Travel Insurance - Obstruction

BTW I am a UK citizen but am resident in Japan. I have scoured the internet and haven't found ANY policy that will cover me. I can find policies that cover non-UK residents and I can find policies that cover pre-existing conditions, but I haven't found one policy that will cover both. I don't have any option but to hope I don't get an obstruction while over there. This sucks.

In the US we supposedly have 3 weeks until insurance companies can't hold pre-existing against anyone.

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In the US we supposedly have 3 weeks until insurance companies can't hold pre-existing against anyone.

Health insurance yes, doubt the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) deals with travel insurance or life insurance.

I am not sure that travel insurance would be included in the new mandate. I think that was just for regular coverage. Plus, I believe the insurance exchanges open in October, but coverage will not begin until January 2014, when the law goes into effect. Travel insurance is different, because it covers treatment when you are outside your regular coverage area, like in another country and for specific travel dates. Plus, the OP is not a US citizen or resident, so I am sure it would not apply in that instance.

As to what counts as a preexisting condition, I would think an intestinal obstruction is considered an event, unless your records indicate that you are running around with a state of perpetual partial obstruction (which some of us do). Otherwise anyone who has had prior abdominal surgery would be excluded. From what I've read, even if you have a history of something, if it has been a year (or whatever the specified time) since you were treated for it, it is not preexisting.

Are you talking about travel insurance that covers the cost of your trip if it is cancelled or travel insurance for medical treatment while traveling? I presume they are two different types of coverage.

Jan

When I went o Egypt I wasn't prepared to risk it , I got my insurance from "all clear" was £27.86 for a week and fully covered for pre-existing

I've traveled a lot in my life since having a k pouch and have on occasion had serious, unexpected problems that led to major surgeries while away...my travel insurance covered most of them and a good part of the hospitalisation and annex costs...the fact that I had not had any pouch related surgeries for years prior may have had something to with the the fact that they did not exclude me...but even cardiac patients are covered if they have had long periods without inciedent...
My dad had had a heart attack at Christmas and the following Easter we went down to Miami to visit my aunt...he had a massive cerebral hemmorage while down there...ICU, craniotomy, weeks of intensive care..we were covered up to 150 000$...then they air lifted us out of there to Toronto for the follow-up care. They did not consider the two related inspite of the fact that it was a direct result of the meds he was on (coumadin)...
Try calling the insurance companies and asking them directly for a quote.
Sharon

AD28, you ask a really good question. Although I don't know the answer, it may also depend on the law of the jurisdiction which has jurisdiction under the applicable travel insurance policy, which may have a choice of law provision. I do know that insurance companies find any way they can to deny claims. I do a lot of my work for insurance companies but I am on both sides. I sue the ones I don't work for and defend the ones I do work for, or their insureds. They are all in business to pay as little as possible on claims.

The choice of law issue may be even more interesting than the substantive one. Years ago I was involved in a case involving a US citizen injured while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. I ended up having to research and learn quite a bit about Dominican law because even though the injured man chose to bring suit in Connecticut, choice of law rules required application of Dominican law. Which is largely rooted in the Napoleonic Code. In the course of my research I found a ton of cases involving Americans who had been injured there and elsewhere while on vacation. The most tragic one I recall involved a boy who fell down an elevator shaft at a hotel in Mexico, which resulted in fatal injuries.

Dear all,

Thank you so much for the replies.

I decided that I do want to purchase insurance. The quotes are around £500 which is a lot but still nothing compared to potential cost of treatment.

The problem is I just can't find a policy that will cover me, because I am not resident in the UK. There are some insurance companies that cover non-residents but none, that I have found that cover non residents for declared pre-existing conditions.

My only hope is to find a Japanese company that will insure me, but the problem is that my Japanese is not good enough to read the fine details of the policy or be absolutely sure on the phone that I will be covered. I guess I'm going to have to risk it and just be very careful to eat slowly and not risk foods that could cause obstruciton. I'll take out a policy which covers me but excludes pre-existing conditions, since that is all I can get.

A

AD,
A pouch whether J or K is Not a condition...colitis, UC and IBD are...So if you no longer have the disease then you no longer have the condition...a pouch would be like saying you had a leg amputated...the pouch is a sort of prothestic for the colon like a fake leg is for the amputated limb...therefore it can be argued that you no longer have a pre-existing condition but are cured...diabetes is a pre-existing condition but they cover if there is a problem...just call the companies that you are interested in and ask them and make sure that you get Everything Written down on Paper...for proof that they are giving you coverage.
Sharon

Sharon, many thanks. I was thinking along similar lines. As far as I'm concerned I no longer have any disease. But as some have mentioned insurance companies will do everything they can to wriggle out of it. I'm going to get everything down on paper like you said.

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my Japanese is not good enough to read the fine details of the policy

You will need to get someone to translate it for you. 95% of the clients I have in insurance coverage disputes never read the policy in issue. There will be a provision that will apply to pre-existing conditions, and there will likely be a provision that will say which forum's law applies. If Japanese law is applied you will need to know something about general principals of Japanese law in regards to interpreting insurance policies. Such as whether they are interpreted according to their plain and ordinary meaning and whether any ambiguity in the policy is construed against the scrivener. These are basic common law rules in the jurisdiction in which I practice (Connecticut). There may also be insurance regulations that prevent insurers from disclaiming certain coverages or requiring insurers to offer or explain certain coverages. To the extent Japanese law applies, you may want to see if you can get a free consultation with a Japanese attorney. Perhaps your company can help you in this regard.

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In the US we supposedly have 3 weeks

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought October 1st is when most state exchanges post information and you can sign up for a policy, but it will not become effective until January.

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my Japanese is not good enough to read the fine details of the policy

Use the online translator "babblefish". I used to use this to translate English to Spanish when trying to communicate with my tenants who did not speak English.

I would not use it in a Legal document, but it worked very well in trying to inform the tenant of important matters. Here is the site:

http://babblefish.com/language...anguage-translators/