Personally, I think that the insurance company should cover a claim but -- except in those cases where there is obvious fraud or attempt to misrepresent -- charge the difference between the premium they paid and the premium they should have paid.

In other words, if answering the questions accurately would have resulted in a $1,000 premium when they only paid $300, charge them $700. If accurate answers would have made them ineligible for coverage, then refund the premium and reject the claim.

So what about the questions specifically about women I asked before, only add in going on/off birth control pills? Those weren't answered.

What about a guy who gets/uses Viagra for the first time in the 90 days prior to a trip?

Are women systematically discriminated against because of issues like these? It just seems that they might be.

from what i gather from your statements (which makes sense), people fill out the form, leave things out, so they get the $300 insurance rate instead of the $1000 insurance rate...then if a problem happens, complain about the coverage being denied due to a pre-existing condition (or failure to disclose)...i realize that wasn't the case in peterboro's example, but i think in many others it could be.

Still, this is daunting. I sort of resigned myself to the fact that if I do get sick and insurance is denied for whatever reason they can come up with, I'll just go bankrupt and wash my hands of it.

My best advice is first speak with your GP to discuss any peers conditions, then contact the insurance and ask specifically about your condition.

There is no loophole, we don't need to search for anything. It usually pretty clear. No one is paid to search for errors.

Policy is sold on a specific category (say from A to E). If you are an A, you are usually healthy, no pre-ex conditions. If you are an E, you probably shouldnt be travelling.

So let me ask you this...

I had Pancreatitis in September. I have been going for regular blood tests and the condition is improving at a rate that my doctor is very pleased about, but pancreatitis is a long drawn-out healing process, taking 6-12 months to fully recover prior to the condition first appearing. Is this considered "stable" ? If it flares up when I'm down in Vegas for whatever reason, am I SOL?

Just the same - I was told I had a kidney stone two years ago. To the best of my knowledge, it has not passed. Otherwise no changes. Is this considered stable if that little fucker decides to ruin a trip stateside, or will I be on the hook for whatever pain killers I need to have pumped into me?

What about my Crohn's Disease? It flared up in November 2011 and I was on medication until the Pancriatitis. I am under a doctors care, but otherwise there has been no change to my condition other than being taken off medication as per my doctor's orders.

Do you see how the whole idea of travel insurance can be outright intimidating for someone with health conditions?

OverrRyde......................what exactly does a credit card cover health wise, and or requiring medical attention when out of the country?

most travel insurance does not cover air-ambulance.....some foreign countries will not look at a patient unless they pay up front....they can then put in a claim to their insurance once they are back home...
people travel for reasons other than vacation, and might not think anything will happen.........one can slip and fall anywhere at anytime and break a leg and require medical attention....... what does that have to do with some questionnaire that is asking about ailments?....a pregnant woman, can require hospitalization, accidents can happen home or abroad.

We are the nice people from the insurance industry! lol

EDIT: for those of you who think that staff is on payroll looking to deny claims, you are wrong. i would kill myself if that was the case. plus again, financially not justifiable for any TRAVEL insurance company to do that. Usually, travel insurance companies are the less evil of the insurance branches!

That is an unusual situation and the insurance company probably went with what was provided to them. If you submit a report that says you have cancer to the insurance company and then you are denied cancer treatment because you didnt disclose, and then it turns out it was a misread blood test, then how is that the insurance fault? Blame the hospital and the Dr's who mis-diagnosed, the insurance had every right to deny coverage for misrepresentation.

In the real world, these do not happen that often, and when they do, they usually get settled after. Usually on misreps, if it quacks like a duck...

Was the 80K in a USA hospital? if so, seems about right.

I posted about the $80,000 bill for three days in the hospital for a relative last year who had private insurance.

Insurance denies as failure to disclose previous condition. Insured states no previous condition as x-ray at Ontario hospital says so.

X-ray technician misread x-ray. Insured hires lawyer who threatens to sue hospital (Ontario gov.) and insurance company.

Insured starts to challenge all the ridiculous charges from US hospital and gets bill down to $35,000.

Insurance company and OHIP eventually settle and pay the 35k.

As to the guy---Yes, he DID have bowel disease. While 1965 is a long time ago, Ulcerative Colitis is a big deal, and he was CURRENTLY taking medicine for it. So he can't claim he forgot about it, or that it was not an issue.

I have to wonder how any of this would apply when travel insurance is automatically included as part of group coverage, like the coverage my family has. I mean, it's not as if you filled out a questionnaire that they can wave in front of you and claim you lied on.

What about credit cards that offer built-in travel insurance?

I have not looked at the fine print in a while but since you aren't filling out an application each time you travel, you aren't intentionally or unintentionally not communicating about something trivial which they can deny you coverage for.

Makes you wonder if anyone is capable of meeting the insurance requirements as such.

quote:

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Going on vacation? Think travel health insurance is going to protect you if something goes wrong?

Marketplace exposes an industry that's set up to fail -- convoluted medical questionnaires that can trip people up, travel agents on hidden camera giving dangerous advice, and travellers left on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Watch what happens when Erica Johnson goes looking for answers from a multi-million dollar industry that "regrets your claim is denied."

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I believe some companies cover pre - existing conditions if under control , meaning taking medication etc etc.

i know a few people that travel, and have anxiety, panic disorder, but because they have been taking medications with no changes in the last year, they are covered as it is under control.