Grey
It’s refreshing to hear your views on travel insurance. In another thread I had published the fact that my wife and I currently accept insurance without myeloma being covered. Despite indicating that “This suits us but might not be appropriate for others”, it resulted in a stern comment from one contributor that such a strategy was wrong.
When I first spoke to AllClear, who we had been with for some years, they asked whether I had been diagnosed with a “terminal illness”. I said I had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma and that it was incurable. I asked what their definition of “terminal” was. They declined a definition but quoted £770 for one week in Cyprus. To be fair, I was contacting them when I’d just been diagnosed, before treatment, and with some spinal damage. I can understand that, at that time, I was an unknown and thus potentially high risk.
Recently I decided to try to get a definition of “terminal illness”. The most authoritative document I’ve found so far is the “Statement of Best Practice for Critical Illness 2011”. It is a .pdf document published by the Association of British Insurers (the ABI). Do note that the document relates specifically to Critical Illness insurance so may not necessarily be the ABI’s view for travel insurance. At paragraph 3.2.5 the definition of Terminal illness is:
A definite diagnosis by the attending Consultant of an illness that satisfies both of the following: The illness either has no known cure or has progressed to the point where it cannot be cured; and In the opinion of the attending Consultant, the illness is expected to lead to death
within [the earlier of] 12 months [and the remaining term of the cover].
We have taken the view that we want to travel and at an affordable cost. That means taking some responsibility ourselves. But I repeat my caveat – such a stragey might not suit others.
Keep well everyone
Stephen
