People should be honest with holiday insurance
Published On 7 July 2007
Holidaymakers with pre-existing medical conditions should be "honest and upfront" with their travel insurance provider before buying a policy, Direct Line has urged.The direct insurance provider, which was established in 1985, said that people who chose to keep their medical conditions secret could find themselves without cover if they subsequently fell ill while abroad.
Direct Line's Carmel McCarthy, said: "Direct Line offers one of the best policies in the market place - we try to give cover where we can and we have a medical screening process in place.
"But if you forget to tell us about a very important part of what has happened – if you're taking medication or are receiving treatment and we don't know – we won't be able to offer you the right cover."
General insurance providers such as Direct Line are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to ensure that they provide adequate advice regarding such stipulations.
However, a recent MP report indicated that more than ten million holidaymakers travelled abroad during 2006 unaware that the insurance they purchased from travel agents would not provide them with cover if they had a pre-existing condition or in the event of a terrorist attack.
In response, the FSA will have regulatory powers over all parties selling travel insurance from January, 2009.
