The sad story of Philip Blakemore, 76, from Blackpool, who suffered two strokes and subsequently died while on holiday in Thailand, is yet another reminder of the importance of using a travel insurance provider who specialises in holiday insurance for pre existing medical conditions. Mr Blakemore made a mistake on his travel insurance proposal form and forgot to disclose that he suffered from angina, unfortunately this meant his travel insurance policy would not cover his medical expenses, leaving his family liable for the hospital bills which were racking up in the region of £4000 per day, as he was being treated in a private hospital.
The family looked into the possibility of moving him to a state run hospital but the private hospital were insisting on all the money they were owed before they would transfer him. The family were also quoted in the region of £65,000 for an air ambulance to fly Mr Blakemore back to the UK. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) did all they could to assist the family, however it is the family’s responsibility to find the money to pay for the medical bills as the FCDO do not have the funds to step in and help with the payment. If you refer to the FCDO web site you can read their travel insurance advice.
If you have ANY medical conditions you should seek a specialist in travel insurance for medical conditions, like Insurancewith. We ask far more questions than most when medical screening so the likelihood of one of our customers forgetting to mention a condition they suffer from would be rare. As an extra back up we also ask for the names of all the medication taken, as some people forget they have conditions like high-blood pressure, angina etc, because the medication stops the symptoms therefore they forget they have the condition, a very easy mistake to make.
At Insurancewith we feel that asking what medication is taken is an extra prompt for the customer to remember all their medical conditions, no matter how inconsequential they feel their condition is, we always advise customers to declare everything and let the insurance provider decide what is and is not relevant.
Mr Blakemore’s family raised £26,000 and his body has now been flown back to the UK, his funeral will take place on 15th March.
