Vague travel insurance news stories

Vague travel insurance news stories

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Discussion

TwigtheWonderkid

43,402 posts

151 months

Thursday 18th August 2016
quotequote all
Sheepshanks said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
rofl

Probably not!

But suppose it wasn't a stolen wallet, but run over by a car in the USA. Massive injuries, a million dollar bill. Again, unrelated to the kidney stones, but faced with a bill like that, they would apply for full medical history and might walk away from the claim.
I think your stretching the point a bit far.

OK, it's possible the car insurer wouldn't cover a car that was insured by someone with drink driving convictions, so that MAY be valid, but travel insurance often just excludes pre-existing conditions. I gave them a list of my Dad's illnesses when I first went to the US, and they said "thanks - so we'll exclude all those". I haven't bothered since.

So if you got run over then I think the insurance would be in some difficulty trying to deny the claim based on a pre-existing condition. I suppose it could get complicated though if the accident exacerbated a pre-existing condition - ie set off a heart attack when you'd already got some heart condition.
Not sure it's quite that simple. What if you got run over, and your pre existing condition was cataracts, or a detached retina? Then you're into a legal minefield. Or you lose your wallet, and your pre existing condition was short term memory loss?

The only way to be sure is to tell them everything.

shep1001

4,600 posts

190 months

Thursday 18th August 2016
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About 15 years ago my mam fell over and face planted the floor when she was in Spain. Almost kicked the bucket as she ended up with a bleed on the brain as a result of her brain banging about in her skull

5 weeks in HDU hospital bed before it was considered safe to repatriate her By helicopter as no commercial flight would accept her then another 2 months in hospital in the Uk.

Costs were astronomical only thing they refused to pay was the mobile phone bill of about £200. Best £50 they ever spent.


You get what you pay for, don't conveniently forget any medical conditions, as they will check & read what your policy excludes if you are doing activities, you may be surprised what won't be covered as std.

TwigtheWonderkid

43,402 posts

151 months

Saturday 20th August 2016
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Another point worth mentioning is that if you have something really serious wrong, a terminal illness or similar, insurers will not want to cover you, even excluding the condition. Basically, they don't want to be the insurer in the papers that's abandoned a dying person in a foreign country, even though that was the agreed deal. The story never gets reported accurately, the insurer is portrayed as heartless and money grabbing, and they just don't need the bad publicity.

So if you lost your wallet under those circumstances, then if they found out, given they never would have covered you at all had they known the truth, then they could well refuse the claim.


rongagin

481 posts

137 months

Thursday 25th August 2016
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Our freebie from a bank account offers world wide unlimited holidays, up to 45 days at a time. Now because my wife has existing medical conditions they want £218 extra. I asked for Europe only quote, can't do that.
So we book with a travel insurance company which in Europe cover means around £70 for two weeks.
But the letter from the bank insurance clearly states that if we don't pay the £218 then any claim for the medical conditions will not be met. However all other elements of the policy are still active.
There may be a loose connection in say a slip or fall was due to dizziness which 'could' be from a pre-existing?