Travel Insurance Case Studies

People with pre-existing medical conditions often find it hard to obtain cheap travel insurance for medical problems. Some travel insurance companies automatically exclude all cover for medical conditions, which exist at the time the insurance is purchased, whilst other travel insurance companies will sometimes request an additional premium making the cost to insure a holiday abroad far from cheap. Fortunately, the Internet and specialist travel insurance companies such as World First are able to help people with pre-existing medical conditions obtain comprehensive travel insurance cover for medical problems at competitive premiums.

World First travel insurance utilise a health screening system which takes the guess work out of arranging travel insurance to cover medical problems. Simply put, this means World First can insure people to travel abroad with all manner of medical conditions. Whilst each travel insurance policy is individually tailored for every client with medical problems, the case study section of the Travel Insurance Guide includes some examples of the medical conditions World First are able to cover and examples of the premiums that clients have in the past paid for their travel insurance.

Travel Insurance to cover angina and heart conditions

Mr Smith aged 77 of East Lothian wanted to buy travel insurance covering his heart condition and angina. He was able to save an astonishing £1,180 by insuring his holiday to the USA with World First. Having had a myocardial infarction or heart attack ten years ago for which two tablets are taken each day and a coronary artery angioplasty, Mr Smith was finding it difficult to buy cheap travel insurance, especially as he was planning to visit the USA for 19 days. In fact, another travel insurance company had already quoted a premium of £1,400.00. Mr Smith was therefore delighted to be offered full travel insurance covering all pre-existing medical conditions from World First at a premium of just £220.00.

The World First Healthline was able to achieve such a huge saving for Mr Smiths travel insurance to cover angina by using a computer-based risk rating system of medical analysis. A series of very simple questions were asked by a trained operator to form the general basis of a medical travel insurance assessment, followed by more specific individual questions about the health conditions and any associated problems. In all Mr Smith was asked 17 questions about his angina, heart condition and pre-existing medical conditions. Once accepted for full cover with no exclusions or increase in excess, he was able to pay by debit card and received his travel insurance documents in the post from World First within 24 hours. The money Mr Smith saved on his travel insurance was more than enough to pay for his holiday in full.

World First are specialist travel insurers offering holiday and travel insurance to cover medical problems for worldwide travellers and those finding it hard to buy cheap travel insurance covering health conditions.

Travel insurance to cover asthma and osteoarthritis

A 53 year lady old contacted World First when arranging a two-week holiday to the USA after finding it hard to buy travel insurance to cover her asthma and osteoarthritis. Her husband also had a heart conditions and had been diagnosed high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

After medical screening by the World First Healthline it was found that the lady’s osteoarthritis didn’t affect her back more than any other part of her body and that she had not been hospitalised in the last 12 months, although she was taking prescribed medication for her osteoarthritis and used two inhalers for her asthma. Her 60 year old husband posed slightly more concern for the insurers as he was taking 5 different types of medication for his heart condition, had only recently given up smoking and was also suffering from type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The cheapest travel insurance the couple had been able to find by shopping around on the Internet and telephone before contacting World First was just under £500. This was over 3 times more than the £150.00 they paid for annual multi-trip travel insurance arranged over the telephone with World First.

Travel Insurance for children with medical problems

World First are often asked to arrange travel insurance for children who have medical problems and when their parents or carers are unable to find cheap travel insurance elsewhere. We were recently asked to insure a 14-month-old child who had the following medical problems:

1. Cleft lip
2. Cleft palate
3. Diabetes insipidus
4. Hypothyroidism
5. Ocular dysfunction
6. Wolf Parkinson White

After screening undertaken by the World First Healthline, the travel insurance for a trip lasting 8 days was arranged for £126.00 covering the entire family to travel on a worldwide basis including the USA, Canada and Caribbean. The next cheapest travel insurance found was almost three times the price of that arranged through World First and according to the customer advisor who arranged the policy the client was “over the moon” to have found travel insurance that not only covered their sons medical conditions but at such a competitive premium too.

Travel Insurance for Immune Deficiency Syndrome

A new client recently contacted World First after travelling abroad in 2006 with no travel insurance when unfortunately his 9 year old son who has immune deficiency syndrome fell ill resulting in medical treatment costing over £1,500.00. It was decided that they would not travel abroad again without adequate travel insurance.

The Healthline undertook some simple telephone based screening to learn more about the child’s medical history and found that a bone marrow or stem cell transplant had been received to treat his severe combined immunodeficiency.

After the medical screening had been completed, World First were able to offer 11 days worldwide travel insurance covering the entire family of two adults and two children for just £138.00, which includes full cover for declared immune deficiency syndrome.

Travel Insurance for an elderly couple with medical problems

Mr & Mrs Jones both in their sixties were recently finding it difficult to get cheap travel insurance for their forthcoming trip to Turkey and contacted World First after listening to a show on West Midlands radio, which was discussing travel insurance for elderly people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Whilst it cost an extra £45.00 on top of the basic premium of £62.00 for travel insurance, World First were able to offer full travel insurance cover for Mr Jones who was taking over 10 different types of prescribed medication for COPD after having received a coronary artery angioplasty and suffering a heart attack in the last two years. The policy also covered his wife for no additional premium after it was declared she had an overactive thyroid together with osteoarthritis for which prescribed medication was being taken.