 Poster: A snowHead
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In the New Year I am almost certainly going to receive Radiotherapy to disperse a blood clot on the brain AND radio surgery to address some blood vessels on the brain
I'm due to travel out on Friday 16th to France but current insurance company wont cover me despite supporting letter from consultant
Can anyone advise an insurance company whom may be worth contacting.
Thank you
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Insure&Go are VFM and have a med list policy which seems quite structured.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-insurance/pre-existing-medical-conditions/ may be some use. [edit: the blue button at the top for a quote].
I know RIAS (an off-shoot of Saga), and presumably Saga too, deal with medical conditions (screening questions / additional terms and conditions etc) regularly, so hopefully would be well suited. I'm surprised you got a flat "no" ; generally I thought it came down to terms or costs that you might feel were prohibitive, not a flat "no". Low risk insurers may well stay clear I suppose.
Good luck with the search (and treatment) 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I too have a pre existing medical condition, In the end I approached my bank who I have a mortgage with and they let me upgrade my account, ok I now have a monthly fee but with a letter from my doctor they do give me insurance cover, I'm with the Natwest. You may find they make exclusions as to what they cover you for tho, my condition is not as potentially serious as yours sounds so I may be well off track here but its worth trying. Good luck x
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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1969jma, having had cancer and successful treatment in 2007 I had the same dilemma with travel insurance. I realise your condition is not cancer but there are some companies with links on the cancer research website who do cover high risk pre-existing medical conditions. I will warn you though, it's hideously expensive. I ended up not bothering with it and sticking with my normal bank account travel insurance and EHIC card as I only ski in Europe. Not ideal but if your consultant is happy that a week or two away won't have a detrimental affect on your health and that the chances of a sudden and serious relapse are minimal, then you might consider doing the same.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Flat No with Fogg
Insure&Go was over £200
I too bank with Nat West so i'll be visiting them Monday morning
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1969jma, bluntly, I think £200+ is what you should expect, but I quite understand you might wish to reduce that. SCGB cover handles pre-existing, but you have to phone a given line, and cover and cost will depend on the assessment of your circumstances. Good luck.
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Go to Switzerland.
Get the liftpass insurance top up for any on snow issues and use your EHIC for any medical emergency.
Swiss hospitals are just as good as you would expect and take the EHIC easy-peasy. No limit on the amount of the claim. You may have to pick ip a very small residual amount on thier bill (I was in hospital there for a week, surgery, physio etc etc and had to pay about £40 in total with my own money).
OK, you won't have repatriation cover, but frankly if you have a brain crisis you are going to want top notch treatment RIGHT NOW and not want to wait until you get home.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| rungsp wrote: |
| ......Swiss hospitals are just as good as you would expect and take the EHIC easy-peasy. ..... |
Didn't in Wengen when I went during the 1st MSB - quite a while ago of course.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'm heading for Morzine in France, EHIC isn't enough to cover this i wouldn't have thought?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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1969jma, you would be dealt with in the same way as a French person.
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Hells Bells, I understand the concept - but the medic in Wengen was in a private practice, IIRC. Same thing happened to me in Alpe D'Huez (though my insurance company was able to claim the costs of the prescriptions because I had kept the stickers). Overall, particularly as you can be under stress when going to doctors in foreign parts, and so not be in the best position to negotiate, I have formed the impression that it is best not to rely totally on the EHIC, but to have travel insurance as well.
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You know it makes sense.
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Now my levels of stupidity are very very high and I have skiied in full arm casts, and wrist casts, so I am the last person to call caution, but im not sure I would ski with a clot and vascular problems in my brain.
Altitude and the chance of a bump hmmm, (I keep thinking CR Johnson for some reason) I can see why insurance is as costly as it is.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Try AllClear who specialise in people with medical conditions.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I discovered that the standard Ski Club of GB insurance (which, by the way, allows off piste without a guide) will no longer insure me now I have had cancer, even though it has been dealt with and my prognosis is very good for future years. I need to go to Free Spirit Travel Insurance (run by the same insurance company) and even then need an OK that I am fit to ski from my doctor before they can insure me.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hells Bells, "dealt with in the same way as a French/Swiss citizen" doesn't mean free!
In France, with private practice doctors (most doctors and most ski resort medical centres) you will have to pay for ALL of your treatment up-front. In a hospital, on presentation of your EHIC card, you will pay the same cost of treatment as local citizens - generally about 30% of the total cost.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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stevomcd, I know. I was trying to point that out.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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snowball, do they cover you for the States as well?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| achilles wrote: |
| Hells Bells, I understand the concept - but the medic in Wengen was in a private practice, IIRC. Same thing happened to me in Alpe D'Huez (though my insurance company was able to claim the costs of the prescriptions because I had kept the stickers). Overall, particularly as you can be under stress when going to doctors in foreign parts, and so not be in the best position to negotiate, I have formed the impression that it is best not to rely totally on the EHIC, but to have travel insurance as well. |
Agreed absolutely.
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1969jma, Direct Travel used to be good for previous medical conditions - apparently they have a different mechanism for assessing risk to the majority of other insurance companies. I went skiing with my lower arm in a cast, but with a consultant's note saying he was happy for me to ski, and they were fine with that - no loading on the premium and not even excluding further injuries to that wrist. They have changed the terms of their policy substantially in the last year though so this may have changed also - but still worth giving them a shot, http://www.direct-travel.co.uk . (Unfortunately those changes mean their annual policy is no longer a goer for me)
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GrahamN, DT were happy to renew our policy when J was still undergoing treatment for his neck injury, and to insure him for anything that happened while we were back on the slopes. They did increase the premium but not by a huige amount, and once he was discharged by the hospital , and we needed to renew again, the premium returned to normal.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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stevomcd, When my daughter was in Iterlaken hospital there was no contribution to pay with THE EHIC Card. The amount you have pay in State hospitals depends on which country you are in.
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1969jma, hope your treatment goes well. One possibility, if you find UK-based travel insurance impractical, would be to buy a travel policy which excludes your previous medical conditions and top it up with the local piste insurance which would get you off the mountain, no questions asked, and delivered to a medical facility. I think that probably most clinics in French ski resorts will be private. BUT if you had a serious medical problem (ie not just a busted knee or broken leg, which they are quite likely to sort out on the spot - but at a considerable cost which would not be covered by EHIC) you are going to be into the proper French health system PDQ. So with EHIC your extra costs will be manageable. I am taking that approach with our insurance - we have an expensive (£280) annual policy but it won't cover my OH's pre-existing health conditions - of which ischaemic heart disease is the significant one in this context.
We have an apartment in France, and so getting stuck out there wouldn't be a problem in terms of extra costs, and we have no "cancellation" issues (I excluded all that stuff from our annual insurance to reduce the cost).
Medical repatriation can be very expensive (extra seats on planes for legs in full length plasters/supports etc, private ambulances) but I take the view that if the OH has a series heart problem in France we stay there till he's well enough to travel. If he died (of a heart problem, rather than skiing over a cliff) the travel insurance wouldn't help, but I don't see why it would be any more expensive to die in France than die in the UK and we have no insurance for that! Family members could fly out for the funeral and have a ski holiday at the same time. 
I did debate doing without UK insurance altogether - I am the only driver but if I was unable to drive (broken leg or similar) and we needed to get home I have any number of competent drivers in the family who would jump on a plane and drive us back, with no problem. The Carte Neige and EHIC do, between them, cover a good deal of what we might need. But in the end I chickened out - thinking that there could well be many situations which are hard to envisage in advance - and paid up for the annual policy.
You can't blame insurance companies for being so wary of pre-existing illnesses. And a doctor's note doesn't mean much, does it? the doctor might be quite happy that skiing would not put you at extra risk, compared to staying in the UK, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be a poor gamble for an insurance policy.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| achilles wrote: |
| snowball, do they cover you for the States as well? |
I haven't asked but I assume so. Their phone is 0845 230 5000
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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pam w, I've considered the same, even though we have needed to claim, as the medical costs outisde of EHIC were affordable, and some of them could still have been claimed back from DWP. We would have just taken the hit on the hotel costs for me in Grenoble etc, but the ambulances and the flights would have been scary money when it was all added up, and we couldn't have remained in France indefinitely.
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| Quote: |
the ambulances and the flights would have been scary money when it was all added up
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that's right - they are scary. But if the OH had a medical problem related to his pre-existing conditions, the insurance won't cover them anyway. If it's trauma - even something as bad as your OH had, after a ski accident, then we'll have no problem. We can remain in France moderately indefinitely.
This very stormy weather reminds me that some years ago, when we were in La Plagne, a freak tornado took half the roof off our house. The insurance flew the OH home - private taxi transfer both ends, and scheduled BA flight to the local airport. They would have flown me home too but I decided to stay and ski!
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You know it makes sense.
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Thank you for the advice given. Making contact with most companies they wouldn't offer any cover, two offered cover costing over £500
All Clear Travel Limited costings was £145.00
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks, jma for raising this thread. One of my party has had an op for a chronic condition in May and we are having trouble getting cover.
Will try All Clear.
Dobby
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Poster: A snowHead
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1969jma, Just clarify for me please, are the excluding/loading the cover for the pre existing condition only? Ie are they saying, we'll cover you but not in relation to this disclosed condition, so therefore you could get a "regular" priced policy to cover you for accidents, food poisoning etc and carry your own risk in relation to your condition? It would be unusual for insurers not to offer a straightforward accident type policy. The problem often can be solved in speaking to someone that isn't just ticking boxes on a screen and reading through a script. Ultimately what are you looking to cover? Do you need cover for your condition? You'll be in France so will the e111 (or whatever it's called now) be ok to access treatment relating to your condition should it flare up in any way? And therefore having this excluded from your policy may not be an issue? In circumstances like this I'd always recommend speaking to a broker rather than direct insurers, this way you get an insurance professional acting as your agent, ie presenting your circumstances to the insurers in an underwriting friendly manner and fighting your corner for you. Feel free to pm me if you want any assistance, not pimping my wares, I deal in global corporate insurance not personal lines but might be able to give you a few pointers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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snobunni,
My cover will be a normal policy PLUS anything related to the blood clot and artery, these are the things i've disclosed and I asked for the exact wording mentioned in consultants notes to be included on the policy ( in the event of a claim there can be no quibbling). This was advised by neuro surgeon. Cover is for 5 Million
I was advised that the EHIC would not be sufficient cover PLUS there is always a possibility you are taken from mountain to a private medical centre where an EHIC is not valid in anycase
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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debgroom, does your insurance policy cover the specific medical needs of the OP?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Snowsport England Insurance is a trading style of Dogtag Ltd.
According to their Website! 
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