20 Year Old with heart attack looking for travel insurance

[LMorgan]

Hi guys,

I'm looking to travel to Singapore & Thailand next year for a holiday for a few weeks. About 3 years ago had a heart attack and consequently had a stent and bypass done. This has made finding travel insurance quite difficult. I'm currently very stable with my specialists letters to prove it.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone has any suggestions on which travel insurers could possibly insure me. I have some family back in Asia which i would really like to visit.

Thanks!!

 

[Simo]

My suggestion would be talk to Travel Guru,

 

[Danger]

I recently looked into complicated travel insurance. I'm travelling internationally with a friend whose Mother is seriously ill will a brain tumour. Getting coverage for a pre-existing condition, as you're away, can be difficult.

This HBF policy may not work but is worth a look – HBF Travel Insurance. Here’s the product disclosure statement - http://www.hbf.com.au/pdf/WorldWideTravel/Travel_Insurance_Policy.pdf. See pages 18 and 19 on pre-existing medical conditions. The bottom of page 19 basically says that you can apply for cover by completing a separate form, same as above.

My suggestion would be talk to Travel Guru,

Travel Guru is a member here on AFF and is, I believe, a travel agent. New members (with posts below 10 or so) can't send private messages. However, if you are interested in speaking with TG, post a message on this thread another member will send a PM to TG on your behalf.

 

[LMorgan]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your help, I was wondering what travel guru was. I guess my message to him would be my original message;

"I suffered a heart attack about 3 years which led to me having a bypass and a stent put in. Due to these reasons it is quite difficult to get travel insurance even though i'm only 20 years old and relatively healthy considering the circumstances. I've been looking for a travel insurance provider but have been knocked back a few times. Do you have any suggestions for me?"

If one of you guys could please PM him that it would be great!

Anyway, in regards to the HBF travel insurance I've dealt with a few companies who required me to fill in a separate form only to reject me at that step. I'll check it out anyway though.

Thanks heaps!

 

[straitman]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your help, I was wondering what travel guru was. I guess my message to him would be my original message;

"I suffered a heart attack about 3 years which led to me having a bypass and a stent put in. Due to these reasons it is quite difficult to get travel insurance even though i'm only 20 years old and relatively healthy considering the circumstances. I've been looking for a travel insurance provider but have been knocked back a few times. Do you have any suggestions for me?"

If one of you guys could please PM him that it would be great!

Anyway, in regards to the HBF travel insurance I've dealt with a few companies who required me to fill in a separate form only to reject me at that step. I'll check it out anyway though.

Thanks heaps!

LMorgan,
You can always forward PMs via one of the Mods until you have the required 15 posts.

 

[drron]

The problem will be that the insurance companies will have little experience with 20 year olds having had stents so it is going to be difficult.
For the majority of travellers who have had bypass/stents done the insurance companies usually require evidence that the condition is stable and therefore little risk.In my experience they will need some form of stress testing-but now that will mean a stress echo or Nuclear medicine perfusion scan.
When knocked back follow up-call or write by snail mail asking why you have been refused coverage and what evidence you would need to get coverage.

 

[Danger]

I've just sent Travel Guru a private message (PM) requesting his attendance at this thread.

 

[JohnK]

Do you want to be covered for existing condition? Which travel insurance companies have you tried? Have you tried Travel Insurance Direct or simply TravelInsurance.com.au?

My understanding was that most travel insurance companies will provide travel cover but will not cover pre-existing conditions.

 

[Travel Guru]

Hi guys, not a situation I've experienced before (20yo w. heart attack) but generally they require a lot of detail about those with priors involving heart problems.

I'd you can wait until Wed, I'll speak to a couple of people and see what I can find out for you.

Merry Christmas!
TG

 

[Simo]

TG is on the case it will all be sorted.

 

[LMorgan]

Sorry about the late reply, I've been busy with Christmas!

Thanks everyone for all the help! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

 

[cove]

I only travel to places where the medical system is rated as superb since my heart operation as life is not a dress rehearsal.
I run with the knowledge that if all else fails I can go medical evacuation using Chubb insurance policy we have thru our insurance broker. I avoid the medical boonies where you could die thru a lack of diagnosis so the travel risk is minimized.

 

[Travel Guru]

Sorry for my tardiness in responding with some further information on this one, I've been waiting to hear back from someone.

What I was told by a friend who does medical underwriting for one of the larger insurers is that it will depend on the circumstances behind the heart attack and lifestyle factors (eg. are you a smoker, your body/mass index etc).

Of all of the insurers, Covermore is known to be the most generous with heart coverage (although they'll charge for it if they choose to accept it), so might be worth getting your GP to fill in a form with you and submitting it to covermore to see what they come back with (Covermore is sold heavily by Flight Centre, Harvey World Travel and some independents).

I sell Covermore along with QBE and have sold Covermore for 9+ years now so am pretty comfortable offering it to my clients; there may well be and probably is another insurer/s who will cover your condition but I cant name them due to not having experience with companies outside of these couple.

I hope it helps, all the best with getting coverage.

TG

 

[LMorgan]

Hi TG,

Thank you very much for your help! I've actually been in contact with QBE but haven't gotten round to completing my forms as my GP will only be back at work next week.

Anyway, I'm going to call covermore first thing tomorrow morning.

Once again thanks everyone for your help! I'll keep you posted on how everything goes.

Morgan

 

[LMorgan]

Hi guys,

I finished sorting out my insurance a few days ago. I ended up calling both QBE and Covermore. Covermore requested a bit more information than QBE but in the end they were the ones willing to cover me. I payed an extra $215 as a premium for my pre-existing conditions.

Once again, thanks everyone for the contributions.
Morgan

 

[Simo]

great result,

Glad we could help

 

[cove]

Well done Morgan and thanks for your reported outcome.

 

[docjames]

Great, and well done. Thanks for posting up the result.