Travel Insurance

[DebbieT]

I am off to New York at the weekend (together with my cpap machine) and last minute as usual have just thought about travel insurance. Do you need to declare your sleep apnea as a pre existing medical condition ? and if so can anyone recommend a travel insurance company that is reasonable, one quoted me £245 for a two week holiday which was nearly enought to buy me another one. I am quite tempted not to disclose it as i cant see what treatment i may need while i am away that relates to sleep apnea.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Debbie

[telfian]

The problem with travel insurance is not that you don't need cover for a particular condition but that failure to disclose a pre-existing medical condition invalidates all of your medical insurance. Hope you got back from your trip OK, whether you decided to declare your sleep apnea or not.

From what I have read in newspapers and seen discussed on TV this is how it works. You are on holiday and slip and break your ankle. Because you did not declare your pre-existing sleep apnea the insurers would refuse to pay out for medical treatment for your broken ankle on the grounds that you had not declared a pre-existing medical condition. The fact that the apnea and the broken ankle are not related does not matter - that is how they use their rules to avoid paying out.

[RobertLankford]

I am off to New York at the weekend (together with my cpap machine) and last minute as usual have just thought about travel insurance. Do you need to declare your sleep apnea as a pre existing medical condition ? and if so can anyone recommend a travel insurance company that is reasonable, one quoted me £245 for a two week holiday which was nearly enought to buy me another one. I am quite tempted not to disclose it as i cant see what treatment i may need while i am away that relates to sleep apnea.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Debbie

Hi Debbie, I'm in the same boat as you - and very keen to hear what happened. I have travel insurance and I've declared. My medical condition has been excluded but I'm covered for everything else.

However - this will not cover my CPAP. did you find any insurance that does?

Robert.

[Tigers Fan]

Exactly the same boat?

Hi Bob

If you are in the same boat, albeit two years later, and going to New York, you might want to think about saving the money you would have spent insuring your CPAP and instead spending it on a second machine whilst out there.

TF

[DebbieT]

I have been using Columbus travel who cover my sleep apnea and the annual policy is around £69 for a worldwide policy for both myself and my husband. I think that the added amount for sleep apnea was around £10 or less. I would assume that my cpap machine was covered under personal belongings as it hasnt been excluded. Also if you go through quidco the policy is cheaper as you get cashback as well.
I did need to make a claim last year when i fell and hurt my wrist and they paid out quickly with no problems

Hope this helps

Debbie

[Tigers Fan]

Confused!

My policy document states that I should be aware that "any claim relating to pre-existing medical conditions will not be covered."

That reads very simply to me: I have OSA, they will not insure me against an OSA related incident, therefore my OSA is nothing to do with my travel insurer and so I haven't bothered to tell them I have it.

Do I understand this correctly or am I missing a point here?

An added benefit of them not knowing I have OSA is that if I fall into a hole in a Greek pavement they will better accept that I didn't see the hole rather than that I fell asleep at the precise moment I was walking passed it.

If they won't insure me against pre-existing condition incidents, and I know this so I won't make a claim about a pre-existing condition incident, why should I bother to tell them of a pre-existing condition?

Another point I'd appeciate your thoughts on: for travel insurance purposes, is successfully treated OSA actually a pre-existing condition? The DVLA permit me to drive; my car insurane company merely noted the fact but did not increase premium; I get a good night's kip so what difference between me and the slim, young thing next door - apart from being fat and old, obviously - I'm less of a risk than her, in fact, because I'll be in bed asleep before mid-night - well, long before she is, anyway.

TF

[shuckie]

Playing devil's advocate here...

I suppose the other way of looking at it would be if, heaven forbid, you were to have a serious accident and end up in hospital under anaesthesia or similar, you would require CPAP treatment to keep your airway open. This also assumes you're carrying a SATA medical alert card to make paramedics, doctors etc aware of the situation.

If you're not carrying your CPAP with you when this hypothetical accident occurs, then presumably the hospital will need to provide one? I'm no expert on medical expenses in the States and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I would imagine that CPAP therapy will be chargeable along with any other treatment provided by the hospital. These charges would be passed to your insurance company, but if your insurance company don't know about the sleep apnoea they would probably refuse to pay for the CPAP therapy, and they may also refuse to pay your other costs as your policy would most likely be invalid.

Hopefully the chances of any of the above happening are extremely remote (fingers crossed, touchwood!), but even so would you want to risk not being covered for the sake of saving a few pounds on your travel insurance?

On a vaguely related topic I recently informed my car insurance company regarding my sleep apnoea diagnosis, after the DVLA wrote saying I could keep my licence. I was a little concerned that my premiums might go up, but the insurers weren't bothered so long as the DVLA and my doctor are happy for me to drive, which they are!


Regards

shuckie

[Tigers Fan]

any claim relating to pre-existing medical conditions will not be covered

Hi SHuckie

If any claim relating to pre-existing medical conditions will not be covered, why would you bother claiming for the CPAP used in your hypothetical operating theatre?

I take it that you envisage the "hypothetical accident" taking place in your hotel room, else why would you have your CPAP with you? Please help me with the nature of a hypothetical accident in a hotel room that is caued by CPAP/OSA - falling out of bed, maybe?

The real question is: would you invalidate your travel insurane by not declaring successfully treated OSA? Consider the attitudes of your car insurers and the DVLA.

I guess the answer is to call them and find out.

I only ever buy calamity insurance. I know others think insurane protects them.

TF

[shuckie]

Hi TF!

I have to confess that I did not envisage the hypothetical accident in great detail, however given that I was talking about needing one in hospital I assumed (perhaps incorrectly) that it was clear that the accident might happen whilst out and about somewhere else. We don't carry our CPAPs with us everywhere do we, even on holiday?

Also, I was trying to make the point that the insurance company may not pay for sleep apnoea-related treatment if they didn't already know about it (i.e. because it had not been declared). I'm not suggesting that an insurer would not pay out for a declared, pre-existing medical condition as surely that's something for the insurer to decide?


Cheers

shuckie

[RobertLankford]

Thank You!

Hi All,

I just wanted to say THANKS!

The discussion has helped me, so thank you.

Debbie T - This information is really helpful and I'm going to take up your lead today at some point. Its good info.

Shuckie - An extreemly valid point. I work for the ambulance service and knowing about a patients OSA is extreemly important especially during a collapse and reduced level of response. I always make a point of checking for alert cards, bracelets etc. I also feel it's important to be honest and upfront with the insurance company that way it can't come and bite you on the bum at a later date!!

TF - Morning! Some intresting points of discussion, I think you insurance policy would also want you to declare any condition too - but i've been in the same thought mode as you with another medical condition ... do i tell them, don't I? I now tell them everything - I know I'm covered then.

Again, Thanks to you all.
R

[Tigers Fan]

Balance

Hi

For me it's a question of balance between premium and risk.

How many accidents or illnesses that would lead to a claim on travel insurance have I had in the last ten years, twenty, thirty, forty? One, when my rucksack was breached while I was asleep on a bus in India (hm! OSA five years ago?) How many whilst at home in those periods. NOne. How much, then, do I want to spend on travel insrance? As little as possible to cover emergencies. I'm not quite brave enough to self-insure - I like to have medevac cover. I was bimbling about in Africa a couple of years ago when I remembered I had wandered outside Europe in a year when I had decided I wouldn't and had arranged travel insurance cover accordingly. I carried on bimbling and came home after a while, still right as nine pence.

Don't panic! Dying is not even a risk of living - it's guaranteed!

However, I have asked the question of my current cheap-as-chips insurer and will revert.

TF

[Lgadd1]

Hello

I used the company below who charged me £53.00 for worldwide cover.

Flexicover Direct

109 Elmers End Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 4SY
flexicover.co.uk
info[at]flexicover.co.uk
Tel: 0845 223 4500

I declared my sleep apnea and this included cover for this also.

I hope this assists.

Lisa


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QUOTE=DebbieT;4246]I am off to New York at the weekend (together with my cpap machine) and last minute as usual have just thought about travel insurance. Do you need to declare your sleep apnea as a pre existing medical condition ? and if so can anyone recommend a travel insurance company that is reasonable, one quoted me £245 for a two week holiday which was nearly enought to buy me another one. I am quite tempted not to disclose it as i cant see what treatment i may need while i am away that relates to sleep apnea.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Debbie[/QUOTE]

[dravidio]

Travel insurance annoys me. What about all the people with undiagnosed conditions - Apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, artero-sclerosis - who are really at danger when travelling - and yet people who are receiving treatment for existing conditions which greatly reduce their risk of illness are penalized because of it...

[Tigers Fan]

Minor Condition List

I can't know about your travel insurance policy but mine clearly states that you need to make a health declaration for pre-existing conditions, unless...de dah de dah including being aged under 80... and .... I suffer from conditions listed below. Said list is the Minor Conditions List and includes erectile dysfunction, hayfever and OSA among many, many others that I also don't have.

In the de dah's above, you have to be trerated for the condition.

As the young woman said, " OSA? It's on the List. You are fully covered. No worries, enjoy your holiday."

Medical cover to £10,000,000; Personal Liability to £20,000,000; Personal Accident to £20,000; Cancellation to £5000; Baggage to £2000. Total cost/annual premium £16.68 for annual, multi-trip, Europe.

So the answer is 'Yes!', you need to declare existing conditions but OSA is on the Minor Conditions exception list - in my policy.

If I lose my CPAP or it is stolen? Same as if my camera was lost or stolen, as I expected.

Need to make a fuss about travelling with OSA? Same as living your life with OSA - not a bit of it.

TF

[dravidio]

I just checked out the Flexicover site. flexicover.co.uk. I wish I had found it before I insured for my upcoming trip to the Far East in November. The standard policy covers a whole range of medical conditions - including sleep apnea -which do not have to be declared. I got a quote of £114 for an annual worldwide policy excluding USA and Canada. I am 61 and take medication for Mild Hypertension, enlarged prostate and to keep my cholesterol down - as well as having sleep apnea - all these are covered without having to declare them.

I don't work for the firm - but haven't found better on the web...