I have a confession to make. I was chatting to Martin Rothwell this morning and I told him that I have a (well, two in fact) pre-existing medical conditions.

Well that’s a surprise

To be honest, I didn’t even realise the fact – I’ve been taking blood pressure pills for more than 20 years and they are just part of my life.

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in my early 30s just before my daughter was born. I did make my contribution to medical science by testing  a procedure but it was never really determined why I had it during the two days I spent in a Parisian hospital.

Then, I was told I had type II diabetes (I didn’t eat all the pies although I probably did have a few beers over the odds). Although both of them are treated and under control, it seems that they are still considered as ongoing.

So Martin, if I don’t tell you, what would you say?

It seems that it depends on the reason for the claim. Say for example I did a Wayne Rooney playing football on a pitch in Munich. I turned over on my right ankle and had to be transported back home to hospital. Whilst the country won’t hang on the outcome of the tests that I have, Martin will probably pay out (note – for anyone reading this in a year’s time, Wayne Rooney has just done his ankle 3 months before the World Cup, the nation waits with baited breath).

But it gets more complicated. Say for example I go over on my ankle after I have a heart attack? Now, that would get Martin worked up. Because he’d argue that my problem was a direct result of my dodgy record with blood pressure and too many beers. I could rant and rave about insurance companies doing anything to avoid paying out, but he’d have a point.

The thing is, you never know what the future holds. Can I be sure I won’t have a heart attack when I’m on holiday? I might have one walking done the street at home?

What’s the best policy then?

The problem with insurance, any kind of insurance, is that it’s always too expensive until you need it. It’s cat and mouse game and sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. You can try to play the system, but just be honest. It’ll raise the cost of your premium but if you do have a claim, Martin’ll pay out. Even happily, because Martin’s an honest guy really.

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Tags: cover, medical conditions, Travel insurance

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 27th, 2010 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.