Back again!

Just a word of warning about the M&S policy. Whilst it seems better than most in most aspects I have noticed something which could affect a lot of people (but not me!). The Cancellation cover has an exclusion of Travel tickets paid for using any airline mileage reward scheme, for example Air Miles. Some other policies will pay a nominal market value for these tickets so if that's how you got your tickets you might be better off with one of those companies.

Don't tell me about small print

I've been reading lots of small print concerning "pre-existing conditions" after encountering a loophole with annual insurance. We have an annual insurance with Ace, due for renewal at the end of February. We have a holiday, booked last November for June this year. Over Christmas my partner developed a minor problem and to cut a long story short, he needs a minor operation, now planned for early March. Ace have informed me that they won't renew, as he is on a hospital waiting list, or at most, at their discretion, might insure us, exluding anything to do with this op. My research found this article from the ombudsman, showing this can be a problem whith annual travel insurance and it seems to recommend cancelling at this point before we pay the balance.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/49/annual-travel-insurance.htm

I have since found a couple of specialist insurers who may insure us despite this operation.

http://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/
http://www.free-spirit.com/

Travel insurance is really a minefield and once you start reading the small print, you wonder if it covers anything much

One possible way out - has the doctor said you can't go? The holiday is covered up to when the current insurance expires, if you're told you need to cancel whilst it is still insured it doesn't matter that the holiday would have been after.

But I suspect your problem is that you ought to be able to go but need cover just in case things go wrong. At this point I don't see a way round the small print, with hindsight it may have been possible to take out the February renewal back in November. Something for others to consider if they book well in advance. And it's not just serious illness that could drop you in this situation - pregnancy could do it as well.

I have (almost) paid the holiday in full (just a last little bit now) and I could change it now I would have thought for an admin fee. However without going into too much detail Father in law has no time prognosis just that the inevitable will happen at some point (poor soul!). I could ammend it for another year and still be in the same situation then. I dont want to cancell it really and I have checked out possible flights home. We would have to fly from guardalavaca to Havana and then Cubana home to uk if we were needed. Or hubby would do the trip and I would follow with kids on flight from guardalavaca when available.
It isnt the cancelling it or the postponing it thats a real problem its the not knowing what Im doing. The kids dont realise how ill grandad is and are so excited for their holiday but at the end of the day though, family is more important (well some of them!!) so Id forsake the hol and money wouldnt matter at the time.

Mickey, if I were in your position, I'd go ahead with the holiday plans. Chances are nothing will happen in those weeks and as you say, your children are looking forward to the holiday. If you're willing to risk the holiday cost, you could always back out at the last minute if things had deteriorated by then. We went through similar emotions for a number of years when my mother-in-law was in and out of hospital with heart problems. We knew that we wouldn't be covered if we had to cancel or cut short a holiday but it was either that or not go at all - besides, she didn't want us to change our plans for her either. In the end, she had a heart attack and died a couple of weeks after we returned from a holiday. Make the most of your time with him now. It might be worth phoning one of the companies I mentioned above, as they also mention "terminal cover" and were very helpful when I phoned them. All the best, whatever you decide to do.

Our position is that (barring unforseen circumstances) my hubbies op should be minor and he should be fully recoverd in a month or so. It should not affect the holiday at all but most companies won't cover for that. It is more complicated as other members of the family are coming too (grown up son, daughter and her husband and our grandchild), I don't want to cancel as if it came to the worse, they could go on their own - we have booked a villa and flights independantly, so it would be cancel all or nothing! If we couldn't go, it would be a real pain but my main concern is being covered for unforseen medical difficulties once there. We're currently planning to wait 'til after the op, get assurance from the doctor that he will be fit to travel (fingers crossed) and then go with one of the companies above, who assure us they would insure at that point.

What I do wonder after this, is the wisdom of taking out annual insurance, especially for holiday bookings that straddle the renewal period.

Thanks for the advice, I am going to give the allclear insurance company a call tomorrow for a quote. Thanks

Had a quote today from all clear travel for £230 for all 4 of us and to cover cancellation for father in laws illness even though he isnt coming but if we are needed here for any reason. Didnt think it was too bad in comparison to losing the cost of the holiday. I have 7 days to agree or not so Ill probably go with them.
Thanks for the advice

Hi Micky, glan you managed to find something. All Clear did seem to cover the most - obviously at a cost but if you did have to cancel, it could potentially cost a lot more. I hope everything works out for you and you have no need to claim on the insurance. All the best, Maria

Thank you and thanks again for the advice. I spoke with origianl insurance today to make sure they didnt cover us even for an extra premium and they dont. However they will give us a full refund! I couldnt believe it! Well Im going to cancel it tomorrow and book with all clear just to be safe.

Hi,
Can anybody advise me what happens if I have to cancel my holiday.I've paid for the flights and the hotel through Thomson.I've not yet taken travel insurance out.There is a possibility that I might have to cancel if I require an operation.Where would I stand regarding cancellation?

Thanks

I'm afraid fenderman that if you don't have insurance already you will not be able to claim the costs back. You don't say when it is you are travelling - but you do say that you have paid in full. Have a look at the terms and conditions for cancellation with Thomson.

Your problem is that even if you swiftly took out insurance now on the basis of not knowing for sure when your operation will be, or if you will need one, and then it turned out you did need to cancel, they might want further information on your condition and that will highlight that you knew about it at the time of taking out insurance. And they wouldn't pay out.

Sorry the news isn't better but this is why it's advisable to take out insurance as soon as you book a holiday.

Hi fendernan, I also suggest you speak to All Clear. Their insurance has an option with "waiting list" cover. This is likely to be costly and I can't guarantee they will cover your case but it's worth a phone call, they were very helpful.

Thanks all,
Of course,I could wait to have the op until after the holiday.Still don't know if I need it or not so I'll wait and see.
I could always let some deserving case go in my place

You always need to read the small print, especially if you want to do any activity which may not be covered or have restrictions. For example, I do a lot of diving on my travels so need a policy that will cover 'dangerous sports', including scuba. Many standard policies will cover you to a depth of 30m (some 18m) with the clause 'must be accompanied by an instructor at all times'. Unless you are on a diving course, it is very unlikely you'll have a qualified instructor with you, normally a dive guide so in effect, you aren't covered.

I know it's a pain and hard to understand but it's important that the small print in read to make sure you're covered for your intended travel / activity.

Darren

I was looking for travel insurance at the weekend. I have pre-existing medical condition (High Blood Pressure, controlled. No change of tablets for over 2 years)
My husband is waitng for a minor operation, day surgery, on his pinkie, non urgent. He was at the hospital on Thursday and told the waiting time was 18 to 20 weeks.
We went ahead and booked the holiday for 8 weeks time.
I tried allcleartravel and free spirit, both mentioned in a previous reply. I can't remember which company was which but one declined to insure us and the other quoted £92 for 1 week in Spain. We are both under 65.
I have now taken out insurance with another company without declaring the 'pinkie issue' but am worried that if a totally unrelated illness occurs would we be covered.
(if a date for op came up clashing with our holiday, we would cancel the op as it is in no way debilitating or life threatening). Also does not declaring this invalidate any claim for loss of valuables?

The exclusion clause in most policies almost always has the phrase "directly or indirectly linked" when talking about pre-existing conditions. Indirectly gives them some leeway but they'd have to find some pretty groundbreaking medical evidence that could drag a theft claim into it (unfit to chase after the burglar???) so I don't see a problem. As for another medical problem occuring, that could get a bit murky especially if medicine is involved. For example, seeking assistance for food poisoning shouldn't clash with a problem with a toe but what if the solution was made harder because the simple medication normally prescribed couldn't be used because it reacted with something like an anti-inflammatory being taken for the toe?? Even worse, the blood pressure issue could be dragged into a lot of medical issues so if it wasn't declared you'd be in trouble.

If you were going to a European country with a reasonable level of state health cover and you have the EHIC you may not need to involve the insurance company in the event of a medical problem. But I think EHIC cover in Spain is a bit limited.

Remember. travel insurance companies make their money by taking premiums and not paying claims out (unlike car insurance where they pay the claim and make the money from increasing the premium next year).

Did declare my HBP. Husband isn't on any medication for his pinkie The problem is it is bending ( hereditery not athritis) and he can sometimes scratch and bleed his face when washing. He occasionally takes over the counter painkillers when he has been lying on it overnight but is not on any medication from the doctor

In that case doesn't sound like his problem could be dragged into anything else, just don't let him fall down the stairs and then say he couldn't grip the handrail!