Losing to the will to live over my travel insurance!

Ugh! we are going to NZ/US in a fortnight and the one quote I had for the family from the MS Society approved insurer has quoted nearly £500!!!

So then I try to get a quote from Colombus Direct who ask if I’ve had any acute relapses in the past 12 months, to which I reply yes (i.e. my first attack), then I’m asked if I’ve had my treatment changed in the past 3 months (I was only put on treatment 10 weeks ago), so I answered yes and got a big fat no! It also asks about a hospital stay, well I did stay in one night because they thought it was the quickest way to get all my blood tests done but seems that goes against me too!

It might be cheaper to insure the family excluding you and insure yourself separately. Is there not a comparison website that you can use for this? Try all the options including insuring everyone separately.

I wish I could be more help. The only travelling I have done since dx was a week to Germany and my travel insurance was quite reasonable. I didn’t get asked all these questions either but then again Germany is in the EU so maybe that makes a difference.

Good luck and have a fabulous holiday

Tracey x

I insured myself through boots and were pretty cheap so maybe give them a ringx

Hi Ive always used allclear and they were really good, why not get a quote, good luck!!

You can take out insurance excluding current medical conditions, so it won’t cover your MS, but would cover anything else healthwise, and of course travelwise too. My hubbie and I do this when we travel in the EU, as the E1 11 (or whatever its called now) covers you for basic healthcare, including existing. I don’t know if this is something you’d be comfortable with though travelling outside Europe? Sorry can’t be more helpfull, but do try one of the comparison sites, we’ve had some great deals on and off that way.

Always use good old Nationalised Post Office cheapest and best cover; http://www.postoffice.co.uk/travelinsurance/single-trip

You can still be insured if you do not meet their restrictions; it’s just your pre-existing condition will not be covered

I’m another fan of All Clear. My insurance inclusive of MS wasn’t actually any more expensive than they’d quoted without it, so a complete no-brainer to go for it, obviously. But I was fortunate in not having any recent acute relapses or hospital admissions to declare, nor any marked deterioration in ability to care for myself. I’m sure any of those would have bumped it up. It also varies depending on the destination. The U.S, in particular, is very dear, as healthcare is so expensive there, so that might be what is really pushing it up in your case. I’ve no idea where N.Z. stands in the scheme of things - whether they are also expensive.

£500 does sound a lot, but you don’t say how big your family is. What is that, per person? And what is it as a proportion of your holiday cost? It doesn’t sound like a cheap trip, so, in context, is £500 a lot extra, to cover everyone for everything?

Tina

x

Thanks all. Well I went with Columbus in the end as they only required 12 months medical history.

I changed my answer to not having changed treatment within 3 months because the reality is I was allocated that treatment 3 months ago and haven’t changed it.

We are a family of 4 and what I find infuriating is that if you complete 2 years worth of medical history, I was pregnant within that time and you even have to note heartburn, constipation and thrush, all of which are common in pregnancy and also for my one year old daughter, you have to mention that they had infant colic amongst other things and they also bump up your premium for that too!

There were cheaper plans available when I did the comparison on Moneysupermarket but I have no idea if they are reputable companies, etc as hadn’t even heard of half of them.

Fingers crossed we don’t need to claim, or even if we do, that we are covered. Goodness, this was almost more stressful than the Critical Illness claim!!!.

Hi Tricky, we went to Italy last month and was insured by post office, I had to reply yes to the same questions you did as Rachael has had a relapse, started Rebif and was in hospital. The insurance only went up by about a tenner. Linda x

Yes May98, that’s what I understood too, that it’s better to get a family policy in case the trip needed to be cancelled because of my MS.

By the way, if anyone is looking to go through Columbus Direct, go through Quidco as there is 27% cashback (obviously I’m yet to see if it pays out). I’m glad I got annual cover now as if by any chance we go away in the next 12 months, I don’t want to go through this again in a hurry!

Thanks for the advice Rachel’s Mum, it’s worth knowing for the next time.

Why is nothing ever easy?!

Yes May98, that’s what I understood too, that it’s better to get a family policy in case the trip needed to be cancelled because of my MS.

By the way, if anyone is looking to go through Columbus Direct, go through Quidco as there is 27% cashback (obviously I’m yet to see if it pays out). I’m glad I got annual cover now as if by any chance we go away in the next 12 months, I don’t want to go through this again in a hurry!

Thanks for the advice Rachel’s Mum, it’s worth knowing for the next time.

Why is nothing ever easy?!

Hi there, I had a travel insurance nightmare recently too for trip to NZ and beyond… Had just changed DMDs, had a really bad attack in previous months etc etc. tried at least a dozen firm, including ms society insurance… Even they wouldn’t insure me! Finally found avanti insurance… who insured both me and my partner together, so that if he had to cut his trip short due to my medical condition, he was covered too. Be careful insuring separately because a lot of places we tried, if I got sick and it affected both of us, only I would be covered… Good luck and happy travels. J x

ive travel insurance with Allclear. its a yearly anual multi-trip insurance that also covers travel to the America for the wife and i. was less than £150.

i think that may have being diffenant if i had had a relapse in the last 12 months though.

im off to Las Vegas tomorrow and hope to hell i dont have to use it.

Wow, have fun in Las Vegas!

I would never have imagined how difficult they have made it to get travel insurance but hopefully when I need to renew I will have had a less turbulent year! x