Medical Tourism Travel Insurance

usernamegoes

My mother is travelling to Czech Republic for a weight loss procedure. I am keen to ensure she has travel insurance that covers her for 1) any complications arising from the procedure while she is there and 2) any medical conditions unconnected to the procedure while she is there.

Does anyone know anyone that will insure for this or any good brokers who could help me?

A connected question is does anyone know if her laya will cover her for any complications arising from this procedure when she gets home?

Thanks

coylemj

Any travel insurance I've looked at says that they will not cover you if, at the time of travel, you are on a waiting list for a procedure, are waiting for the results of medical tests, are travelling contrary to medical advice or that you are travelling specifically for medical treatment abroad.

Most insurance companies take the view that if you go abroad specifically for medical treatment then you're on your own.

usernamegoes

coylemj wrote: »

Any travel insurance I've looked at says that they will not cover you if, at the time of travel, you are on a waiting list for a procedure, are waiting for the results of medical tests, are travelling contrary to medical advice or that you are travelling specifically for medical treatment abroad.

Most insurance companies take the view that if you go abroad specifically for medical treatment then you're on your own.

Yes, I am aware of that; we are looking for a specialist travel insurance, the clinic recommended a specialist insurer called medical shield but their terms indicate you must be a UK resident, so we are looking for one which will cover Irish people.

peteb2

I have to say I've never heard/seen one that covers Irish people. Does she have health insurance? there would be some cover under that. VHI's travel policy used to cover existing conditions but I cant see it covering anything from the procedure.

As Coylemj most insurers don't cover if you are travelling abroad for medical treatment.

usernamegoes

peteb2 wrote: »

I have to say I've never heard/seen one that covers Irish people. Does she have health insurance? there would be some cover under that. VHI's travel policy used to cover existing conditions but I cant see it covering anything from the procedure.

As Coylemj most insurers don't cover if you are travelling abroad for medical treatment.

Yeah, she does have laya, but I don't she's covered for that while she's away. I emailed to ask if she was covered when she returned and they just responded saying she wasn't covered while away.

I am worried about her travelling without insurance. Surely someone will cover Irish people for this, with the common market.

AlexisM

I think it's really unlikely that any insurer will provide cover for complications arising from the procedure while she's still there - not least because they have no way of assessing quality/risk of the procedure. Surely the clinic itself will provide procedure-related care/aftercare/follow-up while she is still there? And TBH, if you're worried about the clinic NOT providing this, maybe it's not the place to go.

For your final question, I'm pretty sure Laya will provide cover once your mother is home - AFAIK, there is no fault/blame attached to cover here - so if she needs care that is generally provided under the policy, she should be fine.

Your gap in cover seems to be non-procedure related illnesses/accidents while your mother is away. The Czech Republic is in the EU so her European health card should cover public treatment there - but not things like repatriation/air ambulance etc.

coylemj

usernamegoes wrote: »

I am worried about her travelling without insurance. Surely someone will cover Irish people for this, with the common market.

It's nothing to do with the single market. The attitude of the insurance companies is that if you go abroad for treatment then it often falls into one of two categories namely that either (1) you're going to someone who will perform a procedure already available in Ireland but at significantly reduced cost or (2) you are going to a medical centre where they are prepared to administer an experimental drug or perform some radical procedure, neither of which is approved in Ireland.

In both cases they feel that their regular subscribers should not be left to pick up the tab if something goes wrong, a policy I happen to agree with.

usernamegoes

coylemj wrote: »

It's nothing to do with the single market. The attitude of the insurance companies is that if you go abroad for treatment then it often falls into one of two categories namely that either (1) you're going to someone who will perform a procedure already available in Ireland but at significantly reduced cost or (2) you are going to a medical centre where they are prepared to administer an experimental drug or perform some radical procedure, neither of which is approved in Ireland.

In both cases they feel that their regular subscribers should not be left to pick up the tab if something goes wrong, a policy I happen to agree with.

The single market reference was in respect of the willingness of insurers who offer this kind of insurance in the UK but not to non-UK residents. Provided they don't market in Ireland they should be able to sell to us on a cross border basis within the EEA (subject to the proper passports being obtained from the home member state)

I am fine with regular travel insurance providers saying they will not insure her for travelling for this, but I am looking for one that will, at a premium, insure her. There is at least one I know of in the UK who have obviously found there's a profit to be had here.

usernamegoes

AlexisM wrote: »

I think it's really unlikely that any insurer will provide cover for complications arising from the procedure while she's still there - not least because they have no way of assessing quality/risk of the procedure. Surely the clinic itself will provide procedure-related care/aftercare/follow-up while she is still there? And TBH, if you're worried about the clinic NOT providing this, maybe it's not the place to go.

For your final question, I'm pretty sure Laya will provide cover once your mother is home - AFAIK, there is no fault/blame attached to cover here - so if she needs care that is generally provided under the policy, she should be fine.

Your gap in cover seems to be non-procedure related illnesses/accidents while your mother is away. The Czech Republic is in the EU so her European health card should cover public treatment there - but not things like repatriation/air ambulance etc.

Thanks for the helpful comments AlexisM. To be honest I am not too concerned about the clinic not providing care in case there is an issue, they are pretty good from my research. I also don't see much going wrong as it's a very minor that doesn't even require anaesthetic. I am by nature generally cautious and like to be insured for such things.

I think that non-procedure-related health issues are more of a concern and she will not be covered for that (even before the procedure), besides under the EHIC scheme as you rightly point out.