Travel Insurance - Covermore no longer offering cover

cassboyle
cassboyle Member Posts: 45
edited January 2013 in General discussion

Hi,

Myself and my family are reasonably regular o/s travelers and Covermore have offered cover including BC cover to me on 4 occassions now (in the last 18 months).

Since July 2012 they have changed their guidelines and they no longer offer cover for early BC survivors stage 2b and higher. I had 1 x micro met in 1 node and after multiple email exchanges in the past 24 hours I have been told they will no longer cover me. I can apply to their chief medical officer, supply all my medical history (they already have most of it), and see what happens but their feedback has been that they no longer will offer me cover.

Completely pissed off.

 

 

Comments

  • justtrina
    justtrina Member Posts: 110
    edited March 2015

    Hi...

    I was just reading Covermore's Product Disclosure Statement and thought they did cover for early BC..... We're planning on travelling to Europe at the end of the year... so were waiting till I was 6 months clear of Radiation before applying (May 6). I also had  microsopic in one node, early BC... grade 3... so from what you are sayiing it's probably not worth the effort in  applying for it....

    Does anyone know of anyone else who will cover BC suvivors?

    Secondly, can you still take out Travel Insuance, and claim for things not related to BC...

    Maybe we should contact 'A Current Affair'..... it discusting that insurance wont cover it... it' early BC.... when you catch it early the chances of it coming back are minimial..... just another stress we don't need!!

  • cassboyle
    cassboyle Member Posts: 45
    edited March 2015

    Yes you can still take out insurance but you'll have a complete BC exclusion. So you're covered for everything except BC. However if they can trace any condition back to being a result of BC, or asociated with it, you are not covered.

    Your case sounds exactly like mine and I have been told the answer is no.

    I am just very frustrated that Covermore used to offer me cover, and have now decided that they don't want to. They were the only insurance company who would offer cover to early BC survivors.

  • justtrina
    justtrina Member Posts: 110
    edited March 2015

     I just went online to Covermore... and filled in the online form for an insurance quote... yep... they will not cover me... nodes affected (only microscopic), and diagnosed less then two years.... however, they will insure my son for his Haemophilia (more chance of that causing us problems than the chance that 'The Beast' will come back)... go figure.

    Trafalga did have an option 'Gold Seal'.... but because we are going on the Eurostar as part of the trip... they will not offer it for that particular trip.... oh well....

    Fingers and toes crossed for a healthy 2013!!! 

  • Covermore
    Covermore Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2015

    Hi all,

    We have modified our Existing Medical Condition coverage during 2012 but we feel that this is to try and provide a much fairer medical assessment process across the broad range of medical conditions that the general community may have. Previously we used a generic form that tried to capture information about hundreds of conditions on this one form. Now we are able to provide an online assessment that actually asks specific questions in relation to that specific medical condition and get a much greater level of detail about that condition. We believe this actually provides a better assessment on risk and provides more coverage for a lot of conditions, although there are certainly going to be circusmtances where some conditions we may not be able to cover as often (this is subject to each persons specific circumstances). It is also important to note that destination of travel also plays a part in the assessment and someone travelling to New Zealand (where there is a recipricol health agreement) for example may get a different answer on coverage when travelling to the USA (where medical costs are obviously much higher). So each journey is actually assessed on risk seperately, where risk is usually seen as 'insurance risk' (ie, large claims costs risk).

    In regards to breast cancer specifically, we have not changed what we cover automatically free of charge which is: "Breast / Prostate / Kidney / Bowel / Colon Cancer – If You were diagnosed over 6 months ago, have not had any chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the last 6 months, Your cancer has not spread beyond the primary site at any time and Your journey is less than 6 months. In respect of prostate cancer You must also have a PSA of 10 or less."

     

    Whilst we try and deal with the 'insurance company'' perception as best we can, I can assure you we do try and be fair and reasonable with all assessments whilst still trying to be able provide an affordable high quality product to the general public. 

    I hope this clarifies a little that each assessment for each journey takes into account the information (including destination of travel) at that tiem and your assessment outcome may change on future assessments. We recommend to all customers to research their options when assessing the travel isurance coverage to find a policy that suits their individual needs.

    If any questions though, please do not hesitate to call our Customer Service team on 1300 72 88 22.

    Kind Regards, Cover-More Travel Insurance

     

  • Covermore
    Covermore Member Posts: 2
    edited March 2015

    Hi all,

    We have modified our Existing Medical Condition coverage during 2012 but we feel that this is to try and provide a much fairer medical assessment process across the broad range of medical conditions that the general community may have. Previously we used a generic form that tried to capture information about hundreds of conditions on this one form. Now we are able to provide an online assessment that actually asks specific questions in relation to that specific medical condition and get a much greater level of detail about that condition. We believe this actually provides a better assessment on risk and provides more coverage for a lot of conditions, although there are certainly going to be circusmtances where some conditions we may not be able to cover as often (this is subject to each persons specific circumstances). It is also important to note that destination of travel also plays a part in the assessment and someone travelling to New Zealand (where there is a recipricol health agreement) for example may get a different answer on coverage when travelling to the USA (where medical costs are obviously much higher). So each journey is actually assessed on risk seperately, where risk is usually seen as 'insurance risk' (ie, large claims costs risk).

    In regards to breast cancer specifically, we have not changed what we cover automatically free of charge which is: "Breast / Prostate / Kidney / Bowel / Colon Cancer – If You were diagnosed over 6 months ago, have not had any chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the last 6 months, Your cancer has not spread beyond the primary site at any time and Your journey is less than 6 months. In respect of prostate cancer You must also have a PSA of 10 or less."

     

    Whilst we try and deal with the 'insurance company'' perception as best we can, I can assure you we do try and be fair and reasonable with all assessments whilst still trying to be able provide an affordable high quality product to the general public. 

    I hope this clarifies a little that each assessment for each journey takes into account the information (including destination of travel) at that tiem and your assessment outcome may change on future assessments. We recommend to all customers to research their options when assessing the travel isurance coverage to find a policy that suits their individual needs.

    If any questions though, please do not hesitate to call our Customer Service team on 1300 72 88 22.

    Kind Regards, Cover-More Travel Insurance

     

  • cassboyle
    cassboyle Member Posts: 45
    edited March 2015

    Hi 'Covermore',

    At the end of the day I have disclosed every single piece of info relating to my experience with breast cancer.

    For the past 4 o/s trips (3 to the USA) you have covered me, including when I went just 8 weeks post finishing radiation. And now you won't, and I've been cancer free for over 2 years.

    And I think that sucks.

    Kind Regards,

    Cassandra

    PS. I work in insurance. I'm well aware of the insurance risk vs claims process. Ultimately you no longer wish to appeal to breast cancer survivors, stage IIb or higher, its that simple.