travel insurance troubles

As5567

Does anyone have any tips on how I can get cheaper travel insurance to the US. I'm hopefully planning a 3 month trip to the US in June and so far the cheapest travel insurance quote I have been able to obtain on line is £490, this is almost as much as the airline fare!

I paid only £30 for a 5 week trip in Dec 2013, yes my condition has got worse since then and I have added lung complications but I really don't see how that can boost the price of insurance so high, if anyone has any suggestions or tips I would be grateful.

dreamdaisy

Quite frankly I'm surprised that you're surprised at the proposed cost. Three months is a long time, you pose a substantial risk to the insurer for racking-up massive health bills for them to pay so no wonder the premium is strong.

How do you plan to access your treatments etc. whilst there? There is much to be thought about and planned for such a long trip - is your general health up to such a jaunt? DD

stickywicket

This is an annual bugbear for us as we have a son in USA. As with any other form of insurance, we find it doesn't much matter who we were with the previous year (Currently, Insurance Choice) as they won't necessarily be the cheapest now and, yes, the quotes can be higher than the air fare.

£30 for 5 weeks sounds amazing given your health issues. I've never had it so low. The things that insurers hate are 'undiagnosed conditions' and recent hospital stays. If you've now been signed off for your lung problems that will count in your favour but, if you're still seeing a consultant about them, that will be very much against you. They also dislike us taking more than two medications per condition. That bumps the price up.

One thing I've learned is that the ones who specialise in people will chronic diseases are by no means the cheapest. You literally have to spend hours at the computer because only some firms are on the comparison sites. Having chosen, I usually ring up to ensure I haven't omitted anything vital that would invalidate my cover. I wish you luck – and stamina.

How will you deal with your infusions? You won't be able to get them over there.

dibdab

I haven't tried USA insurance so I can't comment specifically, but in planning for my forthcoming 3 weeks in New Zealand I found Saga travel insurance really helpful and reasonable, but not on price comparison sites. They advised going for an annual policy as more economic that a specific dates one, and it covers my RA and resultant Bronchiectasis with the many medications on my repeat prescription!!!!! :? . I had trawled the internet, but finally indulged in a helpful phone call just so that I knew that they understood all ailments and meds before they insured me as I didn't want to be caught out.

Good luck with your searching, and enjoy the trip.

Deb x

barbara12

Hi As5567
I have this problem and only travel in Europe, but its so expensive now.. and only one insurance will cover me because of back surgery looming and the meds I am on..so I cant really compare prices but they are good..Flexyco**r if you want to look them up..and you could try ringing them they can advise..good luck..

As5567

Thanks all for the suggestions, I have got a couple of places to call tomorrow and after hours and hours of calling and googling I have made some progress and so far my lowest quote is £220 which is much cheaper but I will still look around for a cheaper price.

dreamdaisy wrote:

Quite frankly I'm surprised that you're surprised at the proposed cost. Three months is a long time, you pose a substantial risk to the insurer for racking-up massive health bills for them to pay so no wonder the premium is strong.

How do you plan to access your treatments etc. whilst there? There is much to be thought about and planned for such a long trip - is your general health up to such a jaunt? DD

My biologic drug is one injection per month and healthcare at home are usually willing to dispense 3 months worth of medication if you supply proof to them that you're going away. I will be staying with family for 3 months so it wont be like a typical holiday. Currently my health isn't good enough for me to make this trip right now at this moment in time but I'm confident everything would have healed from recent operations by then for me to make the trip.

stickywicket wrote:

This is an annual bugbear for us as we have a son in USA. As with any other form of insurance, we find it doesn't much matter who we were with the previous year (Currently, Insurance Choice) as they won't necessarily be the cheapest now and, yes, the quotes can be higher than the air fare.

£30 for 5 weeks sounds amazing given your health issues. I've never had it so low. The things that insurers hate are 'undiagnosed conditions' and recent hospital stays. If you've now been signed off for your lung problems that will count in your favour but, if you're still seeing a consultant about them, that will be very much against you. They also dislike us taking more than two medications per condition. That bumps the price up.

One thing I've learned is that the ones who specialise in people will chronic diseases are by no means the cheapest. You literally have to spend hours at the computer because only some firms are on the comparison sites. Having chosen, I usually ring up to ensure I haven't omitted anything vital that would invalidate my cover. I wish you luck – and stamina.

How will you deal with your infusions? You won't be able to get them over there.

Back then I was only on a 2 monthly infusion and pain dullers, I guess a lot has changed since then making the quotes sky high, if I don't declare lung complications then most of the quotes come back under £90 as soon as I add the lung complications they shoot up so I guess that's what is causing such a high price. I'm currently on a monthly injection now and not an infusion that's how its possible for me to go for the full 3 months. While I was on Humira I went for 3 months back then without any issues so I don't see any problem in terms of medication.

stickywicket

First of all, may I be cheeky and ask who gave the £220 quote as I'm hoping to be able to start the trawl myself soon?

I would be slightly anxious if I could only take the exact amount of meds as I once had to delay my return due to a chest infection.

Please check that it's safe for you to fly long-haul after all your recent lung problems and the op that fixed things. I know it's different but I wasn't allowed to for 6 months after my knee revision. It's the blood clot danger.

As5567

The company quoting £220 was No Limits Travel Insurance but I have now managed to get a quote for £90 with Direct 2 Insure, I found them on MoneySupermarket comparison website and was quoted the exact same on the phone after going over my conditions with them on the phone. I'm fairly confident that £90 is the lowest quote that I'm going to get and hopefully the price wont change too much by the time I come around booking the trip.

I did ask about flying a couple of weeks ago and my doctor has said I'd be all good to go as long as everything is healed by then.

Starburst

Please make sure you read the small print to ensure you are comprehensively covered. I had an issue in Egypt as I needed medical care and the insurance company got a bit shirty when they received the claim.

As5567

I also forgot to add, I was told by Direct 2 Insure that they could offer a cheaper policy that excludes your declared medical conditions, I didn't ask how much this was because after the luck I've had in the last year its better to be safe than sorry. But I guess it's another way for some people who cant justify the higher cost of having their conditions covered.

Yes Starburst small print is very important and often very tricky, I think I recall my policy last Christmas having something like 35 pages of small print. A lot to take in but it is something I usually do read over carefully.

stickywicket

Thanks for that. We had a brief look last night but ours came to much more, probably because I have several other things besides RA, Mr SW is over 70 (Definitely not good, insurance-wise :roll: ) and we want to go on the same policy so that, if one was ill, the other would still be covered for staying out there with them.

(Why would anyone want to be not covered for the stuff most likely to go wrong :? )

As5567

I think travel insurance is very much like car insurance, for some people one company is cheap and for another the same company can be very costly.

I would never take out a policy that excluded my medical conditions, but I guess some people would rather take that risk than pay the extra fee. I did an on-line quote excluding my medical conditions and the policy was only £13 cheaper so it really isn't worth it.

I have another company to call today which was recommended by a friend of mine who works in a travel agents, the company is All Safe Insurance if you wanted to have a look, I will let you know how I get on.

stickywicket

I'm sure you're right about the 'horses for courses' thing.

I've added all three names to my list of ones to investigate once I get the all-clear to go. Thanks.