Legal expert about for advice ref travel insurance company?

[sheel]

Hi
Don't know if anyone is about who can offer any advice ref a travel insurance company refusing cover, Briefly the story:
Annual cover with an insurance company, had a cancer scare which was changed to all clear and on the back of this booked 2 holidays Lanzarote next week and Oz at Christmas booked around June

Unfortunately due to a missed diagnosis and purely by fluke it has now been confirmed that I have terminal cancer,I rang the insurance company and gave them full details of my situation, the operator discussed this with the underwritters and came back to say provided my doctors were happy for me to travel then the policy would remain as is, this whole conversation is recorded and the insurance company admit my version and their response is entirely accurate

The insurance company sent a flyer out by post last week to remind any changes of health situations to which we responded to confirm that my condition was no different, at this point they say they wont insure me, many calls back and forward last week (all recorded) resulted in them offering insurance but not covering my existing condition, the latest is that they are now not going to offer any form of insurance !!!!

How on earth can these companies move the goal posts to suit themselves if they agreed to the situation on the 16th JULY surely this is a verball agreement and should be upheld

Does anyone have any thoughts as to how to deal with them

Thanks
Richard

[dacouch]

sheel said:

Hi
Don't know if anyone is about who can offer any advice ref a travel insurance company refusing cover, Briefly the story:
Annual cover with an insurance company, had a cancer scare which was changed to all clear and on the back of this booked 2 holidays Lanzarote next week and Oz at Christmas booked around June

Unfortunately due to a missed diagnosis and purely by fluke it has now been confirmed that I have terminal cancer,I rang the insurance company and gave them full details of my situation, the operator discussed this with the underwritters and came back to say provided my doctors were happy for me to travel then the policy would remain as is, this whole conversation is recorded and the insurance company admit my version and their response is entirely accurate

The insurance company sent a flyer out by post last week to remind any changes of health situations to which we responded to confirm that my condition was no different, at this point they say they wont insure me, many calls back and forward last week (all recorded) resulted in them offering insurance but not covering my existing condition, the latest is that they are now not going to offer any form of insurance !!!!

How on earth can these companies move the goal posts to suit themselves if they agreed to the situation on the 16th JULY surely this is a verball agreement and should be upheld

Does anyone have any thoughts as to how to deal with them

Thanks
Richard

The Ombudsman has fairly comprehensive guidance to Insurers on this matter and there's a few case histories.

Can you do a timeline so we can understand the situation eg

15/04/12 Arranged annual policy

20/04/12 booked holiday

10/05/12 diagnosed with cancer

11/05/12 spoke to Insurers and cover unaffected

[sticks090460]

Which company?

[Vaud]

sheel said:

Unfortunately due to a missed diagnosis and purely by fluke it has now been confirmed that I have terminal cancer

No insurance advice. LoonR1 is a resident motor insurance expert and good egg - seem to know wider insurance as well.

Sorry to hear it is terminal. I hope you can enjoy every day and be as pain free as possible.

[sheel]

Thanks for your reply, I did contact the insurance and financial ombudsmen last week they said they would look into the matter but it could take a few months, helpful when I am going away next week !!!


However time line
Annual policy renewed 4/3/14 for 12 month duration
Holiday to Lanzarotte 14/3/14 21/3/14
Holiday booked to Australia for 14/12/14 following health all clear from Birmingham Orthopedic booked 1/7/14
11/7 discharged from University Hospital Coventry 12/7 confirmed by GP as terminal illness
16/7 Contacted insurers ref travel plans, recorded conversation confirms they are happy to retain policy with no caveats
1/9 standard letter from insurers requesting to be informed of any health changes
3/9 contacted insurers by phone to confirm conversation of 16/7
4/9 various calls from insurers asking various questions and offering possible solutions
8/9 call from insurers asking if they can communicate via email
8/9 emails from insurers saying they will not offer any form of cover!!
All calls have been recorded by insurers who require £10 for copy of transcript's and signing of data release form

Regards
Richard

[sheel]

sticks090460 said:

Which company?

Are we allowed to name??

Richard

[sheel]

Vaud said:

No insurance advice. LoonR1 is a resident motor insurance expert and good egg - seem to know wider insurance as well.

Sorry to hear it is terminal. I hope you can enjoy every day and be as pain free as possible.

Thanks for your concerns, to look at me im fighting fit even my doctors say "you don't look like you should be here
although its a very short prognosis, stuff the experts I will keep fighting smiling and enjoying myself !!

[Goody13]

OK. Here goes. You need to make a formal complaint to the insurer although I appreciate the timescales are a bit tight. You can only go to the Financial Ombudsman once your insurers have reviewed and given their final answer.

In the short term, I would also suggest you try to get cover with another insurer to include your condition. Have a look at http://www.freespirittravelinsurance.com/ to see if they can help. If they can, I am afraid it will not be cheap, but at least you can still go on your holiday with peace of mind.

If your current travel insurers are now refusing to provide cover after initially agreeing it, they should at least give you the option to cancel your holiday. That way they are choosing a known loss amount rather than risk a large medical bill when you are travelling. Harsh, I know, but they should offer that as a minimum.

Keep us posted on how you get on. Good luck!

[dacouch]

I assume you were suffering the cancer when you renewed the cover with the Insurer and if so was it fully declared and accepted by them?

[sheel]

Thanks for your reply and the web site link, however when this arose last week and I did consider trying to change insurers all the companies I spoke with would not cover terminal illness with less than 6 months to go
Ok I appreciate the conceived risks but in my case I am that well that the doctors have delayed chemo until after my break next week and I only have minimal medication for a leg problem

I will see what their reply is tomorrow as it looks as if my emails have exhausted any pre considered answers

My biggest annoyance is I gave them open and true full answers which they accepted and then moved the goal posts, perhaps I should just go without and take the chance, I certainly would not risk it if I felt at all unwell

Richard

[sheel]

dacouch said:

I assume you were suffering the cancer when you renewed the cover with the Insurer and if so was it fully declared and accepted by them?

I was not suffering any known cancer or under any investigations so there was nothing to declare

[surveyor]

Not very helpful, buried rad somewhere of this happening before (maybe even on here), and I'm sure that the insurance company backed down in someway.

It's also the sort of thing that consumer journalists like to get involved with. I'd seriously consider speaking to you and yours on r4.

[anonymous-user]

Your starting point must be to determine what the contract provides for. If the contract as originally made did not cover you, the later conversation won't assist, as a matter of law, because you did not provide consideration for a variation to the contract. You might have what's called an estoppel argument, but probably not as there is no element of reliance on what was said, and anyway it is hard to use such an argument pro actively rather than defensively. As others suggest, this matter is best resolved by applying some publicity pressure and/or via the Ombudsman.

I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis and admire your courage.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 9th September 08:32

[sheel]

Breadvan72 said:

Your starting point must be to determine what the contract provides for. If the contract as originally made did not cover you, the later conversation won't assist, as a matter of law, because you did not provide consideration for a variation to the contract. You might have what's called an estoppel argument, but probably not as there is no element of reliance on what was said, and anyway it is hard to use such an argument pro actively rather than defensively. As others suggest, this matter is best resolved by applying some publicity pressure and/or via the Ombudsman.

I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis and admire your courage.

Edited by Breadvan72 on Tuesday 9th September 08:32

Firstly thanks to all for the supportive messages

With regards to the contract, when it was renewed there were no changes to medical conditions nor were any pending investigations, the policy was paid in full.
In the interim period of Jan to March I had had a continuing aching leg which became the subject of investigation and the initial thoughts were it was bone cancer, no holidays were arranged in this period due to the illness.
The results of the tests came back clear so we felt it was safe to continue life and booked our future trips, as there was no changes to my health condition we did not inform the insurance company

My current illness came out of the blue and due to the fact holidays were booked we immediately contacted the insurers and gave them full and honest information, this was accepted over the phone with the only stipulation being that my doctors would need to confirm I was safe to travel

All of the conversation is recorded and the insurers accept that it is a true and accurate account

I have ready the policy wording and we have complied with its requirements

Richard

[anonymous-user]

If you scan and email me the policy wording including all the get outs I will have a shuftie.

[sheel]

That would be fantastic, it is a fairly large document but hopefully I can get you the info over
Whilst you can get some negative info thro the Pistonheads forum, I hail from the TVR groups and as this post they have always been very helpful

Thanks Richard ,

[LoonR1]

Vaud said:

No insurance advice. LoonR1 is a resident motor insurance expert and good egg - seem to know wider insurance as well.

Sorry to hear it is terminal. I hope you can enjoy every day and be as pain free as possible.

Thanks for the compliment, but travel policies are so varied that I couldn't hope to guess what the solution is. I'd suggest taking up BV72's offer.

Good luck with both fights.

[JustinP1]

Sorry to hear about this OP.

A few years back I tried a similar thing for my Dad. He'd retired a couple of years ago and moved abroad and had flew to visit me back in the UK.

In his hand was test results from his recently broken arm. The foreign hospital had fleeced him for putting a titanium plate in it, and had done tests on an anomaly, but not explained to him that this was the result of a metastasised cancerous tumour from another part of his body, and indeed, it was likely there were other tumours all over his body.

So, I had to break this to him when he was here. The thing he was most upset with was it was his only wish to fly back 'home' even just for a week to say goodbye to his house, his pets and his friends. He had little idea he was dying. They had no idea there was anything seriously wrong. He'd of course even got his return ticket.

I tried as much as I could, but the upshot was there was no-one that would insure.

The only option I could see was to take time off work and fly out with him, so that if worst came to worst, and he went downhill, I'd just put my hand in my pocket, get a taxi and wheel him onto the next flight back to wherever in the UK with him with enough morphine to get through the flight. I ran through all the reasonably foreseeable things that might happen, including should my Dad pass away abroad to get a handle of the risks and costs involved.

As it happened, he went downhill so quickly that even this was a pipe dream despite the very obvious risks.


I can't advise on the legal aspects here. And I'm also not advising to throw caution to the wind.

However, consider thinking 'out of the box'. As it happened, my Dad went on an 8 hour flight to see me totally oblivious to the fact that he had tumours in his prostate, lung, bones - including his spine, and brain. He got here though. You are more enlightened and can possibly put in place contingencies depending on the level of risk you are aware about. It's worth a try.

All the best.

[Amateurish]

Richard, I admire your bravery.

In terms of risk, your EHIC will allow you full access to medical treatment in Spain, even for your pre-existing conditions. The only substantial thing you will not have cover for is repatriation. Given the prognosis, and short time scales, might it be worth travelling anyway?

[sheel]

Amateurish said:

Richard, I admire your bravery.

In terms of risk, your EHIC will allow you full access to medical treatment in Spain, even for your pre-existing conditions. The only substantial thing you will not have cover for is repatriation. Given the prognosis, and short time scales, might it be worth travelling anyway?

My thought entirely, I am very well and would not consider travelling if there were a risk to me or my companions.
Considering my illness my doctors are amazed at my condition and are happy for me to travel, they have even delayed my forthcoming chemo to allow this trip.

Thanks for your comments, I am just so incensed at the insurers actions that I will pursue this to their embarrassment and make others aware of their short comings