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[Rods2]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3111141/Family-man-fell-coma-holiday-Turkey-faces-50-000-medical-bill-insurance-company-refuse-pay-forgot-tick-box.html

Please make sure this doesn't happen to you by declaring any pre-existing medical conditions when you buy your travel insurance.

[Vamps]

A terrible situation, but would he have got insurance had he informed them of a pre-existing medical condition, possible not, or not for the amount paid..............

I do feel for his family though, lets hope that they can raise the funds to get him back to England............

[Rods2]

A terrible situation, but would he have got insurance had he informed them of a pre-existing medical condition, possible not, or not for the amount paid..............

I do feel for his family though, lets hope that they can raise the funds to get him back to England............

When he declared the medical condition, he would have paid an extra premium. You can get cover for most conditions including terminal ones, but the premium will reflect the risk. Some of the online medical screening systems are provided by companies that handle medical travel insurance claims and repatriation so they can calculate the risk through knowing the conditions, combinations of conditions, claim rates and amounts.

[Vamps]

A terrible situation, but would he have got insurance had he informed them of a pre-existing medical condition, possible not, or not for the amount paid..............

I do feel for his family though, lets hope that they can raise the funds to get him back to England............

When he declared the medical condition, he would have paid an extra premium. You can get cover for most conditions including terminal ones, but the premium will reflect the risk. Some of the online medical screening systems are provided by companies that handle medical travel insurance claims and repatriation so they can calculate the risk through knowing the conditions, combinations of conditions, claim rates and amounts.


As I stated, I would struggle to get medical insurance overseas, so I stay put...........

[RossPhim]

You don't 'forget' to tick a box saying you've got an existing medical condition!   

Still feel for the loved ones as they're left with the mess. 

[The Sheriff]

Very unfortunate..........that he thought he could save a few bob by not declaring an existing condition.

[biggriffin]

Just shows that insurance companies,are shissters,and will duck and dive,so as not to pay-out.
Probably send him a invoice for administrative costs they've incurred.

[Viral_Jim]

Very unfortunate..........that he thought he could save a few bob by not declaring an existing condition.

This. Insurers price based on risk and a condition like the one he "forgot" about would have pushed his premium sky high. For example my wife and I travelled to the USA two years ago, 18 months before she had been given the all clear from cancer, our premium for two weeks' holiday? £550  .

In a former life I worked as an auditor for the UK Travel & Motor Insurance arm of one of the largest insurers in the world, so I have seen this from both sides of the fence.

The company was actually winding down a number of lines of travel & overseas medical business, mostly those that are online and purchased at the same time as airline tickets as they were massively loss making. On some flights, over 70% of policies sold would be claimed on after the trip was completed  . As the CFO pointed out to me "people just see it as a way of halving the cost of their holiday." Between that and "alcohol related injuries" it was costing the business a fortune.

Everyone loves the idea that all insurance companies are miserly money-grabbers who profiteer from people's misfortune, or fear thereof. Probably because its easier to swallow than the idea that we (as the collective that is the British public) are a dishonest bunch who can excuse straight up fraud just by declaring it a "victimless crime".

[YZ250]

I have to phone the Medical Screening people for insurance for trips abroad due to being born with a heart condition. Apart from annual check-ups I am not on any medication for it, or anything else for that matter, and never have been but it would be careless of me to not 'tick that box'.
I pay the extra premium just in case something ever did happen. 

[The Sheriff]

Just shows that insurance companies,are shissters,and will duck and dive,so as not to pay-out.
Probably send him a invoice for administrative costs they've incurred.

No. It shows that people will duck and dive to avoid paying their dues.

And what's a shisster? 

[RobG]

Bought insurance for a trip to The States. 6 months later had cause to visit hospital for chest pains, diagnosed as a bad case of indigestion, informed ins. co. "thank you sir that`s an extra £70" because you`ve visited a hospital and had treatment. WTF

[The Sheriff]

Bought insurance for a trip to The States. 6 months later had cause to visit hospital for chest pains, diagnosed as a bad case of indigestion, informed ins. co. "thank you sir that`s an extra £70" because you`ve visited a hospital and had treatment. WTF

Now that's just wrong...but.....the underwriters must include it in their terms, so....

[Rods2]

Just shows that insurance companies,are shissters,and will duck and dive,so as not to pay-out.
Probably send him a invoice for administrative costs they've incurred.

An insurance policy is a legal contract, where you are legally obliged to disclose all relevant information when purchasing an insurance policy and in return the insurance company will cover what they have legally agreed to cover in their policy terms and conditions. The insurance industry is very tightly regulated by the FCA and also there is an insurance ombudsman who you can complain to, if you feel you have been unfairly treated and who will independently adjudicate on the case.

[Rods2]

Bought insurance for a trip to The States. 6 months later had cause to visit hospital for chest pains, diagnosed as a bad case of indigestion, informed ins. co. "thank you sir that`s an extra £70" because you`ve visited a hospital and had treatment. WTF

Now that's just wrong...but.....the underwriters must include it in their terms, so....

And what happens if you have a recurrence of bad chest pains while on holiday and you go to a hospital and then claim for the cost of the treatment? If it has happened before, this may imply an increased risk of it happening again.

[BazaJT]

Surely it is the same with any kind of insurance?If you fail to notify insurer of anything which may affect the premium for whatever reason and the insurer then refuses to pay out on a claim then you only have yourself to blame.you can't slag off the insurer for something you failed to do.I'm using the word you in a general sense  of people and not in a specific sense if that makes sense!