Travelling with a medical condition

[Bob The Skutter]

Some friends have recently asked me if I'd like to go to Canada with them later in the year, and perhaps Spain in the near future. So I've been trying to get things arranged now so I know they're in place when we go.
I've talked to my doctors and they're fine with my travelling, even an 8 (or so) hour flight to Canada so long as I have oxygen on stand by on the plane.
I've looked in to it and British Airways offer oxygen during their flights for free, so should just have to contact them about the flight and arrange it and that should be fine.

Everything seemed to be going fine in getting things set up, but I seem to have run in to problems with getting travel insurance arranged. As soon as I mention I need oxygen for travelling they say they can't cover me, or the ones that will cover me ask insane premiums, like 2 to 3 times the cost of the holiday.

Does anyone else have a medical condition and have trouble getting cover? Or any one got any recommendations for good, reasonably priced insurance companies who cover pre-existing medical problems?

 

[Alpha Romeo]

WHat are you trying to insure? Your medical equipment? Yourself?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm trying to get travel insurance for myself while on holiday. I have a heart and lung condition but I have doctors approval, the airline will provide oxygen, and I can arrange oxygen to be supplied to the place we're staying if needs be. While it's not likely, as I'm stable and on treatment for my condition, I just want to be on the safe side and know I'm covered should there be any medical problems while in Canada.

 

[CaptJimboJones]

I'm trying to get travel insurance for myself while on holiday. I have a heart and lung condition but I have doctors approval, the airline will provide oxygen, and I can arrange oxygen to be supplied to the place we're staying if needs be. While it's not likely, as I'm stable and on treatment for my condition, I just want to be on the safe side and know I'm covered should there be any medical problems while in Canada.

I'm confused, it sounds to me like you're talking about health insurance, in which case you should contact your provider to determine the availability and costs of care in foreign countries (most plans do have some level of coverage for foreign travel).

Travel insurance is typically insurance to cover the cost of the trip in case you have to cancel unexpectedly (ie, they'll reimburse your airfare, hotel deposits, prepaid expenses, etc.) That shouldn't really be impacted by your medical condition.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm trying to get travel insurance for myself while on holiday. I have a heart and lung condition but I have doctors approval, the airline will provide oxygen, and I can arrange oxygen to be supplied to the place we're staying if needs be. While it's not likely, as I'm stable and on treatment for my condition, I just want to be on the safe side and know I'm covered should there be any medical problems while in Canada.

I'm confused, it sounds to me like you're talking about health insurance, in which case you should contact your provider to determine the availability and costs of care in foreign countries (most plans do have some level of coverage for foreign travel).

Travel insurance is typically insurance to cover the cost of the trip in case you have to cancel unexpectedly (ie, they'll reimburse your airfare, hotel deposits, prepaid expenses, etc.) That shouldn't really be impacted by your medical condition.

Because we have universal healthcare in the UK people don't have health insurance, so travel insurance covers medical costs in foreign countries as well as flight cancellations and baggage loss.

 

[trampledamage]

Who have you tried contacting, Bob? BUPA offer travel insurance, but I don't know how they'd be about your existing medical conditions.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Who have you tried contacting, Bob? BUPA offer travel insurance, but I don't know how they'd be about your existing medical conditions.

I've tried my bank (Barclays), Freedom Travel, Aventis, Citybond, FreeSpirit, Healthcare Partners, All Clear, and I'm waiting for a call back from one or two others. I've had 3 quotes so far, the rest have refused. One quote was £1560, one was £768 and the other was £567, I can't afford any of those on top of the cost of the holiday.
I was thinking it'd probably be about double usual costs, which on most of those sites is somewhere between £25 and £60, but those quotes are just insanely high.

 

[Captain Shaw]

Confuse.com says if you click I don't meet the assumptions but still want a quote box at the bottom of the page it will give you a list.
https://www.confused.com/pages/tr_a...ctName=travel&MediaCode=99&BrandName=confused

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Confuse.com says if you click I don't meet the assumptions but still want a quote box at the bottom of the page it will give you a list.
https://www.confused.com/pages/tr_a...ctName=travel&MediaCode=99&BrandName=confused

Thanks, just tried one of the sites and the quote is £270... so it's improving, but still high. At least I know some cheaper ones to tell them when they ask what quotes I've had so far.

 

[Holdfast]

Specialist Travel Insurance for serious pre-existing medical conditions is often ferociously expensive. I don't know many specialist health/travel insurers, and you've already tried the ones I do know. It might be worth trawling forums for people with various chronic conditions (not just your own), because there must be quite a few people stuck in similar positions. They may have some suggestions in threads already there. Good luck!

 

[Marc]

Confuse.com says if you click I don't meet the assumptions but still want a quote box at the bottom of the page it will give you a list.
https://www.confused.com/pages/tr_a...ctName=travel&MediaCode=99&BrandName=confused

Thanks, just tried one of the sites and the quote is £270... so it's improving, but still high. At least I know some cheaper ones to tell them when they ask what quotes I've had so far.

Are you booking the plane tickets on line? I'm just wondering if you'd better of going through a travel agent. They would have some knowledge in the area about travel insurance and can make sure that you requirements are met (as my wife has proven, there's always the chance that the airline will screw up but if a TA does the book then you know there and there it's been booked properly).

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Who have you tried contacting, Bob? BUPA offer travel insurance, but I don't know how they'd be about your existing medical conditions.

I've tried my bank (Barclays), Freedom Travel, Aventis, Citybond, FreeSpirit, Healthcare Partners, All Clear, and I'm waiting for a call back from one or two others. I've had 3 quotes so far, the rest have refused. One quote was £1560, one was £768 and the other was £567, I can't afford any of those on top of the cost of the holiday.
I was thinking it'd probably be about double usual costs, which on most of those sites is somewhere between £25 and £60, but those quotes are just insanely high.

Do you have to purchase this insurance in either your home country or the one you're traveling to? If not, I'm finding myself wondering, would it be cheaper to purchase insurance through the US? Given that we don't have universal health care, and we have a HUGE population purchasing private insurance either individually or through their companies, compared to the populations of Canada or England (I believe the total US population is now 300 million, and a relatively large portion of that is insured), I find myself wondering if the costs might be spread out enough that it would cost a bit less than through a British or Canadian company? I may be completely wrong on that, though, but it's a thought. (Mind you, I still expect it would be expensive, but I'm wondering if it might be...not quite as insane.)

And again, I do NOT know the legalities of purchasing insurance in a third country.

 

[Count Zero]

I'm confused, it sounds to me like you're talking about health insurance, in which case you should contact your provider to determine the availability and costs of care in foreign countries (most plans do have some level of coverage for foreign travel).

Travel insurance is typically insurance to cover the cost of the trip in case you have to cancel unexpectedly (ie, they'll reimburse your airfare, hotel deposits, prepaid expenses, etc.) That shouldn't really be impacted by your medical condition.

Because we have universal healthcare in the UK people don't have health insurance, so travel insurance covers medical costs in foreign countries as well as flight cancellations and baggage loss.

Well, you should be covered within the EU (since you mentioned plans of going to Spain). I know I was covered when I was on holiday in Scotland. You might need to request a document, though (it looks like a cheap ID, over here most people have it integrated in their insurance IDs).
I've never been outside Europe so I don't have any advice on that front.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Specialist Travel Insurance for serious pre-existing medical conditions is often ferociously expensive. I don't know many specialist health/travel insurers, and you've already tried the ones I do know. It might be worth trawling forums for people with various chronic conditions (not just your own), because there must be quite a few people stuck in similar positions. They may have some suggestions in threads already there. Good luck!

Thanks. I'm thinking the trip to Spain will be fine without medical cover so long as I have the EHIC with me any emergencies that arise should be covered well enough, but it's really not worth the risk going to Canada without cover.
The strange thing is I got cover fine 10 years ago when I went to the US and it wasn't expensive. But I guess things change.

Confuse.com says if you click I don't meet the assumptions but still want a quote box at the bottom of the page it will give you a list.
https://www.confused.com/pages/tr_a...ctName=travel&MediaCode=99&BrandName=confused

Thanks, just tried one of the sites and the quote is £270... so it's improving, but still high. At least I know some cheaper ones to tell them when they ask what quotes I've had so far.

Are you booking the plane tickets on line? I'm just wondering if you'd better of going through a travel agent. They would have some knowledge in the area about travel insurance and can make sure that you requirements are met (as my wife has proven, there's always the chance that the airline will screw up but if a TA does the book then you know there and there it's been booked properly).

The prices we've looked at have been through BA's own website, but we haven't made solid plans yet, not until I know I can get cover, medical notes, oxygen on the plane and in Canada if needed. But that's a fair point, it might be a good idea to check out some travel agencies to see if they can recommend anything.

Who have you tried contacting, Bob? BUPA offer travel insurance, but I don't know how they'd be about your existing medical conditions.

I've tried my bank (Barclays), Freedom Travel, Aventis, Citybond, FreeSpirit, Healthcare Partners, All Clear, and I'm waiting for a call back from one or two others. I've had 3 quotes so far, the rest have refused. One quote was £1560, one was £768 and the other was £567, I can't afford any of those on top of the cost of the holiday.
I was thinking it'd probably be about double usual costs, which on most of those sites is somewhere between £25 and £60, but those quotes are just insanely high.

Do you have to purchase this insurance in either your home country or the one you're traveling to? If not, I'm finding myself wondering, would it be cheaper to purchase insurance through the US? Given that we don't have universal health care, and we have a HUGE population purchasing private insurance either individually or through their companies, compared to the populations of Canada or England (I believe the total US population is now 300 million, and a relatively large portion of that is insured), I find myself wondering if the costs might be spread out enough that it would cost a bit less than through a British or Canadian company? I may be completely wrong on that, though, but it's a thought. (Mind you, I still expect it would be expensive, but I'm wondering if it might be...not quite as insane.)

And again, I do NOT know the legalities of purchasing insurance in a third country.

That's not something I've ever thought of, but many of the ones I've tried are connected to or underwritten by big international insurers or banks, so I wouldn't think it would make too much difference.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm confused, it sounds to me like you're talking about health insurance, in which case you should contact your provider to determine the availability and costs of care in foreign countries (most plans do have some level of coverage for foreign travel).

Travel insurance is typically insurance to cover the cost of the trip in case you have to cancel unexpectedly (ie, they'll reimburse your airfare, hotel deposits, prepaid expenses, etc.) That shouldn't really be impacted by your medical condition.

Because we have universal healthcare in the UK people don't have health insurance, so travel insurance covers medical costs in foreign countries as well as flight cancellations and baggage loss.

Well, you should be covered within the EU (since you mentioned plans of going to Spain). I know I was covered when I was on holiday in Scotland. You might need to request a document, though (it looks like a cheap ID, over here most people have it integrated in their insurance IDs).
I've never been outside Europe so I don't have any advice on that front.

Yeah, I've applied for the European Health Insurance Card so that should cover me well enough for travel in Europe and reciprocal healthcare agreements cover various other countries too, but not Canada unfortunately.

My sister is planning on getting married abroad too, and has yet to set firm plans as to where, so I was hoping I'd find somewhere easy to get insurance so that if it was outside of Europe I could just go straight to that company without all this faffing about in the future.

 

[Marc]

Specialist Travel Insurance for serious pre-existing medical conditions is often ferociously expensive. I don't know many specialist health/travel insurers, and you've already tried the ones I do know. It might be worth trawling forums for people with various chronic conditions (not just your own), because there must be quite a few people stuck in similar positions. They may have some suggestions in threads already there. Good luck!

Thanks. I'm thinking the trip to Spain will be fine without medical cover so long as I have the EHIC with me any emergencies that arise should be covered well enough, but it's really not worth the risk going to Canada without cover.
The strange thing is I got cover fine 10 years ago when I went to the US and it wasn't expensive. But I guess things change.

Are you booking the plane tickets on line? I'm just wondering if you'd better of going through a travel agent. They would have some knowledge in the area about travel insurance and can make sure that you requirements are met (as my wife has proven, there's always the chance that the airline will screw up but if a TA does the book then you know there and there it's been booked properly).

The prices we've looked at have been through BA's own website, but we haven't made solid plans yet, not until I know I can get cover, medical notes, oxygen on the plane and in Canada if needed. But that's a fair point, it might be a good idea to check out some travel agencies to see if they can recommend anything.

I've tried my bank (Barclays), Freedom Travel, Aventis, Citybond, FreeSpirit, Healthcare Partners, All Clear, and I'm waiting for a call back from one or two others. I've had 3 quotes so far, the rest have refused. One quote was £1560, one was £768 and the other was £567, I can't afford any of those on top of the cost of the holiday.
I was thinking it'd probably be about double usual costs, which on most of those sites is somewhere between £25 and £60, but those quotes are just insanely high.

Do you have to purchase this insurance in either your home country or the one you're traveling to? If not, I'm finding myself wondering, would it be cheaper to purchase insurance through the US? Given that we don't have universal health care, and we have a HUGE population purchasing private insurance either individually or through their companies, compared to the populations of Canada or England (I believe the total US population is now 300 million, and a relatively large portion of that is insured), I find myself wondering if the costs might be spread out enough that it would cost a bit less than through a British or Canadian company? I may be completely wrong on that, though, but it's a thought. (Mind you, I still expect it would be expensive, but I'm wondering if it might be...not quite as insane.)

And again, I do NOT know the legalities of purchasing insurance in a third country.

That's not something I've ever thought of, but many of the ones I've tried are connected to or underwritten by big international insurers or banks, so I wouldn't think it would make too much difference.

I don't think it would work - becasue you need to have the insurance in place before you leave the U.K becasue it's not just covering you for medical reasons.

that said I think of some of the Canadian insurers allow you take out coverage after you arrive in country but that may only really work if you're going to be here for a while.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I've tried my bank (Barclays), Freedom Travel, Aventis, Citybond, FreeSpirit, Healthcare Partners, All Clear, and I'm waiting for a call back from one or two others. I've had 3 quotes so far, the rest have refused. One quote was £1560, one was £768 and the other was £567, I can't afford any of those on top of the cost of the holiday.
I was thinking it'd probably be about double usual costs, which on most of those sites is somewhere between £25 and £60, but those quotes are just insanely high.

Do you have to purchase this insurance in either your home country or the one you're traveling to? If not, I'm finding myself wondering, would it be cheaper to purchase insurance through the US? Given that we don't have universal health care, and we have a HUGE population purchasing private insurance either individually or through their companies, compared to the populations of Canada or England (I believe the total US population is now 300 million, and a relatively large portion of that is insured), I find myself wondering if the costs might be spread out enough that it would cost a bit less than through a British or Canadian company? I may be completely wrong on that, though, but it's a thought. (Mind you, I still expect it would be expensive, but I'm wondering if it might be...not quite as insane.)

And again, I do NOT know the legalities of purchasing insurance in a third country.

That's not something I've ever thought of, but many of the ones I've tried are connected to or underwritten by big international insurers or banks, so I wouldn't think it would make too much difference.

Guess you won't know until you try it. It probably comes down to how separate the different operating companies of those international insurers are--whether they're structured so that the pool of insured from Britain is indeed tied to that much larger pool in the US or not. There is, statistically, a difference in the risk level of a larger pool versus a smaller one...the question is just whether you're allowed to go straight to the US companies instead of the British ones that are affiliated with them, or not. (And if the rates really are lower, which again I don't know...but at least in my head it makes sense.)

 

[Marc]

Do you have to purchase this insurance in either your home country or the one you're traveling to? If not, I'm finding myself wondering, would it be cheaper to purchase insurance through the US? Given that we don't have universal health care, and we have a HUGE population purchasing private insurance either individually or through their companies, compared to the populations of Canada or England (I believe the total US population is now 300 million, and a relatively large portion of that is insured), I find myself wondering if the costs might be spread out enough that it would cost a bit less than through a British or Canadian company? I may be completely wrong on that, though, but it's a thought. (Mind you, I still expect it would be expensive, but I'm wondering if it might be...not quite as insane.)

And again, I do NOT know the legalities of purchasing insurance in a third country.

That's not something I've ever thought of, but many of the ones I've tried are connected to or underwritten by big international insurers or banks, so I wouldn't think it would make too much difference.

Guess you won't know until you try it. It probably comes down to how separate the different operating companies of those international insurers are--whether they're structured so that the pool of insured from Britain is indeed tied to that much larger pool in the US or not. There is, statistically, a difference in the risk level of a larger pool versus a smaller one...the question is just whether you're allowed to go straight to the US companies instead of the British ones that are affiliated with them, or not. (And if the rates really are lower, which again I don't know...but at least in my head it makes sense.)

have yoiu ever travelled? Ever had to take out Travel insurance?

Becasue it's a temporary thing for because you're visting a country on a temporary basis and just don't cover you for health, it covers for lost baggage, it covers for missed flights - the local rules for getting health insurance don't apply and it has nothing to do with pool size and this case everything to do with risk size.

and in case you're wonderin yes I have twice - both time for trips from Australain to Canada and each time it cost me about around $200.

 

[StolenThunder]

Specialist Travel Insurance for serious pre-existing medical conditions is often ferociously expensive. I don't know many specialist health/travel insurers, and you've already tried the ones I do know. It might be worth trawling forums for people with various chronic conditions (not just your own), because there must be quite a few people stuck in similar positions. They may have some suggestions in threads already there. Good luck!

That's what I was going to suggest. I don't know about any companies or costs, but a fair few do exist. Try the chronic kidney disease websites, it's a condition where people need insured but are asymptomatic enough to do a lot of travelling.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Specialist Travel Insurance for serious pre-existing medical conditions is often ferociously expensive. I don't know many specialist health/travel insurers, and you've already tried the ones I do know. It might be worth trawling forums for people with various chronic conditions (not just your own), because there must be quite a few people stuck in similar positions. They may have some suggestions in threads already there. Good luck!

That's what I was going to suggest. I don't know about any companies or costs, but a fair few do exist. Try the chronic kidney disease websites, it's a condition where people need insured but are asymptomatic enough to do a lot of travelling.

There seems to be quite a few people on the PHA website who travel a lot but the ones I've tried that have been recommended there either disqualified me as soon as oxygen was mentioned or charged way more than I can afford. I'll ask a couple of brokers and if I get no joy I'll take a look around other websites for chronic conditions as suggested.