Don’t Buy Travel Insurance When You’re Ill and Past the Deadlines

by Steve Dasseos on December 16, 2013

I am very confused by the trip payment pre existing condition clause. What is included in this trip payment? I bought my airline tickets in May and final payment was in October but need pre existing conditions to be included. I’m leaving in four days Dec. 20, 2013 – Jan 9, 2014.

I understand that if even I cannot get pre-existing conditions covered (I have breast cancer), I want to be sure that if I get a flu or cold that such things would be covered.

Heather

Hi Heather,

Thanks for writing.

None of my plans will cover anything related to your breast cancer. That includes anything that an insurance company could say is related to that, too. Or even something you already have.

Because you are leaving in 4 days, if you bought insurance today and cancelled your trip due to a flu or cold, it’s likely the claim will be denied. That’s because the flu and colds take time to develop so a cancellation 4 days after the policy is bought will require you to prove you didn’t have any symptoms today or in the last 60 to 180 days.

Therefore, I cannot recommend you buy any of our policies.

Here’s why I told Heather not to buy any of our travel insurance policies:

  • Travel insurance goes into effect the day after you buy it. If Heather bought it today, it’d go into effect tomorrow which is three days before she leaves. That’s not much time to go from 100% healthy to suddenly sick. Insurance company claim departments know that, too.
  • Travel insurance plans have a 60 to 180 day Lookback Period so even if Heather was 100% healthy today (I know she’s not), it’s possible she’s had some medical condition in the past 60 to 180 days. You can learn a lot more about the Lookback Period here.
  • I have first hand experience with being sick. About a year ago I got sick and was like that on and off for 4 months until I suddenly got very ill and went to the doctor. You shouldn’t wait 4 months to go to the doctor.

A cynic might say, “Any insurance company will always turn down any claim”. I can’t speak for all insurance companies, but the travel insurance companies we offer all have claim departments staffed by people. You are working with real human beings who have a heart and want to help you.

Why are there so many denied claims? I (Steve) firmly believe that the majority of denied claims are because the insured travelers either received the wrong advice prior to purchase or that they were sold the wrong policy by an uninformed travel insurance seller. You get our help with claims. We have never had a legitimate claim turned down from any of our companies since we started in 2001.

I hope this makes sense. If you want the right travel insurance advice, call us at 1-888-407-3854 and we'll help you figure it all out.

Now, a word from our sponsor: TripInsuranceStore.com (Travel Forums' Most Recommended Travel Insurance Website)

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