Insurance, check, check and double check.

[reesy1959]

Well where do I start!!

Whilst on our last holiday, Sept 17th - Oct 1st, my Husband Phill was admitted to Marmaris Ahu Hetman Hospital after intially visiting Dr Murat, opposite Tansas. He had some problems with his pancreas and he was in a seriously ill condition. After 2 days he was transferred to ICU for 3 days and I was informed that he was in a critical condition and it could be fatal. As you can imagine this was such a terrible time for myself and my family back home in Wales. After 3 days Phill was transferred back to a normal ward and his recovery was quick, the Doctors were extremely pleased with his progress and finally he was allowed home after 8 days in Hospital. I cant thank the Doctors and Staff at Ahu Hetman Hospital enough, they were absolutely brilliant and the care and attention that was given to myself and Phill were second to none.

After phone calls to our insurance from day 1, and right up until the day he was discharged, we were still not given the all clear that the insurance were going to pay, so I had to take matters into my own hand on day 6 and ensure that I had funds to pay the hospital bills etc. Thankfully to Lloyds TSB, after explaining the circumstances, they increased my Mastercard from £2,000 to £10,000 and I cant thank them enough. At least we had peace of mind that we had the funds available to pay the bill and get home. We could deal with this once we got home. On day 7 I asked how much the bill was and it was just under £6,000. On day 8, Phill was finally discharged and we went back to Icmeler on Friday 5th October, we were supposed to have gone home on Oct 1st.

I then went on to sort out transfers from Icmeler to Dalaman, Bristol Airport to our home, and thanks to the girls at ICR we got the Flights booked via Easyjet to Bristol. I also contacted JT who searched and found us some really cheap flights to Birmingham, but after what Phill had gone through we just wanted to get as close to home as possible. I was also in the fortunate position that I knew a few holiday makers from over the years of going to Icmeler, that in the evening when I got back to the apartment I was never alone, and thanks to Shelagh and Chris especially amongst other friends, I never felt alone or isolated.

We eventually got home on Mon 8th Oct, 1 week later than scheduled.

Now it was time to tackle the insurance. I got a claim form and sent them all the receipts which came to a total of £7,215. After about 3 weeks we were informed that our insurance was declined, because Phill had a scan in June of this year, and we hadn't informed them about the scan. I complained to them that the scan was clear and that is why we didnt inform them, but if there had been anything found on the scan then I would have informed them before travelling, as I know of how these costs can soon mount up.

I have sent a complaint to them and am still awaiting a reply, but I just wanted to remind all of you, please please do let your Insurance know of the slightest thing, even if it amounts to nothing. Better to have warned them of nothing (as I should have done) than to have your insurance declined all for the cost of a phone call.

At the moment, we have had such a scare, and also so wary now of Insurances, I cant see us going abroad again, or at least not for a long time.

I will continue to read Icmeler Online though and try not to miss out on anything that happens in our small piece of paradise.

Just remember to inform your insurance of the least little thing, rather than go through what we have gone through.

[Eatock08]

I'm so sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience and I hope Phill is on the mend and getting better.

It is really important to declare everything to your insurance companies. Please don't give up on your complaint, I know you have given brief details but if the reason for his scan is unrelated to the pancreas condition he suffered whilst away the insurance company cannot decline a claim for that reason.

It's like declining a claim fore fire damage to your house because you don't have the specified locks on your door, it's completely unrelated to the claim! It really angers me when insurance companies decline a claim for the wrong reasons.

Good luck with your complaint and if the declinature is upheld please don't give up and complain to the ombudsman. If you go to the Financial Services Ombudsman's website they publish cases they have dealt with and if there is one similar to yours it will give an idea if your complaint will be successful as they also post the outcome.

If you need any advice please don't hesitate to email me

[reesy1959]

I'm so sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience and I hope Phill is on the mend and getting better.

It is really important to declare everything to your insurance companies. Please don't give up on your complaint, I know you have given brief details but if the reason for his scan is unrelated to the pancreas condition he suffered whilst away the insurance company cannot decline a claim for that reason.

It's like declining a claim fore fire damage to your house because you don't have the specified locks on your door, it's completely unrelated to the claim! It really angers me when insurance companies decline a claim for the wrong reasons.

Good luck with your complaint and if the declinature is upheld please don't give up and complain to the ombudsman. If you go to the Financial Services Ombudsman's website they publish cases they have dealt with and if there is one similar to yours it will give an idea if your complaint will be successful as they also post the outcome.

If you need any advice please don't hesitate to email me

Thank you so much for the information, the Insurance are saying that the complaint in Turkey was/could be related to the condition he had the scan for, but after speaking to our own Doctor we dont think it is related.

I am still awaiting for their reply and my next step would be the financial ombudsman, and thanks for the info on the cases they have dealt with, I will certainly have a look at them and see for any comparison.

Mary xx

[Eatock08]

Found something similar Mary, about half way down the page

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/p ... nce.htm#1c

Hope it's ok to post this link JT

It's reasonable to assume that as the scan was clear at the time then there is no need to declare it and unrelated. The Ombudsman will always look to what is reasonable. Mention the ombudsman to your insurer, they will not want it going that far and even email a copy of the case study from the link above

Alison x

[reesy1959]

Just read that now, a very interesting article, I have saved that for when I get the reply. Thank you very much

[Eatock08]

You are very welcome! Good luck with it x

[reesy1959]

You are very welcome! Good luck with it x

Thank you, will keep you informed of any update.

[blondie]

So sorry to hear of this, Mary - I remember reading about it at the time and thinking how awful it must have been for you, Phil and your family, but at least your insurance would sort it all out. Hope you do get everything sorted, and don't give up - take it all the way and fingers crossed they will see sense and pay up. Hope Phil is fully recovered now. Best wishes.

[smc4761]

That must have been dreadful for you both. Hope Phil is OK now

My wife took seriously ill a few years ago and was also admitted to Ahu Hetman, which is wonderful hospital. Hospital bills can be expensive, I think ours was around £3000 for a 6 day stay including scans etc.

We both have medical conditions and although we pay more for our insurance as Mary advise please please make sure you declare absolutly everything. Dont let the insurance companies wriggle out of paying.

Good luck with your claim Mary and hope all goes well

[reesy1959]

So sorry to hear of this, Mary - I remember reading about it at the time and thinking how awful it must have been for you, Phil and your family, but at least your insurance would sort it all out. Hope you do get everything sorted, and don't give up - take it all the way and fingers crossed they will see sense and pay up. Hope Phil is fully recovered now. Best wishes.

Thank you, Phill is now in perfect health.............almost, but with a few tweaks and tucks I am sure he will soon be back to normal. We also thought it would only be a matter of days before all was passed with the insurance, but I am even more positive tonight that we will get the correct outcome.

[reesy1959]

That must have been dreadful for you both. Hope Phil is OK now

My wife took seriously ill a few years ago and was also admitted to Ahu Hetman, which is wonderful hospital. Hospital bills can be expensive, I think ours was around £3000 for a 6 day stay including scans etc.

We both have medical conditions and although we pay more for our insurance as Mary advise please please make sure you declare absolutly everything. Dont let the insurance companies wriggle out of paying.

Good luck with your claim Mary and hope all goes well

Absolutely SMC, I have a heart complaint going back from 2002 and always declare everything, or so I thought.
Thanks for your good wishes and Phill is doing really well now

[juju]

So sorry to hear about this,I must have missed it before. Insurance companies are notorious at trying to get out of paying....we just pay in for years and years and then when you make a claim....!It looks to me like your claim is valid and I hope you get the money paid back. Hope you will be able to consider a holiday eventually but I can understand the way you feel just now.Good luck!And best wishes to you both.Julie

[dragon]

So sorry Mary to hear you're having this hassle on top of the problems of Phill's ill-health.

Declaring of pre-existing illnesses has become very strict for travel insurance, as I found out this year that my travel insurance had been invalid for the last four or five years. I had been diagnosed with angina, but a year later was told I didn't have it, so I stopped declaring it. Apparently this voided my insurance as I needed to declare this illness even though I didn't have it. I was told though that the diagnosis of angina could have been right and when I was told I didn't have it, this could have been wrong. So there was still a risk.

Even though I'd declared all my other illnesses which go way into double figures, my insurance would have been void and it would have cancelled everyone else's insurance in the group as well. If one person fails to declare something, they void everyone's insurance. Luckily we didn't need to make a claim so now I declare absolutely everything, just in case. It would have been very annoying for me if it was voided as I pay more for my insurance (not the group) than I do for my flight.

I am arranging Travel Insurance for my mother at the moment who is 79 and has a number of illnesses. Because you now have to declare everything in detail I've had a printout from her Doctor of her records going back to when her records began which was in 1954. From this I've made a list of all her illnesses and the date each was diagnosed, what medication she takes for them and if they've changed dosage etc. in the past few years. I've made a list of any tests e.g scans even when there were negative results which I'll give them as 'additional information' whilst making sure that they have recorded it. I now have all this information typed up on my laptop ready to begin obtaining quotes tomorrow. It seems ridiculous to have to do all of this but from the numerous conversations I had when arranging our insurance this year it's safer to give them too much information rather than missing something out. Now I've got this information on the laptop I can add to it when she has any other tests or diagnoses making it easier in the future.

It's become a major project now as I'd already put our information on the laptop a few months ago for the seven of us who normally holiday together. I was told things had changed because the number of claims had increased terrifically in the last few years and that one of the reasons was because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland a few years ago. Travel insurance doesn't exist to protect us it's there to make a profit for the companies and if they can get out of making a payment, they will. Sounds cynical but not to make a payment for a claim like this sounds heartless.

Sorry for the length of this post but I think that it's important, people who think that they have no illnesses to declare probably have and are going on holiday with a voided insurance.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you both.

[dotty]

Totally agree with everything posted and its now prompted me to check my insurance next time I'm in my bank (tomorrow hopefully). I realise I've probably been quite unconcerned about it previously thinking that because its part of my bank account it would be fine, but when I see what has happened to Mary and Phill its time to really ensure that it is in order. No point in paying for something that is void anyway - what we really want on holiday is peace of mind that should anything happen in Turkey the insurance is in fact valid and will pay out. Its certainly a lesson learned.

Good luck Mary and Phill, keep me posted.

[JT]

I am happy he is ok now Mary and I know it was a scary time for you out there

Don't forget to claim for the interest on your credit card too

[reesy1959]

Thank you all for your good wishes, Phill is doing really well now and has been for another scan today, so we should find out more in the next couple of weeks.

I called our Insurance today to chase up the complaint, as I had not had any confirmation regarding my complaint and to say it had been received. Lo and behold, they had 'problems with their email last week, and my complaint had ended up in the junk folder'.........awaiting with bated breath to see if I receive a confirmation email soon

[LaneyICR]

So glad Phil is feeling much better and I am so pleased that while you were in resort you came to see Michelle and I in the office when you just needed somebody to chat to and for advise. Fingers crossed you get your insurance sorted eventually.

For anybody coming to Turkey, I have posted this before, but it is very important to have travel insurance and to check the small print. Turkey is not in the EU and therefore if you require any medical treatment while in Turkey you will need to pay for this treatment, your E111 card is nont valid here. Turkey does not provide for it's citizens or for visitors free medical treatment and therefore insurance for everybody is a must. Too many people forget or ignore to get insurance and mentioned before by others a stay in hospital can go into thousands of pounds. Please never think that it won't happen to you and you won't need it.

[reesy1959]

Thanks Laney, I just didn't know what to do for the best on that day he was admitted. Sheer panic. Thanks for being there, much appreciated. As JT says, it was a scary time.

I just hope our story can help others avoid the same thing happening by double checking their insurance and informing them of every single ailment.

[reesy1959]

Dragon good luck in finding insurance for your Mum, excellent idea to have the print out from the Doctors.

[diannne123]

After phone calls to our insurance from day 1, and right up until the day he was discharged, we were still not given the all clear that the insurance were going to pay, so I had to take matters into my own hand

If you read my other post Medical & Health Questions u will see i was also ill and went to Ahu Hetman Hospital.

I was travelling alone and found it stressful with the insurance not saying if they will pay and having to sort things out with my family just in case i couldn't afford the bill (i did have £5000 on visa with me).

Because i had booked my holiday with Direct Line i had no rep, this is a down side. Being given 8-10 page documents to fill when your unwell is not good.

I had to use my Orange pay as you go Mobile and text family to top it up for me £135 i used on receiving calls from Insurance and texting my daughter.

PLEASE NOTE: If you use an Orange (now EE) Pay as you go phone it only keeps so much data. A week after i came home, still not 100% i went online to print off my phone usage to claim money back. The info i required from 4th - 19th October had gone !!!! i phoned orange and they tried their best but could not recover ANY data. What had happened is every time i used my phone, mainly internet it records info and it only holds so much so as the new is kept the old disappears. Contract phones are ok.

The insurance did pay the hospital bill and because i paid an extra £9 for waiver i didn't have any money to pay. Bill to insurance £7000 so far.

I did need to use money to pay for taxi's, medication, hotel extra days, phone calls etc which i need to claim back.

One thing i was surprised to find out from listening to the rep talking to the girl in the next bed to me was that, When her holiday had finished and she was still in hospital the reps packed her bags back at her hotel and brought them to her in hospital and said that they were now finished with her !!! The insurance would sort things from now on !!!

She was also travelling alone and she was shocked by this as was i. We both had guessed that she was the lucky one who had a rep, we didn't realise that once your holiday is over they abandon you.

Another word of warning, while i was in hospital i was friendly with a lady who's son had fallen from the balcony and broke his back in 3 places. Their insurance didn't cover balcony falls and apparently this is the same for lots of companies. You can read Charlies story here:

https://www.facebook.com/CharlieSmithRe ... nd?fref=ts

Please make sure you have good insurance and declare everything

Diane