quoll

Oh sorry to hear that SoS - hope you are well enough to return when the time comes!

I'm with you - the cost of repatriation etc - definitely worth the premium even though they get a bit steep when you are over 65

spouse of scouse

Thanks quoll I'm going to put the insurance money away and use it for a nice weekend in London when my sister visits me in November

cappuccino

Be aware that if you get sick/visit GP/ admitted to hospiral etc after taking out an insurance policy and don't tell the insurance company, then if you do travel your insurance policy is invalidated.

This happened to someone i know that had visited GP with a cough 2 weeks before travel and on flight had coughing fit requiring oxygen and then refused boarding onto International connecting flight till certified fit to travel.

This unplanned stopover of 4 days was in the USA where we all know how expensive medical treatment can be especially with no insurance!

Jerseygirl

Some companies require notification if meds are changed. My MIL's blood pressure meds where changed a few weeks before travel...the insurance company cancelled the policy.

Dorothy

I was really lucky with Amex. I'm booked for surgery on my knee the week after we get home so I told them and all they said was that I would not be covered for anything that happens related to the existing problem. I can live with that.

Dorothy

Sorry to hear that

spouse of scouse

Thanks Dorothy I shouldn't whinge though, my oldest sister is looking after me and she's a great believer in toddies made with organic lemons and honey, with a decent pour of Mr Walker's black label. Don't know that it's helping the pleurisy but it makes falling down quite fun.

ps my flights were with Garuda Indonesia on a business class promo fare ($500 cancellation fee), but they've just emailed me and said if I send them my medical certificate they'll refund the fare in full! I didn't expect that.

irishbloo

Hope you feel better soon Sos. At least you are with family .

Wol

You are assuming that the insurance will pay out: one of the differences between Australian and other policies is that most of the former exclude previous history and define this as anything you've ever seen a doctor or medical professional about. In my seventies this actually covers just a out all of my carcase!

I the UK you may be charged an extra premium but at least you are covered. In Oz you pay a hell of a lot more yet can still not be covered when you think you are.

I wrote to Doc Holiday of the Sunday Telegraph on just this subject a couple of years ago. His reply: "I agree entirely".

Funnily enough I was talking to a cruise rep last week and we were staggered at how American insurers will cover aged cruisers who are incapable of walking half a dozen steps. They presumably make a profit, so why are Australian companies as they are? The answer, of course, is because they can.

spouse of scouse

Nah, not assuming anything Wol, I don't have that much faith in insurance companies!

Both Australia and UK travel insurers ask about existing conditions etc. For the recent policy I bought in the UK, I had to declare every condition that I'd seen a doctor for in the last 12 months, as well as any existing conditions.

I've had travel insurance from both Oz and UK insurers that covered a pre-existing condition I have (once I completed an additional questionnaire, of course!).

I've received reimbursements from Oz insurers on the 2 occasions I've claimed, once for medical expenses and once when my bag was snatched off me by a guy on a motorbike in Vietnam. My UK insurer is going to reimburse me the majority of the money I've paid for the Bali trip that wasn't.

I don't see much difference at all between travel insurance in the UK and Oz. Don't know about the US though.

the troubadour

Firstly there are receptacle agreements between Australia and the two countries to are travelling to UK and Italy. In case of medical emergency you would be covered.


If you want insurance for cancelations or lost luggage that's something else. We are increasingly being conditioned to living in a culture of fear. Only spend what you consider necessary.

cappuccino

Yes but you need to also be covered by insurance for medical emergency when you are in transit especially via the USA which is a common route. Anything could happen on the flight or at the airport.

spouse of scouse

If a British citizen had an accident/illness in Australia, they'd receive emergency care, including emergency surgery, free of charge. Once they were medically stable, all aftercare, including rehabilitation and repatriation if necessary, is not covered. Works the same if you reverse countries.

People have accidents, as drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or just tripping over. People have strokes and heart attacks, even healthy people with no previous history. People can spend months in rehab, learning to walk, eat, talk again.

I'm certainly not 'conditioned to live in fear'. For a fraction of the cost of my airfare, I can ensure that if I have an accident or get sick I receive the treatment I need, when I need it, for however long I need it, and I won't have to bankrupt myself or my family to pay for it.

You can call it being 'conditioned to live in fear' if you want to. I call it being responsible and sensible.

Wol

As it happens, Mrs Wol and I were disembarked from our cruise ship last week and she was taken to hospital in the USA. We've just started regaining our trip after six days bed rest and zero food/liquids. Our credit card insurance facility is covering us.

The costs will be substantial: there was no question in this case of a previous condition - it was completely out of the blue - and the insurer was excellent although naturally we had to furnish them with mounds of information.

TG for a good internet connection at the hospital, and for my camera which let me send photos of the documentation!

Tip: take with you anything relevant: credit card statements when you "activated" the insurance by paying for the trip etc.

Tr1boy

Most people think of possessions when it comes to travel insurance but as one who has been repatriated with a broken back, I wouldn't ever go anywhere without it.

Another thing, slightly off topic but I enter a lot of expensive races which always involve multiple days at hotels. These races can be overseas but some are in the UK. It never occurred to me to get travel insurance for a domestic holiday but someone suggested it a few years ago and I've used it twice when i've had to pull out of races a few weeks early.