Travel insurance - WTF?!?!

What on earth has happened to travel insurance premiums, recently?

I used to get quotes (including pre-existing medical conditions) for
only a quid or so more than a standard policy. Now the fuckers seem to
be coming up with ridiculous figures and the specialist companies are
the worst!

I can get a standard policy for my next trip, for £2.70, but it will
cost me £40+ with my conditions declared... for 4 fucking days!

**** it - I can't be bothered!

 

Simple. Don't tell them and only go to places covered by EHIC. If your pre-
existing medical issue becomes emergent then the EHIC will cover it.

The standard policy will cover you for theft and accidental injury as the
insurer will only be able to wriggle out of a claim where your pre-existing
medical condition is a factor.

 

in fact, http://www.direct-travel.co.uk/annual-travel-insurance.aspx
allow you to make a medical disclosure to exclude pre-existing
conditions and pay just £28.16 for an annual policy for Europe, if you take
the gold cover. Short-term policies available too.

 

<emailed>

 

Never mind 'recently' - travel insurers live on a different planet to the
rest of us, I'm sure. When I tried to take out a policy recently, I
mentioned I'd be walking in the Pyrenees and asked if I'd be covered. One
insurer asked me if I'd be using "ice axes, crampons, ladders (!) or ropes"
and when I said yes, ice axes and probably crampons, they said I wouldn't be
covered whilst I was using them. I said okay, so if I attempted the climb
without using the appropriate equipment I'd be covered, but if I went
ill-equipped I would be? Yes.

Another asked me "how high" I'd be climbing. I asked did he mean how high
from the ground or at what altitude? When he asked what the difference was,
I explained the difference between walking on flat ground at 3000m and
climbing a rock face 30m above the ground. He said 3000m sounded more
dangerous and said I probably wouldn't be covered for that, whereas I'd be
covered for rock-climbing without protection, although he couldn't suggest
what the height limit might be.

<sigh>

 

The moral of this story is people who work in telesales aren't hired
for their creative thinking.

 

This summer SWMBO suddenly realised that our annual travel policy
wouldn't cover this year's excursion in to the high Pyrenees with the
lad to the Saradets refuge and Breche de Roland as it's above 3000m. In
previous years they hadn't gone quite that high.

As we were already in France she found that insurers in the UK wouldn't
cover them. Fortunately, our local AGF agent who covers 'the chateau'
and used to cover the faux WR250 was happy to oblige. Above 3000m, even
if just walking, the cost of recovering you by mountain rescue to
hospital or whatever is considerably greater than at lower more
accessible altitudes.
--
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pete Fisher at Home: |
| Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" |
| Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

There seems to be a spurious 'creative' in your statement. I've pretty
much found that if you want to do anything even slightly risky[1] then
you need a specialist insurer who understands the activity in
question.[2]

[1] Where risky is something other than getting blind drunk and lying
on the beach.
[2] I've had a fairly circular argument with one insurer about
qualification in the past.

 

It's always been the case that if you want insurance for something
others might describe as 'high risk' you should either go to a
specialist or get your insurance through a related body/club such as
the BMC for mountaineering or BSAC for diving.

Obviously a lot of people object to being members of such a club or
body (think motorcyclists and the BMF) but you don't have to agree
with them to use them to your advantage.