here: https://www.tescobank.com/travel-ins...hic-ehic-card/
And Britgov's page: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/hea...nce-card-ghic/

[Scepticalist]

I would fully expect a policy covering Europe only to be significantly less than one covering anywhere in the USA for obvious reasons. PO was no doubt quoting a worldwide policy to cover both?

[Onelasttime]

I suspect, post Covid, that any pre-condition will come loaded as standard with the added virus risk.

Even so, the PO quote sounds steep.

We've used Explorer to cover son's CP and it was always competitive. Also used AllClear who were good. This is going back to 2017-2019 though.

[Jega]

I had a T.I.A. a year or so ago .I got annual travel insurance with these at a very reasonable £113 i am 65 .
https://www.staysure.co.uk/annual-travel-insurance/

[nickyboyo]

Just used the link provided above, multi travel, global, for me and the Mrs, £195, fully comp too.

Tidy that, I'll be buying up very shortly.

Sent from my IN2013 using Tapatalk

[markrlondon]

Just used the link provided above, multi travel, global, for me and the Mrs, £195, fully comp too.

Tidy that, I'll be buying up very shortly.

Don't forget to buy via Topcashback for commission back.

My Topcashback referral link if you want to use it (gets you a £10 signup bonus): https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/marktcb

[blackal]

There are 'GHIC' and 'EHIC' cards but these entitle one only to state-provided healthcare within the EU and Switzerland at the local pricing rates. Travel insurance (including medical cover) goes significantly further than the basics of medical care.



P.S.
There's a brief guide here: https://www.tescobank.com/travel-ins...hic-ehic-card/
And Britgov's page: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/hea...nce-card-ghic/

If you require a medivac from an EU country - it will cost you north of £35k (at pre-covid levels), and that is money you would need to find immediately. EHIC/GHIC doesn’t cover any of that.

So - do a google of travel insurance cos and check what is available - and read the policy doc very carefully. I don’t have any specific recommendations to try. The thing is - that many underwriters simply want the ‘easy/non-claiming’ customers - and don’t even enter into the ‘higher risk’ areas.

Some travel insurance underwriters INSIST that you have EHIC/GHIC cover as primacy, so make sure you have that in place.

Like finding the correct travel insurance for a motorbike holiday - it takes a bit of work to find the right & affordable policy.

[nickyboyo]

Don't forget to buy via Topcashback for commission back.

My Topcashback referral link if you want to use it (gets you a £10 signup bonus): https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/marktcb

Will do mate, thank you

Sent from my IN2013 using Tapatalk

[Jubal]

https://www.medicaltravelcompared.co.uk/

This is worth a look.

[thieuster]

There are 'GHIC' and 'EHIC' cards but these entitle one only to state-provided healthcare within the EU and Switzerland at the local pricing rates. Travel insurance (including medical cover) goes significantly further than the basics of medical care.



P.S.
There's a brief guide here: https://www.tescobank.com/travel-ins...hic-ehic-card/
And Britgov's page: https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/hea...nce-card-ghic/

Assume you need a hospital here (NED): for emergencies etc you'll always end up in a normal hospital, not a private clinic. About medicine. We have stores like Boots where you can get medication etc.

[bloater]

Used staysure and all clear for the wife and nephew multiple times both.

[markrlondon]

Assume you need a hospital here (NED): for emergencies etc you'll always end up in a normal hospital, not a private clinic. About medicine. We have stores like Boots where you can get medication etc.

Well yes, that would be covered by EHIC/GHIC at whatever your local charging rates are. The EHIC/GHIC covers "necessary" medical care. So if you go to hospital with, say, a cut finger or minor tummy upset then a EHIC/GHIC would be all that was needed.

But if things get more complicated (such as needing repatriation or physical assistance, for example) then that's where separate insurance is immensely valuable as I understand it as EHIC/GHIC won't cover such things.

[gingerpaul]

Slightly leftfield suggestion but I would look at bank accounts which offer travel insurance as a perk. You may find that they offer coverage with limited prior medical questions in order to secure you as a premium bank account customer.

[craig1912]

Slightly leftfield suggestion but I would look at bank accounts which offer travel insurance as a perk. You may find that they offer coverage with limited prior medical questions in order to secure you as a premium bank account customer.

You need to declare existing conditions and get acceptance for them. Many people think that just because they aren’t asked the question means they are covered.
Always declare the condition and ensure you have acceptance in writing.

[gingerpaul]

Ah that's important to know, I hadn't realised that. Scratch that idea then!

[reggie747]

Thanks guys for all the replies. I'll get weaving on it and see how it goes.

Cheers

[ryanb741]

You need to declare existing conditions and get acceptance for them. Many people think that just because they aren’t asked the question means they are covered.
Always declare the condition and ensure you have acceptance in writing.

^^ This

On the eve of my 8 year old's 1st birthday he had an episode where he seemed to stop breathing, went blue, twitching etc. Ambulance took him to hospital, he recovered and they couldn't pin what it was and called it a 'near death event'.

Anyway 7 months later he was on holiday with us in Thailand, same thing happened again, and again and again and necessitated 4 weeks in hospital, private jet medical transfer to Bangkok from chiang mai, MRI, Other tests and epilepsy was diagnosed. A medical escort (an anaethetist) was flown by the insurance company from the UK and accompanied us home and the insurance bought biz class tickets for us all and the medical escort to enable him to work on my son in an emergency on board if need be.

Anyway the total bill was around £460k and as it turned out we hadn't declared the 'near death event' (which in hindsight was an epileptic seizure) I had to pay around around £220k of that on the basis that it was actually epilepsy and much of the investigations in hospital etc was based on an eventual epilepsy diagnosis. I was using credit cards, loans and eventually a remortgage to take out equity. A bloody expensive lesson to declare everything when taking out insurance. Everything even if it was flu. Typically it won't impact the premium but the cost of not doing it could be massive.

That was in Thailand, a relatively inexpensive country. If that had been the USA I'd have been bankrupted

[jukeboxs]

^ Wise words. Seems reasonable by the insurer, albeit unfortunate for you - not a mistake one would make twice!

[vulcangascompany]

A friend of a friend had a heart attack in the US and the total bill was between £80-100K, they had to come home and re-mortgage the house for funds as they went to the US with no health insurance. Even in Europe I wouldn't go without insurance post Brexit, the US I wouldn't dream of not being insured - there are plenty of US itemised hospital invoices online and there is a charge for everything.

[Kingstepper]

If something unrelated to a claim is undeclared, do they still refuse payout?

Edit:- And, related to another thread should having COVID be declared and are they okay with this?

[craig1912]

If something unrelated to a claim is undeclared, do they still refuse payout?

Edit:- And, related to another thread should having COVID be declared and are they okay with this?

First question the answer is yes if it is totally unrelated to the claim.

Having Covid need not be declared as it is a “temporary” illness like colds, flu chicken pox etc etc

[Kingstepper]

First question the answer is yes if it is totally unrelated to the claim.

Having Covid need not be declared as it is a “temporary” illness like colds, flu chicken pox etc etc

Sorry, for the first question do you mean "yes, even if it is totally unrelated to the claim" or the opposite (they do pay out).

As for Covid, it may be a "temporary" illness but far more likely to lead to hospitalisation (though less so nowadays) than those other diseases.

[langtoft lad]

No particular condition (apart from age), did a quote from Staysure, and it was £50 cheaper than the Insureandgo renewal price.

[tempfort]

I had a heart attack back in 2013 when I turned 50, stent followed by triple bypass and since then multiple emergency admissions and further stenting and procedures. The most recent stents were this May with the likely hood of a further procedure in the near future. We were discussing insurance cover at cardiac rehab as I haven't been able to get cover for a number of years for anything heart related. I was told to try Admiral, online annual policy for me with full disclosure and including winter sports was under £100 and £68 without winter sports. Hope that helps.
Nigel

[craig1912]

Sorry, for the first question do you mean "yes, even if it is totally unrelated to the claim" or the opposite (they do pay out).

As for Covid, it may be a "temporary" illness but far more likely to lead to hospitalisation (though less so nowadays) than those other diseases.

Sorry, I confused myself- yes they will still pay out

[blackal]

Sorry, I confused myself- yes they will still pay out

You totally sure about that?

They can reasonably say that they would not have offered any policy had they known about your galloping Chinese knobrot.

They can avoid payout on an Professional Indemnity policy that excludes any manual work - in year 3, if they subsequently discover that you carried out some manual work in year 1 or 2 (eg) - even though a claim was not made for either of those years.

The Ts & Cs of the policy will spell it out.

[craig1912]

You totally sure about that?

They can reasonably say that they would not have offered any policy had they known about your galloping Chinese knobrot.

They can avoid payout on an Professional Indemnity policy that excludes any manual work - in year 3, if they subsequently discover that you carried out some manual work in year 1 or 2 (eg) - even though a claim was not made for either of those years.

The Ts & Cs of the policy will spell it out.

If it is completely unrelated to what you are claiming for then yes they can’t decline the claim. Virtually all PMI claims are pre authorised anyway so you go to see the specialist knowing you are covered.