Pre existing conditions

[mrsterryn]

Just a tad gobsmacked as husband's travel insurance has more than doubled
He has a benign brain tumour not fully excised.
His annual travel insurance with covering it is over $5000
Stunned at that

 

[asterix]

Just a tad gobsmacked as husband's travel insurance has more than doubled
He has a benign brain tumour not fully excised.
His annual travel insurance with covering it is over $5000
Stunned at that

Which travel insurer is that with?

 

[Pushka]

Mine was $1200 a year ago.

 

[mrsterryn]

Which travel insurer is that with?

Covermore

 

[asterix]

Covermore

Have you looked at Insure and Go?

 

[mrsterryn]

Have you looked at Insure and Go?

We are looking around
Just realised we didn't declare his cane usage last year and have no idea how to declare that he uses a cane because of the tumour

 

[tgh]

Please read and understand every single word of the pds of any policy you consider.
Insurance companies are masters of flash presentation with carefully hidden gotcha's in the pds.
Pay attention , question every statement, what you think you read and what the words actually mean can be very different.
Did you make a full disclosure ?
Did you get an opinion from your specialist about the risk level of the patient?
You can always go back to the practitioner asking for a "rosier" letter and then front an insurance decision maker personally.
Squeaky wheels attract grease...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Insurance companies are masters of flash presentation with carefully hidden gotcha's in the pds.

Agree that reading the PDS is vital, but i can't say I've come across any carefully hidden 'gotcha's'.

There may be a disconnect between what the purchaser assumes they are buying, and what the insurance company is offering... but overall... if you think you're going to be covered to ride a motor bike in Bali, without a helmet, when you don't have a motor bike licence in Australia, and are possibly intoxicated... I think that's entirely down to the purchaser rather than any hidden agenda by the insurance company.

 

[Carrots]

If you are able to justify a Corporate Travel policy rather than a personal/domestic cover I'd would suggest considering it - more often than not, many CT policies won't have a pre-existing medical exclusion (many won't however cover costs of obtaining additional medicines if you don't take enough with you however).

Persona/Domestic policies however can be a mine field - it's becoming quite apparent over the past year that many of the insurers are tightening their belts over pre-ex condition. Which translates to higher premiums for even some of the most trivial conditions.

 

[Quickstatus]

Re Preexisting conditions:

So MrsQS had a fractured tibia which has been fixed and so this becomes a "preexisting condition"
From my POV, the only way this will become an issue if there is another fall causing a re-fracture of the old fracture site.
The TI (annual cover) we are with says emergency conditions are covered, but preexisting conditions are not - such as ongoing medical treatment for that PreC. But a fall causing a re-fracture is covered.

Anyone have experience in this area?

 

[RB]

Not sure how you are placed with credit card insurance and don't know about brain tumours specifically, but the ANZ Travel Adventures has one of the most "liberal" interpretations of pre-existing that we have encountered. May be worth a read for you, good luck with the travel and finding some cover

 

[Pug1]

I recognise this is an older thread however I thought my experience would be useful. Just getting back to travelling after a couple of medical issues with coronary artery and "waterworks". Refused by QBE for both pre-existing conditions and waited for a few months and applied to Allclear. They covered me for the pre-existing conditions but the premium for my wife and I was around AUD$2500 for a 3 week cruise next year. The application on-line was easy and quick with no further medical reports required, and approved imediately. In my view it is worth the high cost to be covered and I agree with previous comments you need to disclose everything and read the PDS. Even a change of medication dosage not disclosed, would allow the insurer to avoid a claim. After the overseas trip was insured we booked an Australian land tour and got insurance with Allclear again. Even though we are covered by Medicare in Oz I dislosed my pre-existing conditions again; if we had to cancel after paying the full cost because of one of those conditions the cancellation cover would not apply. I have an insurance background many years ago and in all honesty my opinion is that any travel insurer could avoid any claim using the detailed wording of the PDS! I believe Allclear has the same insurer as Insure and Go that is Mitsui.

 

[Pushka]

I recognise this is an older thread however I thought my experience would be useful. Just getting back to travelling after a couple of medical issues with coronary artery and "waterworks". Refused by QBE for both pre-existing conditions and waited for a few months and applied to Allclear. They covered me for the pre-existing conditions but the premium for my wife and I was around AUD$2500 for a 3 week cruise next year. The application on-line was easy and quick with no further medical reports required, and approved imediately. In my view it is worth the high cost to be covered and I agree with previous comments you need to disclose everything and read the PDS. Even a change of medication dosage not disclosed, would allow the insurer to avoid a claim. After the overseas trip was insured we booked an Australian land tour and got insurance with Allclear again. Even though we are covered by Medicare in Oz I dislosed my pre-existing conditions again; if we had to cancel after paying the full cost because of one of those conditions the cancellation cover would not apply. I have an insurance background many years ago and in all honesty my opinion is that any travel insurer could avoid any claim using the detailed wording of the PDS! I believe Allclear has the same insurer as Insure and Go that is Mitsui.

Interesting. You may find that an annual policy gives better value for money than a ‘once off’ if you plan a couple of trips in 12 months.

 

[Pug1]

thank you for the suggestion Pushka. I asked Allclear about that but since our only other trip in the next year is within Australia they said they don't cover medical in Oz. So there was no point getting the multi trip quote. The policy for the Oz trip basically only covers cancellation and luggage and you could argue that it is not good value if you are travelling lightly and are in good health. However our Oz trip is quite expensive so we could not afford to lose the total cost if we had paid in full and then had to cancel due to one of my pre-existing conditions causing the cancellation. Our next trip is with APT from Uluru to Adelaide via Kangaroo Island and then we are cruising from Bergen to Montreal next August/September with Viking. That's another story and I'm thinking of lodging a post for some advice about how you get two J class one-way flights on points for that cruise, and/or without paying the cost of a Canberra house for each one!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I recognise this is an older thread however I thought my experience would be useful. Just getting back to travelling after a couple of medical issues with coronary artery and "waterworks". Refused by QBE for both pre-existing conditions and waited for a few months and applied to Allclear. They covered me for the pre-existing conditions but the premium for my wife and I was around AUD$2500 for a 3 week cruise next year. The application on-line was easy and quick with no further medical reports required, and approved imediately. In my view it is worth the high cost to be covered and I agree with previous comments you need to disclose everything and read the PDS. Even a change of medication dosage not disclosed, would allow the insurer to avoid a claim. After the overseas trip was insured we booked an Australian land tour and got insurance with Allclear again. Even though we are covered by Medicare in Oz I dislosed my pre-existing conditions again; if we had to cancel after paying the full cost because of one of those conditions the cancellation cover would not apply. I have an insurance background many years ago and in all honesty my opinion is that any travel insurer could avoid any claim using the detailed wording of the PDS! I believe Allclear has the same insurer as Insure and Go that is Mitsui.

i would hope it was clear that a 'change in meication dosage' might only invalidate a claim with respect to the pre-existing condition. Anything not related to your pre-existing conditon should still be covered.

 

[tgh]

IMO.. "cheap" insurers "may" seek escape from liabilty…equally.. quality operators are "relatively" honourable in meeting claims.
IMO ( again) ,.. the wording of "your" PDF indicates where you are likely to be in the mix.
My Allianz policy contains broadform wording.. implying that they will accomodate a range of claim options.
With travel insurance, we mostly get what we pay for.. ( and.. most folks don't ever find out until they claim )

 

[MEL_Traveller]

IMO.. "cheap" insurers "may" seek escape from liabilty…equally.. quality operators are "relatively" honourable in meeting claims.
IMO ( again) ,.. the wording of "your" PDF indicates where you are likely to be in the mix.
My Allianz policy contains broadform wording.. implying that they will accomodate a range of claim options.
With travel insurance, we mostly get what we pay for.. ( and.. most folks don't ever find out until they claim )

Do you have any data points on this?

i agree that the cost of the policy may determine your level of cover, and the circumstances in which cover applies. But is there evidence to suggest 'cheap' insurers are not honourable in in meeting claims that fall within their policies?

 

[Pug1]

I agree that you need to vet your insurer to try your best to ensure they will be fair and a bit flexible on claiming. Not easy to do. I had a good experience with Allianx paying a claim a few years ago but they would not cover my pre-existing for later trips.

 

[Pug1]

i would hope it was clear that a 'change in meication dosage' might only invalidate a claim with respect to the pre-existing condition. Anything not related to your pre-existing conditon should still be covered.

yes I believe you are corect.

 

[mrsterryn]

I am learning to declare everything including my weight