Coronavirus Worries
Comments
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I was faced with paying the balance for the ferry crossings next Thursday, £90. There was always a chance that FO advice would advise against travelling to France, in which case the insurance would have paid up, but then again, it may not have. TBH, I don’t think I’d have been comfortable travelling abroad with things looking set to get worse. As it happens, I only lost £20 on the crossings, not so bad, and I’ll get most of my money back for the pre-paid sites. Red Pennant is a dead loss ☹️
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It is, based on the date I took it out, February. My view is that this ‘thing’ is going to rumble on for a good while yet, and I can’t see things being settled this season. I haven’t actually cancelled the insurance, but I’ve written it off.
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So far I've only booked the ferry out at beginning of June back at the end. No travel insurance arranged yet, so I'm hanging fire so that my only exposure is the ferry fare.
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We did most of the planning for our first trip to Austria last Sunday, but held off booking until I could speak to the Club on Monday about the Campsite Vouchers/Discounted Ferry Fares details. That indecision has worked well, because we've not paid any deposits and we've only made bookings for overnight stays from Scotland to Dover.
Juat as well, really. When I had my heart attack in Spain in late January, I was told by Nationwide insurers that my claim would be paid within 4 or 5 working days of submitting the paperwork. I sent the final papers on 28th February and received an automated response 'we'll be i touch shortly ...'. Phoned last Friday since I had received no contact and was told that the claim would be processed 'next week, by Friday at the latest'. Phoned again yesterday and was on hold for over 70 minutes, before being told that the claim hadn't been looked at yet, but 'You're next in the queue, and it should be processed by early next week, probably Tuesday ...'
And on Tuesday, I anticipate that the Phone queue will be much longer than 70 minutes; and that I'll be fobbed off with yet another mythical settlement date. Small wonder that the basic policy is free, but having to pay supplements because of pre-existing conditions, I think their service would need to improve significantly to rank as dismal.
Steve
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Daughter arrived back from Portugal yesterday, airport was nearly deserted and the flight was nearly empty. She was due to fly out to Riga after the weekend to open a new shop but her company has told her to stay in UK.
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Steve, we have the same insurance as you. When we had to claim 3 years ago after falling ill on a Caribbean cruise, we had no problems with them settling the claim, in full, in a couple of weeks. Might just be the current situation that is causing a delay. Hope you get it sorted soon.
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Steve
Interesting you have you are having to wait. I wonder if you are dealing with Nationwide or an Agent? We can have free(?) travel insurance through Margaret's Nationwide account. However when we have added in the extra for all the conditions we have we have found it very expensive and felt that Red Pennant, because it covers everything, was better value.
As an aside I was the other day looking at reviews of Nationwide online and was rather surprised to discover the amount of negative reviews which shocked me a bit.
David
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Don't think this has been highlighted before:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus
peedee
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I have found exactly the same with the travel insurance bundled with our NatWest Account. These days I don't bother with it and go to Red Pennant. Also with Red Pennant car breakdown/ recovery etc is also covered comprehensively and it's useful to have everything under the same umbrella.
David
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Morning Folks
Had a nice chat with some civil guards this morning regarding travel (it's good now we've learnt Spanish!) Basically this coastline has thousands of campers, many who wildcamp along the coastline (me too). This week being the first during the state of emergency the roadblocks will ask of your business in the area, if your not resident and not already staying on a site you will be moved on out of the area. Not sure if this just applies to the costa calida but I'd have thought the costa blanca too as all campsites from Valencia to Almeria are now closed for new business. I think BB may still be in the Valencian region so he might be able to update on that area?
These risk reducing measures do seem heavy handed but there's a real element of fear now.
The shops here won't be restocked for at least 10 days (hopefully)so my advice is don't come yet, stay home!!
JK
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David,
The worrying thing is that I think back to all the trips we have taken, the fastidious reporting of all medical conditions and episodes, the fixed smile as we pay the hefty premium for the inclusion of cover in America, and the 'It's got to be worth it, at least we know we'll be covered if anything happens' conclusion as we set off ....
And then we have an 'insured episode'. Everything on the care side was dealt with under EHIC and a quick registration under the Spanish Heath Care System, and was superb. But when it came to dealing with Nationwide's insurers for the ancillaries, the fun really began, including one Kafkaesque conversation with a Claims Processor in a call that lasted some 59 minutes 34 seconds ...
Him: 'We need to see all the hospital paperwork from the Spanish hospital and then get your GP's confirmation that there are no undeclared conditions that may have caused your heart attack'
Me: 'My GP doesn't know I had a heart attack, I'm still in Spain and the hospital report contains about 60 sheets of paper. It's taken me nearly 5 hours so far to email you the first 3 pages, because the storm damage has taken the email facilities to a crawl'
Him: 'Well, you could wait until you get back to UK and send us the paperwork, and we can than decide whether you WERE insured for your journey back home ...' [i.e. after the event!]
And I wonder that I am surprised at the inability to process my claim for 2 lots of meds, 2 weeks extra stay, and a rebooked ferry fee ...
Steve
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I think the difference is for those who have existing medical conditions, then the insurance through your bank may not give you the type of policy you want without having to pay extra. As we dont have any pre existing medical conditions, we have no extra fee, the only extra we pay is if we want to extend the policy beyond the 31 days. Our experience so far with Nationwide insurance has been good.
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The Guardian has an article by Jonathan Ives detailing a change to guidance on treatment for Coronavirus in Italy. The Italian equivalent of the BMA Ethics Committee [?] has revised its guidance to prioritising the care for 'those with greater likelihood of survival and more potential years of life'.
So, those with underlying health conditions and the elderly [or both!] are heading towards the back of the queue. The rationale appears to be that a] younger patients have more life expectancy; b] they are likely to be quicker to treat and recover, making room for the next patient; and c] they are less likely to die from associated health problems.
The bare logic is hard to fault, but the practical application is quite unsettling. The article is well worth reading and might help to explain the rapid rise in Italian Coronavirus deaths.
Steve
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thanks for the updare JK, although i have put my trip on hold it is good to get an update straight from the horses mouth so to speak, my daughter in Villa Martin told me today that places like Mar Menor, La Manga are now in lock down and being told to self isolate, it would appear that an influx of people fleeing Madrid who are already infected are the main cause of the problem
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Just be informed flights to the Canary islands this weekend have been cancelled by Jet2 and Tui. Some flights turned around mid flight.
We've been informed by Tui that we will know come Monday if it is to continue or if they will be back on track to collect those already here.
Lots of panicking folk, mainly the islanders. Food shops running short of water and essential items.
If we have to come back early do be it, if we hsve to stay longer, I can think of worse places to be.
Stay calm folks.
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Kidderminster? [rehash of 'Audience with Victoria Wood' and Rick Mayall and Ade Edmonds material, the latter from 'Bottom']
Steve
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For information - Brittany Ferries just cancelled a number of crossings from Santander back to the UK throughout March. I’m finding it hard getting another crossing because we are travelling with our dog!
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Really sorry to read that. Will you have to travel up through France then?
How are matters about travelling up through Spain? A previous poster, Jolly Kernow, mentioned travel restrictions and campsites not being allowed to accept new arrivals. I wonder how this will affect those in the south if every region follows suit or if the Govt. imposes blanket travel bans.
We were due out to Spain on Wednesday but cancelled on Tuesday so am feeling relieved.
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just come off face time with daughter in Villa Martin and she says Spain going into national lock down as of coming Monday, only those going to work or to do vital shopping will be allowed out, all beaches now closed as are all leisure facilities including swimming pools. Guardia patrolling with vehicles telling people to stay in doors /.
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Hi
Yes, lockdown is the favourite word now!
Brittany ferries have just updated their website with a totally revised timetable to France and Spain.
Cheers
"locked down"JK
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We were out in Spain for 5 weeks and not going home until the end of the month. We’re lucky to be staying in an apartment on this occasion and haven’t brought the caravan. We will be staying put for now as Spain is all but locked down. It’s pointless me trying to rebook a ferry as they are all in danger of cancelling at short-notice anyway. We are thinking of waiting it out and delaying our trip home until firstish week in April. We could try through France but as we don’t have our van, we need b&b rooms which take dogs - not so easy to find and even harder in countries that are locked down!
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Worth bearing in mind that if you are travelling through France you can always stay on motorway Aires overnight. A75 not much good but pèage autoroutes are fine.
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France have just announced closure of bars restaurants non food shops as from tonight so the only shops open will be food shops, boulangeries and pharmacies not sure about markets an all events taking place anywhere in the country will be cancelled. Not good news.
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I hope so.
I know they are considering measures to prevent contagion from the good old U.S.of A.
