I have been stupid enough to book a holiday in Spain prior to my first consultation with a specialist. I didn’t realise how long it would take before I had a firm diagnosis. Now I cannot find a travel insurance company who will cover me for Parkinson’s which is, as yet, undiagnosed. My travel company won’t accept me without insurance so I face losing 90% of what I have paid. I now have only a few weeks before we are due to fly and face having to cancel.
Does anyone know of a travel insurance company that will give me cover for all things Parkinson related, as well as other previously diagnosed conditions, without a firm diagnosis for PD having been made?
Hi @grayayres,
A warm welcome to the forum.
It’s great that you have a holiday booked - it’s always lovely when you have a break to look forward to. Yes, travelling with Parkinson’s can take more time to plan in advance in comparison to those without the condition, but you shouldn’t feel stupid for this at all.
Most insurers provide cover for people with medical conditions and for disabled people, so ask for quotes from a range of high-street insurers. If you’re finding it difficult to get the right sort of insurance, you can get details of brokers that specialise in finding appropriate cover for older people or those with medical conditions from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), here - https://www.biba.org.uk/ or you can give them a call on 0370 950 1790.
We have a ‘Holiday and travel’ section on our website with a lot more useful advise that I’m sure will be helpful to you which you can find here - https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/information-and-support/holidays-and-travel
I hope this info helps you out!
Feel free to ask anymore questions.
Best wishes,
Reah
Try lv.com (liverpool victoria). They seem to be on the ball with that sort of thing. I think they let you pick and choose your ailments. Obviously if you dont insure your health issue it wont be covered
Just been on their website and it looks like the under investigation and undiagnosed thing could be a problem. It’s worth speaking to them though. I used them for a holiday a few months back and the premiums were quite reasonable so i dont think they see PD as a major concern when travelling.
Good luck
Hi Grayayres.
Yes it’s a muddy area. We have an annual insurance policy with lv= which came up for renewal in March, when my husband was being monitored by a consultant but had not actually been diagnosed with anything though at that point he had no outstanding investigations (all had been negative at that point, including a normal MRI). Lv= agreed to renew the policy on the basis of my husband’s declared symptoms (balance problems mainly) and the only proviso was that if we needed to cancel a holiday because he subsequently needed any investigations, we would not be covered for the cancellation as we were aware further investigations were a possibility. If, however, my husband was later diagnosed with Parkinson’s we were still covered as unlike other insurers, newly diagnosed conditions are covered while the policy is in force.
Since then my husband has had an abnormal DaT scan and been told he probably has Parkinson’s. Lv= are not the cheapest but in our experience they are good. It’s worth ringing them though your problem may be that your husband is still being investigated so nothing has been ruled out. If you haven’t seen a consultant yet, any chance of bringing the appointment forward by seeing them privately, cheaper than losing the whole holiday? As PD is a clinical diagnosis mainly, you may be ok if a firm diagnosis can be made by an expert and you can then arrange cover including for PD.
Thanks for trying Reah.
Problem is I haven’t had a formal diagnosis and without that I can’t find a company who will accept it as pre-existing. Another member has suggested trying LV insurance and I will do that tomorrow.
Thanks anyway
Regards
Graham
Many thanks for your advice. I use LV for car insurance and it never crossed my mind to ask about travel insurance. I’ll maybe give them a call tomorrow but I don’t hold out much hope without a formal diagnosis. Maybe I could threaten to take my custom elsewhere!
Regards
Graham
Thanks for that info Mountainair
LV seem to be the likeliest company to help. I will probably talk to them today. In the meantime I have a telephone appointment with a Parkinson nurse tomorrow when I hope I will get more information about further tests etc.
Regards
Graham
Good luck Graham. I appreciate your situation only too well as we were in a similar situation 2 years ago after my husband had a hip fracture that precipitated other problems which were still being investigated though he had otherwise recovered. Firm diagnosis for the latter came just in time to reinstate the insurance & go away!
Try ‘World First’. I got annual insurance from them.
The issue is that insurers can’t cover a condition without infomation on the condition and your treatment. They can offer cover that excludes whatever your diagnosis turns out to be. However, you mention balance issues. If you were to fall over and injure yourself badly the uninsured costs could be enormous.
I use the insurance that comes with my Nationwide Flex account. I pay an extra £100 a year after medical screening.
Does your bank or credit card offer similar cover?
Also if you paid more than £100 for your holiday on a credit card, ask them about whether you can make a claim for cancelling your holiday. Check out moneysupermarket.com for more info
Best wishes
Apologies, it was another person who mentioned balance issues.
The point about having an incident that could/would be linked to your symptoms is still a concern
I’ve had a look at the credit card potential claim. You may have a chance but only if you can evidence that the cancellation charges were not clear.
You may still have a case for at least some more money back if the cancellation charges are agreed by the credit card company as unreasonable.
sorry to so late to drop a line. I was lucky, I already had travel ins with Enslghly and when i told them about my pd all they did was make a note, and oh yes they increased my premium by £o,39p, All they wanted was f0r me to inform them if there was a change. I then g0t an accout with Barclays and it was one of those with a perk of 12 months travel Insurance. I told me about my pD and once again they asked me to keep them informed that was it…I have beeb with them for over 0 years and had no problem. I am covered under a company called aviva
hope that helps
christina
Kendo thanks for your advice. Luckily the issue is now resolved. I finally received a copy of my consultants letter to my GP which confirmed a diagnosis So in the end I declared it for travel insurance, paid an extra ten quid and I’m raring to go!
Cheers
1 Like
Great, enjoy your hols!
I am waiting (28th May) for my probable diagnosis meeting with the neurologist. DAT scan results I know are showing low dopamine. We were planning to book a two week holiday for August.
I just called LV and the guy said they could do nothing until diagnosis. Anyone give a rough idea of how much more the insurance may be when diagnosed?
Presently I am fit and not showing many symptoms, very light shaking and numb fingers in left hand.
It seems like life is on hold until diagnosis.
Cheers
Scott
This year we got our travel insurance using a comparison website (travelsupermarket, I think) and ended up using Explorer Travel Insurance. We had to answer a few online questions about symptoms and my Parkinson’s diagnosis made no difference to the premium. The year before we were with someone different but again no difference in premium. We do tend to shop around to find cheapest option and this year was more complicated as my husband has some health issues which did affect the premium.
I also am fit with few symptoms - diagnosed 2 years ago.