Holiday illness not covered by travel insurance

Tue, 29 Nov 2005

Travel insurance company Inter Group Assistance Services, have refused to pay for a claim that has cost a husband £80,000.

Sylvia Davies, 60, was on holiday with her husband John, in Canada when she collapsed in her hotel room. The diagnoses, was a brain tumour.

The condition was such that Mrs Davies had to have major surgery immediately to save her life, then there was a month of convalescing. The bill so far has reached £80,000.

To John’s shock and horror the insurance company rejected Sylvia’s claim leaving John having to use his retirement fund.

Mr Davies said from Vancouver, "We have just been abandoned. This is going to ruin us. It will turn us from two taxpayers into two people who are going to be depending on benefits."

The insurance was purchased for £44 to cover two trips to Vancouver one in May and then in October.

However several weeks before their second trip in October Mrs Davies fell ill and consulted her local doctor. She was told by a consultant that she may have suffered a mild stroke.

The couple from Haverfordwest, West Wales notified Canadian Affair, their tour operator and the flight operator British Airways. Both companies told Mrs Davies she could continue with her holiday.

After collapsing in the Vancouver hotel, Mr Davies promptly contacted Inter Group, who classified the problem as a ‘pre-existing condition.’ Members of the Davies family at home in Wales and close friends have all pitched in to raise cash to fly Mrs Davies home. Their local MP Mr Stephen Crabb is also trying to publicise the couple’s plight.

A spokesperson for the Inter Group said "We made our decision based on the facts and we are happy to talk to the customer and advise her of the next step she can take."
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