Philosophically, I think it’s horrible that terminally ill patients would have their lifelong travel plans dashed by stratospheric insurance costs.

But realistically, insurance companies are not charities. They’re in the business of making money. And if X Customers routinely cost them more, they’re going to charge more for X Customers to subscribe to their services.

Sad, but true.

Report this comment

It’s awful.

Mike, I know companies need to make money, but surely human decency says you dont take advantage of people in this situation.

Report this comment

I don’t think insurance companies are taking advantage. The potential costs are truly enormous, and unlike you or me there is a decent probability of significant costs being incurred.

I guess the real question is whether society as a whole wants to provide some cover for those in this situation to enable them to take a wee break. Put it another way, would you be happy paying say 100 quid a month more for your travel insurance to subsidise those less fortunate?

Report this comment

Advantage? They’re not taking advantage, they’re taking the precautionary measures of someone who is ill and therefore likely to have problems and make a claim.

Submitting the correct documents from his GP outlining the condition may help in this case.

Report this comment

It’s terrible.

Insurance campanys are not NGO, they have their business and have to take a some benefit, but…

Report this comment

I agree with Debbie and Nieves.

In this world it’s all about profit margins and lets forget about the poor individual who is going through a nightmare and needs some time away.

Report this comment

[...] discussion on the unfair prices of insurance for long term ill travel consumers goes on, hopefully someone from one of the travel insurance companies I have contacted will leave a [...]

Report this comment

Darren, have you heard back from any of these companies?

Report this comment

Hi Darren!

Saw this in today’s paper, looks like pressure is buidling on the insurance companies
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=792322007

Report this comment

My wife, who happens to be a GP, has just been asked by a travel insurance company whether she has ever had surgery to treat a common cold. Of course it’s not refered to as a common cold in their documentation – they use the approriate medical terminology but fortunately she knows what it means!

Fair enough, insurance companies are business and not charities, but that does mean they have a legal and moral obligation to be professional and exhibit an appropriate degree of knowledge about their business. Suggesting that surgery is a treatment for a cold is in my opinion shows a huge lack of knowledge and is therefore higly unprofessional.

If any of the insurance companies would like to comment on this, I’d be very interested in their justification of their ignorance.

Report this comment

Basic insurance quotes are around £50 for 2 of us for 2 weeks in Europe, but because I am on medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the premium goes up to around £108. My medical conditions are under control, whilst there may be people travelling who have not had checks for this and are at much greater risk. So I am penalised financially for looking after my health.

Report this comment

Damien
Did you ever get any comments from anyone in the industry? I work in the travel insurance industry and my comments are these:

The public is on the whole utterly ignorant of the potential costs both emotionally and financially which a terminally ill person may incure if they become seriously ill abroad. Most countries charge far higher premiums for medical travel insurance than those curently prevalant in the UK.

I personally believe that the existence of the NHS lulls people into a false sense of security about the health risks they run and leaves them with no idea of actual costs. As it stands those who are young and healthy already subsidise those older and/or less healthy travellers.

Were we to actually cost the premiums for someone with a terminal prognosis in such a way that they refelcted the risk being carried we would need to take into account facts such as one can run a up a bill of $5000 within two hours of admission to A & E in the USA, a per day rate in intensive care of $20000 is not unusual and an air ambulance repatriation can cost anything from $25000 to $550000.

And in some countries permission to arrange such an air ambulance or any other form of repatriation must be given by the treating doctor who may be unscrupulously motivated to keep the tourist in his medical facility as long as possible to boost his profits! Even dying abroad is likely to cost your insurer £10,000 in medical and administrative costs and repatriation of remains for burial !

Insurance Comapnies are private companies and need to make rpofits to survive just like everyone else in the highstreet – why on earth does anyone think that insuracne companies should be singled out to supply “human decency” to those who are unfortunate enough to suffer poor health? Do we demand of Tesco’s that they sell food or washing machines more cheapelyto the poor? The price charged reflects the risk posed, what could be fairer?

Report this comment

Patsy-Anne,

Which travel insurance company do you work for?

I’d be very interested in your reponse to my point above …

“Fair enough, insurance companies are business and not charities, but that does mean they have a legal and moral obligation to be professional and exhibit an appropriate degree of knowledge about their business. Suggesting that surgery is a treatment for a cold is in my opinion shows a huge lack of knowledge and is therefore higly unprofessional.”

I think a lot of frustration felt by the general public, who you will note from my post are not all “utterly ignorant” about health matters and the costs associated with it, is the coarse criteria that insurance companies seem to use in their assessments, and the lack of flexibilty in applying those criteria to real people and real cases.

Thanks in advance
Adrian

Report this comment