Travel Insurance - Asthma

[Queenie]

Hi all,

Just in the final processes of getting the holiday together and the last step is getting our insurance. I've gone through confused and been given good quotes but I'm concerned about the ongoing illnesses clauses. I have asthma, it's relatively mild and the Florida air does it no end of good BUT there is always a chance of an attack. Presumably it would be classed as a pre existing illness and therefore my treatment/an ambulance etc wouldn't be covered?

Can anyone tell me whether asthma is covered by various insurers or give me the names of ones that will cover me for it without charging me a fortune? Cheers!

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

Never thought to mention my son's asthma (only comes on when he has a cold anyway) but if you have your inhalers is there any chance of an attack?The insurers get out of paying if they can,my eldest was born with a major heart condition, corrected by surgery and at 13 is fighting fit now but some insurers I rang would not touch him. I contacted a local broker who fixed us up with Fortis. £98.55 for 14 nights for the family.

 

[janine]

Not sure about asthma, but I am sure it should be covered with most policies, though I would check.
My Husband uses Allclear travel insurance , he had major kidney surgery just weeks before we were due to fly out for our wedding at Disney. Finding insurance was a nightmare, but these would cover him for any eventuallity. It cost £95 for an annual worldwide policy, as we planned to go away again in the year and didn't want the hassle all over again.
My Mum had the same problem as she had cancer 2 years ago,,and thankfully is ok now, but no one would insure her at all for her illness she had. The thing is though she had all of her thyroid removed so she couldn't possible get cancer there again anyway. Bupa was the best option for her in that case.

Have you tried egg insurance? they were the best for my family, they may be worth trying.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

Hi all,

Just in the final processes of getting the holiday together and the last step is getting our insurance. I've gone through confused and been given good quotes but I'm concerned about the ongoing illnesses clauses. I have asthma, it's relatively mild and the Florida air does it no end of good BUT there is always a chance of an attack. Presumably it would be classed as a pre existing illness and therefore my treatment/an ambulance etc wouldn't be covered?

Can anyone tell me whether asthma is covered by various insurers or give me the names of ones that will cover me for it without charging me a fortune? Cheers!

Got our travel insurance through HSBC bank and provided the asthmatic hasn't had an attack within the last 12 months which has resulted in the need to go to hospital, you are fine.

After my lad suffered an attack (we were unaware he had asthma until the attack) we always check our coverage. The hospital costs are huge in the US ($850.00 for the ambulance to go a couple of miles, $350.00 for the doctor and with all the extras it amounted to $3,500.00) so insurance is essential (although the service at the Sand Lake Hospital was superb).

 

[signtalker]

Never thought to mention my son's asthma (only comes on when he has a cold anyway) but if you have your inhalers is there any chance of an attack

regardless of whether you take inhalers or not, this medical condition is obviously on your GP's notes!!!, and yes you can still have an attack even with inhalers.

the AA do cover, as im a severe asthmatic, they also do cover from claims arising, so if you had an attack whilst in florida you would be covered for all the medical bills. An annual premium cost me £108.

HTH
Jules

 

[Jules224]

I used Mark's and Spencer's travel insurance last time and told them i was asthmatic, they told me it didn't cost any extra. And as i had told them if i needed hospital treatment i would be covered but wouldn't of been if i didn't mention it, even though it cost no extra. So it's always worth mentioning even if your not a severe asthmatic.

 

[wideeyes]

Hi my dbf has asthma and I always mention it when buying insurance and have been told that it is covered if the asthma has not resulted in hospital treatment in the last 12 months. We used travel care and it cost £35 for two adults and 1 child, they also have a "beat any quote "policy.

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

Don't be under the impression I was dismissing asthma lightly, I'm not, I just thought with preventative medication there would be not problem. Having a DH on regular preventative medication for something else and a son with major heart surgery in the past they are always at the forefront of my mind. Ashley's occasional inhaler requirements tend to get overlooked.
Due to my ignorance in reading the paperwork in the past we have travelled on insurance sold at the TA's and we didn't tell them anything. Thank goodness everything was ok. I will apologise to anyone angry over my comments, I don't want this turning into another slanging match like one of the other threads.

 

[signtalker]

Don't be under the impression I was dismissing asthma lightly, I'm not, I just thought with preventative medication there would be not problem

I think some people are under the assumption that if you take your preventers and relivers properly that you dont get any sysmptons of asthma, which if that was the case would be great, but it isnt.

I think it always a wise idea to mention being an asthmatic(whether severe or mild), just incase, if you ever needed treatment for this condtion and hadnt mentioned it to your insurance company it could cost thousands as it would be on your medical notes with your GP, which of course would be checked by the insurance company in the event of a claim.

I don't want this turning into another slanging match like one of the other threads.

sorry I dont know what you are talking about, i was just trying to point out the fact that even with the right medications asthma is still a BIG problem for alot of people.

jules

 

[Disney owl]

My DD has mild asthma which I've always declared
provide you've not been in hospital recently with an attack they seem fine.
We've never had any trouble getting insurance.

 

[paulh]

we use insureandgo and have always declared any pre esiting contitions.Always been fine and never had to pay any extra.Be honest and up front with them might only be a few extra pounds but you could lose more in the long run if you dont declare
Paulh

 

[musketeer]

Hi
My daughter has asthma i used atlas insurance this year i told them about her asthma it didn't cost any extra it cost £55 for 2 adults and 2 children.

 

[Twilight Terror]

My sister has asthma and I wanted to be on the safe side with the insurance, so went through the screening process with Virgin. They said we'd have to pay an extra £7-something, but then anything asthma related that occured while away would then be covered. Having read Gonz Of Lancashire's post about medical costs, I'm glad I checked and will definitely be paying that extra £7-something!

 

[Queenie]

My problem is that I have been in hospital with an attack within the last 12 months (start of this year), it was only for about 4 hours in A&E - I needed a nebulizer and strong steroid drugs - but it will still count as hospital treatment.

Will try out some of the recommendations from you guys.

 

[Lexy]

Oh No!! I am usually so organised but I have not even thought of this! My dh is insulin dependent diabetic & my dd is asthmatic with peanut allergy. I have cover through the NAt West Advantage Gold account. Not sure now what to do? We've been abroad many times including the States but I hadn't even given it a thought. We've always relied the cover from Nat West Advantage Gold

 

[Twilight Terror]

I mentioned anything and everything just to be on the safe side. I even had to get screened for acne cos I take prescribed medication for it. I also ended up mentioning something my sister suffers with but just takes over the counter medicine for. Thankfully, cos she has no 'pre-existing condition' as such and because she only takes over the counter medicines not prescription, she automatically covered anyway, but they've put a note on her file about it.

I've got totally paranoid about the insurance this year, with all these companies trying to weasle out of compensation payments these days, I'd rather have stated every little tiny detail so there's no comeback IF something does need to be treated. Paranoid to the end is me, esp when it comes to US hospital costs!

 

[Lexy]

Oh No!! I am usually so organised but I have not even thought of this! My dh is insulin dependent diabetic & my dd is asthmatic with peanut allergy. I have cover through the NAt West Advantage Gold account. Not sure now what to do? We've been abroad many times including the States but I hadn't even given it a thought. We've always relied the cover from Nat West Advantage Gold

 

[lgp1]

On my last visit I used RAC insurance,they were really good.I told them that I was asthmatic and still on medication.They had no problem with that and said if I needed treatment when in Florida I would be fully covered.Not sure if they are still as good as this was in 2002... but still worth a try