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Travel insurance.

9fingers

9fingers

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Swmbo and I have an annual travel policy with Nationwide banking for £13 per month plus £65 for letting ourselves become over 70 total £221 pa. It covers worldwide destinations, no high risk activities and voluntarily we have excluded pre-existing health problems. Cover is essentially, cancellation, luggage and unexpected health issues.
Nationwide are upping the monthly fee by £5 to £18 plus the £65 (=£281) and I would not be surprised if the age surcharges rises at renewal either. Underlying cover is with Aviva

My question is how does this compare with other providers. I'm cautious about just asking for a quote just in case we get a refusal of cover due to the pre-existng health issues as companies seem to ask "have you ever been refused cover before"

Does £281 -maybe £300 ish sound good value?
 
For a two week cruise next year we have been quoted between 400 and 600 for the two of us both 70+ with medical conditions. If we go this year the most expensive was 700 but one was 243 for this year.

Have a look totaltravelprotection.com for an idea.
 
I don't think a company saying they can't quote is the same as one refusing to actually insure you. There can be several reasons i'e we have oil c/h and some won't cover it for house insurance. so if asked I think it fine to answer "no".

It you're still concerned try a price comparison or broker as they should only offer actual quotes.
 
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Lons said:
I don't think a company saying they can't quote isn't the same as one refusing to actually insure you. There can be several reasons i'e we have oil c/h and some won't cover it for house insurance. so if asked I think it fine to answer "no".

It you're still concerned try a price comparison or broker as they should only offer actual quotes.
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Bob’s answer is 100% correct.

To be declined insurance you would need to accept a quote, fill in a proposal form and say that you want to go ahead first. The fact you will not fit all insurance providers new business underwriting criteria is not material.
 
I haven't got much to say about travel insurance, but avoid ABTA like the plague. We're insured through them and following Carolyn's accident have made some claims for trips away we had planned. They've been an absolute nightmare to deal with and have caused no end of stress on top of everything else we've had to deal with.

They even deleted a complaint out-of-hand because it hadn't included a claim reference number (we were complaining about the fact they hadn't given us a claim reference number despite sending a confirmation email saying they'd received the claim information).
 
If you reach an impasse, your situation sounds like one that the Telegraph would get its teeth into on your behalf.
 
9fingers said:
Swmbo and I have an annual travel policy with Nationwide banking for £13 per month plus £65 for letting ourselves become over 70 total £221 pa. It covers worldwide destinations, no high risk activities and voluntarily we have excluded pre-existing health problems. Cover is essentially, cancellation, luggage and unexpected health issues.
Nationwide are upping the monthly fee by £5 to £18 plus the £65 (=£281) and I would not be surprised if the age surcharges rises at renewal either. Underlying cover is with Aviva

My question is how does this compare with other providers. I'm cautious about just asking for a quote just in case we get a refusal of cover due to the pre-existng health issues as companies seem to ask "have you ever been refused cover before"

Does £281 -maybe £300 ish sound good value?
Click to expand...
How long are you allowed to be away for at any one time? Mine is limited to 30 days, but I can do it time after time, - not very handy having to go home after each 30 day slot lol. Just in the process of getting heath insurance here in the States, it looks as though it will be a £450 per month type amount!
Ian (69)
 
9fingers said:
Swmbo and I have an annual travel policy with Nationwide banking for £13 per month plus £65 for letting ourselves become over 70 total £221 pa. It covers worldwide destinations, no high risk activities and voluntarily we have excluded pre-existing health problems. Cover is essentially, cancellation, luggage and unexpected health issues.
Nationwide are upping the monthly fee by £5 to £18 plus the £65 (=£281) and I would not be surprised if the age surcharges rises at renewal either. Underlying cover is with Aviva

My question is how does this compare with other providers. I'm cautious about just asking for a quote just in case we get a refusal of cover due to the pre-existng health issues as companies seem to ask "have you ever been refused cover before"

Does £281 -maybe £300 ish sound good value?
Click to expand...
Sounds about right Bob. We have a similar policy with LV, underwritten by Aviva. When SWIMBO broke her arm and dislocated her shoulder in Japan around 18 months ago, she had to have an operation in Kyoto, costing around £10K. Once all the paper work etc had been put in place there was absolutely no problem with the finance including staying at a rather posh, 4**** hotel over night and the Shinkansen fare back to Tokyo to rejoin the tour group.
Tempting though it is, I would counsel NOT to change to a cheap jack outfit, which may, or may not cough up the spondulicos when you really, really need it - Rob

Edit: included in the quote are pre-existing health conditions
 
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We're with Nationwide, too. In my case I have had to declare several long-term medical conditions. They used to follow up with my GP, but this last year they haven't. This will be the first year for ages when we've spent more than a month across the Atlantic.

Nationwide used to use UK Insurance (can't remember the actual underwriters), but when I called UKI to check our cover details this year, they said they've lost the contract from 2025 onwards. I can't remember who is replacing them.

I doubt it will be cheaper, but it might be worth checking with the new people...
 
Woodbloke said:
Sounds about right Bob. We have a similar policy with LV, underwritten by Aviva. When SWIMBO broke her arm and dislocated her shoulder in Japan around 18 months ago, she had to have an operation in Kyoto, costing around £10K. Once all the paper work etc had been put in place there was absolutely no problem with the finance including staying at a rather posh, 4**** hotel over night and the Shinkansen fare back to Tokyo to rejoin the tour group.
Tempting though it is, I would counsel NOT to change to a cheap jack outfit, which may, or may not cough up the spondulicos when you really, really need it - Rob

Edit: included in the quote are pre-existing health conditions
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I think you mean underwritten by Allianz (who own LV) rather than Aviva Rob?
 
Blackswanwood said:
I think you mean underwritten by Allianz (who own LV) rather than Aviva Rob?
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Pretty sure it was Aviva (in Norfolk) could be wrong though; wouldn't be the first time😁 Whoever it was, there was absolutely no problem with the policy and setting all the wheels in motion to get SWIMBO sorted out in Japan - Rob
 
Woodbloke said:
Pretty sure it was Aviva (in Norfolk) could be wrong though; wouldn't be the first time😁 Whoever it was, there was absolutely no problem with the policy and setting all the wheels in motion to get SWIMBO sorted out in Japan - Rob
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It’s definitely Allianz now Rob - they bought LV in 2017.
 
Blackswanwood said:
It’s definitely Allianz now Rob - they bought LV in 2017.
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No.1 son used to work for Allianz in Londres a few years ago. Apparently a couple of their employees in the USA had their fingers in the till and were operating some sort of financial scam which soon became public; I advised him to get out asap in case 'that which can't be named' hit the fan. He did thankfully and now works for a far better (so he mentions) French outfit with an office in Paternoster Square near St.Paul's Cathedral - Rob
 
If travel insurance is difficult to find in your early 70s, wait until you’ve passed age 75. After that, many companies refuse to quote. There are a few such as Staysure who offer cover into your 80s but add-ons for existing conditions can stack up. What annoys me is that, if you take care of yourself, have regular blood pressure and blood tests and get medication to control any problems, they jack the premiums up. They don’t ask what your blood pressure or cholesterol levels were before taking the tablets or what they are now. They don’t ask about height, weight or when you last had a medical check up. Hence, if you haven’t been to see a doctor for years, you’re regarded as a better risk than someone who looks after their health. In my wife’s case, who suffers from a COPD which is under control, one of the questions that is asked is “Can she walk 100 yards on the flat without getting out of breath”. When I replied that, in the previous week, she had walked 9 miles of the North Downs Way including over 600 feet of ascent without difficulty, the question was merely repeated! Rant over.
 
I turned 70 this year and also started taking pills for my blood pressure plus a claim last year.
Was quite surprised that our annual travel insurance only went up by around 10%.
Ours is Santander ( underwritten by Chubb).
 
I think the increase in premiums comes when you pass age 75. After that age only a handful of companies will offer cover hence a more limited choice to choose from. I've been with Staysure since reaching age 75 when Aviva and LV, who had previously insured my wife and I, stopped providing cover.

As it happens, the probability of death in the year following age 75 is 50% higher than at age 70 and at age 80 it's double although, when calculating their premiums, the insurance companies are probably more worried about sickness whilst abroad..
 
9fingers said:
Swmbo and I have an annual travel policy with Nationwide banking for £13 per month plus £65 for letting ourselves become over 70 total £221 pa. It covers worldwide destinations, no high risk activities and voluntarily we have excluded pre-existing health problems. Cover is essentially, cancellation, luggage and unexpected health issues.
Nationwide are upping the monthly fee by £5 to £18 plus the £65 (=£281) and I would not be surprised if the age surcharges rises at renewal either. Underlying cover is with Aviva

My question is how does this compare with other providers. I'm cautious about just asking for a quote just in case we get a refusal of cover due to the pre-existng health issues as companies seem to ask "have you ever been refused cover before"

Does £281 -maybe £300 ish sound good value?
Click to expand...
Is that insurance not the one that notionally effectively free as part of paying the flexplus account fee? If so it also includes UK and european breakdown cover, family mobile phone insurance and no fees for using the flexplus debit card abroad ( though how good their exchange rates are i don’t know). In addition the £13 a month had been that for the last 7 years.
 
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