Insurance, check, check and double check.

[janden]

hi Mary
Jan & I are in a state of shock after reading your posts today.
we met Dotty & Greg in Cupids & they said that they were on a Boat trip with you both the day before.
We hope that Phil & yourself are OK
Icmeler will certainly miss you both if you deceide not to visit next year.

Best Wishes

Denis & Jan.

[reesy1959]

Thanks both, Dotty did tell me. Sorry we didn't get to meet this time.

[reesy1959]

Diane, that's awful, I didn't realise that holiday companies discarded you once your holiday was over, how sad.

[Jay Trip]

Mary,I have just read about this and am shocked.I hope Phil is on the mend now.What an ordeal for you both to go through but thanks to the good people of Icmeler for being there for you.
We have met you and Phil the past 2 years at ICR meet ups and this year we were there from 27th September and asked about meet ups but there didnt seem to be any.
I thought about you both often but didnt realise Phil was in hospital.
I have had insurance refused by some companies and even the one I am with now ,Staysure,I had to give my medical history going back 20 years.
Reading this has put me off going to a non EU country which is a shame as we love Turkey.
I wish Phil all the best for a full recovery and hope you too have recovered from your terrible ordeal.Jeanx

[pj]

Hi if you don't get any joy with the ins company you could try the FERRET on ITV all the best

[duffaire]

Hi Mary and Phil

Sorry to hear about Phil's stay in hospital, hope he is now recovering.
As I am sure you know, Margo had an accident in Icmeler last May, and Dr Murat and the hospital could not have done more for her, but we were lucky, our insurance OK'd her treatment within 2 days, and it cost £9500, however we have now decided that we are not going abroad again, with Margo's stroke history and my heart problems we tried to get insurance for these and it would cost far to much.
We will miss Icmeler, we were booked to go to Lanzarote in May next year but have cancelled that this morning,I will still keep in touch through the forum.
all the best

Margo and George

[LaneyICR]

Diane, that's awful, I didn't realise that holiday companies discarded you once your holiday was over, how sad.

I had also heard about this happening, but I can assure you that any customers of ICR travel are not "discarded" once their holiday is over. As long as guests are still needing our assistance then we will help where we can. As Mary knows, she was not a guest of ours on this occassion but still knew she could come to us for help and advice.
Unfortunately with some big name companies their customers are just numbers and once they have your money and you have spent your allocated time in resort you are then no longer their responsiblilty.

Please don't let some peoples unfortunate experiences with insurance companies put you off travelling to non eu countries though. For the handful of bad experiences you hear about, how many good ones have you not heard about. Unfortunately accidents and illnesses happen when enjoying yourself and hospitals and medical centres in Turkey see lots of tourists on a daily basis. For the majority insurance claims are no problem (as Duffaire experienced) and there are guest relations at the hospitals to help people with this. You have to realise that as long as your insurance documents are valid that should you need to receive any treatment in Turkey that it is provided at private hospitals and often you will be better treated than if you had to wait in England.

[Sami]

Just a question, but if you do need to use a hospital while out in Turkey, do you need to pay the bill first before applying through the insurance company for reimbursement? If so, what happens if you don't have the funds to be able to do so?

[LaneyICR]

If you need to go for medical treatment while in Turkey if you take you insurance documents with you, the guest relations will get in contact with them for you and as long as your insurance is valid you will only have to pay any excess you possibly have on your insurance and then after that the insurance company works through the hospital.

[dragon]

As I mentioned in an earlier post I'm arranging travel insurance for my elderly mother. I thought I'd covered everything by having a printout of the medical records from the GP. I listed all diagnoses, the date they were diagnosed, any medications taken, any operations,tests etc.

Even after all this I still need to go back to the GP as my mother had a blood clot in 1960 and they need to know whether it was in a vein or in an artery. They really are being thorough as this is something she hasn't had a problem with for 52 years. I'd be very surprised if anyone could declare that they have no existing medical conditions from now on when they're now taking such a close look at your medical history.

[reesy1959]

Mary,I have just read about this and am shocked.I hope Phil is on the mend now.What an ordeal for you both to go through but thanks to the good people of Icmeler for being there for you.
We have met you and Phil the past 2 years at ICR meet ups and this year we were there from 27th September and asked about meet ups but there didnt seem to be any.
I thought about you both often but didnt realise Phil was in hospital.
I have had insurance refused by some companies and even the one I am with now ,Staysure,I had to give my medical history going back 20 years.
Reading this has put me off going to a non EU country which is a shame as we love Turkey.
I wish Phil all the best for a full recovery and hope you too have recovered from your terrible ordeal.Jeanx

Thanks Jean, yes we had a good time at the meet ups, I think the last time we met you was last year in Tandoori Sizzler. All this business definitely gives you food for thought regarding insurance.

We have both recovered thank you, just hoping to sort this insurance out now.

[reesy1959]

Hi if you don't get any joy with the ins company you could try the FERRET on ITV all the best

Did think about it, but to be honest, I dont mind talking about the problems in a small intimate forum like this, but to be televised would be a whole new ball game

[reesy1959]

Hi Mary and Phil

Sorry to hear about Phil's stay in hospital, hope he is now recovering.
As I am sure you know, Margo had an accident in Icmeler last May, and Dr Murat and the hospital could not have done more for her, but we were lucky, our insurance OK'd her treatment within 2 days, and it cost £9500, however we have now decided that we are not going abroad again, with Margo's stroke history and my heart problems we tried to get insurance for these and it would cost far to much.
We will miss Icmeler, we were booked to go to Lanzarote in May next year but have cancelled that this morning,I will still keep in touch through the forum.
all the best

Margo and George

Well perhaps we could have an Ex Icmeler Holiday group in Bognor, Blackpool, Brighton, or anywhere else in Blighty. We too feel the same at the moment about going abroad, its just too scary at the moment wondering if things can go wrong.
How is Margo keeping now since her illness in May?

[reesy1959]

Diane, that's awful, I didn't realise that holiday companies discarded you once your holiday was over, how sad.

I had also heard about this happening, but I can assure you that any customers of ICR travel are not "discarded" once their holiday is over. As long as guests are still needing our assistance then we will help where we can. As Mary knows, she was not a guest of ours on this occassion but still knew she could come to us for help and advice.
Unfortunately with some big name companies their customers are just numbers and once they have your money and you have spent your allocated time in resort you are then no longer their responsiblilty.

Absolutely, I think everyone knows that ICR would not just forget about you once your holiday was over.
As Laney says, I didnt even book my holiday with ICR as I had a package on this occassion with Hays, but ICR was the first place I went to in my moment of panic. Thanks again girls, you were brilliant.

[reesy1959]

As I mentioned in an earlier post I'm arranging travel insurance for my elderly mother. I thought I'd covered everything by having a printout of the medical records from the GP. I listed all diagnoses, the date they were diagnosed, any medications taken, any operations,tests etc.

Even after all this I still need to go back to the GP as my mother had a blood clot in 1960 and they need to know whether it was in a vein or in an artery. They really are being thorough as this is something she hasn't had a problem with for 52 years. I'd be very surprised if anyone could declare that they have no existing medical conditions from now on when they're now taking such a close look at your medical history.

They are definitely being more thorough now, I can see the day coming when you can just give them your authorisation to gain your Medical Records, this would definitely save a lot of stress and be a clearer indication as to peoples past history. We do get forgetful sometimes and could easily forget something from 10 years ago or similar.

[Jay Trip]

I also have a feeling I may have had my last visit to Icmeler.
I consider myself healthy but I have just had a letter from the practise nurse asking me to go for an ECG.
When I phoned her this morning I asked why and she said on checking through every ones records she discovered that 16 Years ago I had a irregular heat beat!
This was at a time when I was also having hot flushes and I havent had a problem since.
I asked if I could cancel the ECG as I would have to inform my insurance and I hadnt told them about any problems 16 years ago and she told me if I became ill abroad or even sprained my ankle and needed hospital treatment the insurance company would contact my doctor for a printout of my records!
This has been available to the companies since the beginning of this year.
Even though it may be unrelated they would void my insurance because I hadnt informed them.
Its becoming a minefield and a lady on HT has had her insurance refusing to pay because of a previous illness she had forgotten about.
The only thing I may have to do is stick to EU countries as the EHIC Plus insurance covers everything except treatment which you have to use your EHIC and make sure you are not taken to a private hospital or clinic.
I am not the only one is having this problem as a couple of friends we have met over the years in Icmeler are also having thus dilemma.
Mary I agree about a UK meet up as there are some lovely places although not Icmeler it may come down to no choice!

[reesy1959]

It definitely is a minefield with insurances now, and surprising how many holiday makers you see in hospital.

Hope you manage to get insurance without too much cost Jean.

[duffaire]

Hi Mary and Phil
Margo is still having problems with her wrist, she goes for a bone scan next week, so might need another op.

We had booked a 2 week holiday to Lanzarote, but getting insurance was impossible to cover for Margo's stroke and my heart problems, so have had to cancel the holiday.

[reesy1959]

Sorry you had to cancel George, its a shame that the insurance is so high. Wish her good luck for her bone scan next week, and fingers crossed she doesn't have to have another operation.

[reesy1959]

At last we actually got a letter from our Insurance today stating that they had received our complaint, albeit that it went to their junk folder. We have to wait for up to 4 weeks for their reply from Nov 13 and if that is declined then the next step will be the financial ombudsman.