Elle Dennis failed to declare she was taking HRT when her travel policy renewed and must now pay thousands of pounds after needing unrelated medical care, ITV News Correspondent Stacey Foster reports
Words by ITV News Producer Catherine Dinneny.
A woman who needed urgent hospital treatment while on holiday has been refused a pay out by her insurers because she failed to declare her menopause medication.
Elle Dennis had a seizure while on holiday in Majorca last year and needed to be put into an induced coma, resulting in hospital stay costing €34,000 (£28,000).
But her claim has been denied by her insurer because she didn’t mention that she had been prescribed Hormone Replacement Therapy when she renewed her policy – even though the medication was unrelated to her fit.
Speaking to ITV News, she said: “I feel really depressed and angry and worried. I don’t know how I’m going to ever pay the bill.”
She only started taking the medication at the end of April last year, just weeks before the couple went away with their children.
She said: “I’d only just got the tablets, literally just before we went on holiday. I hadn’t really taken them.”
It was the first day of their holiday when Elle was rushed to hospital after having a seizure. She was put in an induced coma and had to stay in a private clinic for seven days.
Tests carried out while she was in hospital in Palma revealed she has a grade three brain tumour.
“I actually asked that question [if it was connected to HRT] and they said it’s nothing to do with it at all,” Elle said.
Her husband Neal added: “The doctors were saying don’t worry because you will be covered under your insurance, there’s no way that you won’t be covered.
“We’d taken out medical insurance, we’d taken our European health card. She was in a critical condition so the concern was with trying to find out what exactly was going on.”
Neal contacted Inter Parter Assistance, part of the AXA group, while Elle was still in hospital.
When they received her medical records and saw that she was taking HRT, they told Neal that she wasn’t covered.
He said: “We didn’t believe HRT was a pre-existing condition that had to be declared. Had we declared HRT, they would have insured us as we understand it at no extra cost, just on a different type of insurance policy, so it’s a bit of a loop hole that they’re trying to use to get out of paying this large bill.”
Elle added: “Every woman goes through the menopause. It’s not a real medical condition, it’s just part of life, so it didn’t even cross my mind [to declare it].”
Elle and her husband Neal, who live in Rugeley in Staffordshire, are now being chased by debt collectors for the money – all while Elle is undergoing gruelling cancer treatment back in the UK and unable to work.
The couple have even complained to the Ombudsman, who has ruled in favour of the insurance company.
In a letter sent to them, seen by ITV News, the Ombudsman wrote: “I’ve taken on board the point that Mr and Mrs D may have ended up with a similarly branded travel insurance policy […] however, I don’t think that matters.”
He added that it was reasonable to expect IPA to refund the premium paid for the policy – £36.45.
Elle is now warning other women who are going through the menopause to check that they are covered when travelling abroad.
She said: “Declare everything, it’s just not worth it.”
What advice is available to insurance customers?
Rob Lilley-Jones, a consumer expert at Which?, said this case was unfair but advised everyone to thoroughly check their policies because companies are increasingly reluctant to pay out claims.
He said: “You wouldn’t necessarily consider going through the menopause to be a pre-existing medical condition, but you do have to check the terms and conditions of these insurance policies very, very carefully.
“Travellers aren’t declaring medical conditions because, unfortunately, premiums are going up and they’re worried that if they declare those illnesses, the premiums will get higher, but we do know that insurers will go through the small print with a fine tooth comb.”
He added: “It’s really on the insurers to do better and to make sure that people don’t end up in the scenario like we have in this case.”
More than two million women are thought to be taking HRT in the UK. ITV News has contacted other insurance companies today, with most confirming that women taking HRT are covered on their standard travel insurance policy.
An AXA Partners spokesperson told ITV News: “We sympathise with Mrs Dennis’ situation, however, she did not declare any previous medical conditions when renewing her annual multi-trip travel insurance policy.
“It is crucial that any previous medical conditions are declared when purchasing a travel insurance policy. If she had declared, she may have been offered a different policy or we may not have been able to provide her with cover.
“The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has advised that it provisionally agrees with the actions AXA Partners has taken but has asked Mrs Dennis to provide it with further information.
“We are reviewing Mrs Dennis’ case but can confirm we do not refuse claims solely because the claimant is going through the menopause.”
The Financial Ombudsman has initially sided with IPA on this case, although Elle can appeal that decision. When contacted by ITV News, they said they cannot comment on individual cases but have confirmed it is currently being looked into.
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