Insurance

[Lou Barron]

When i inquired about insurance for my trip to the UK i nearly had a heart attack i did not think i was worth that much .Should have got a job a on a containor ship as a peggy

[Stan Carter]

hi lou,, surprise surprise, somewhere down the page of fine print you start to realize they want your money for little in return. they want to know all the ailments, from kids chicken pox to measels. from adults conditions,heart, liver, kidneys and conditions we have never had any idea exsisted. if they ever figured out what we did for a living in the early days,and where we had been we probally be black listed from ever applying for any type of insurance again.
hope it works out for you
regards
stan

[Doc Vernon]

Hi Lou
Pity that you didn't look around a bit before taking any out Lou,there are many places that you could of got some insurance cheaper I am sure!
What about old age Pension places like here in Aus!
APIA or if you are a Member of some organisation,pension rates are available!
Oh well I suppose too late now,but there is a period of cancellation of that I am sure!
It may be woth looking into it!
Cheers

[happy daze john in oz]

Lou, a couple of things that might help.
Do you have a gold or platinum crdit card with a good bank? I do and it gives me travel insurance.
Second, you are i understrand going to UK. Do you by any chance still have any NI details? As an ex pat you will be treated there in any hospital the same as any one living there.
My wife goes about every 18 months to see family over there and uses those systems mentioned.
One other thing Lou, if you are getting any UK age pension then you should notify the pensions people up in Newcastle while you are there as any time spent in UK will add to the amount of pension you recieve.

[John Pruden]

i was going to take Barbara to new york for christmas a couple of years ago until the quote from travel insurance that cost more than the trip. we should think ourselves lucky in the UK and not take it for granted that its free{well up to now it is} i bet there has been many a well of person in America that now lives under a bridge because of an illness.jp

[John Pruden]

just having a laugh say we all hired an old cargo boat for one last trip the amount of drugs medicines we would all be banged up for years as drug mules customs black gangs would have a ball.jp

[Neville Roberts]

Your right there John ,medical bills here in US are one of the leading causes of bankrupcy, I just had a stress test done and the bill was over $7000, they only got paid about $500 as I,m on medicare . that is after you are 65 you get covered for some of your medical . but many still buy suplimentary policies that can cost $200 a month or more after the initial monthly payment of $96 taken out of your pension . its a total mess of insurance companies getting medical $$$ . instead of one agency running the show . the USA is 37 th in world mortality rates . likely because of stress .the richest country in the world and they cant take care of thier people . and demonize the poor for getting welfare . each state and city used to run thier own welfare ,until Reagan got the bright idea to put them all on the federal government pension system wich had a huge surplus at the time now its broke . be glad you dont have to worry about hospital bills , I am getting rid of my excess cash to my kids so that the docs and hospitals dont get it when I die .by the sound of this site we are all getting grouchy in our old age .but I think that is wisdom , and dont like the way things are going . (to pot ).

[Lou Barron]

Thanks guys for your advice on travel insurance .I shopped around and i saved more than i had hoped .When the wife and i did our travel a few years ago the insurance was not to bad but has we got older the insurance increased when i inquired this time it was well over 1000 dollers that wasjust for me so i shopped around and i got it well below that price the questions you have to answer one guy said to me at nearly 87years are you fit i said to him if i was three months younger i would be dangerous

[Lou Barron]

I should have mentioned in answer to Johns post I have a Super Gold card .I am on a NZ age pension but i get a war pension from the UK my passport is NZ .But i did get a lot of help from my insurance company

[Charlie Hannah]

This is off thread but here goes,i received this this morning from a mate back home.






This sounds about right


Subject: GAS BILL
You will like this! ... And it is a true story!

On Thursday, 24th January 2002 , Derek Guille broadcast this story on
his
afternoon program on ABC radio.

In March 1999 a man living in Kandos (near Mudgee in NSW, Australia )
received a bill for his as yet unused gas line stating that he owed
$0.00.

He ignored it and threw it away.
In April he received another bill and threw that one away too.

The following month the gas company sent him a very nasty note stating
that they were going to cancel his gas line if he didn't send them
$0.00 by
return mail.

He called them, talked to them, and they said it was a computer error
and
they would take care of it.

The following month he decided that it was about time that he tried
out the troublesome gas line figuring that if there was usage on the
account it would put an end to this ridiculous predicament.

However, when he went to use the gas, it had been cut off.

He called the gas company who apologised for the computer error once
again and said that they would take care of it. The next day he got a
bill for
$0.00 stating that payment was now overdue.

Assuming that having spoken to them the previous day the latest bill was
yet another mistake, he ignored it, trusting that the company would be
as
good as their word and sort the problem out.

The next month he got a bill for $0.00. This bill also stated that he
Had 10 days to pay his account or the company would have to take steps
to
recover the debt.

Finally, giving in, he thought he would beat the gas company at their
own
game and mailed them a cheque for $0.00. The computer duly processed his
account and returned a statement to the effect that he now owed the gas
company nothing at all.

A week later, the manager of the Mudgee branch of the Westpac Banking
Corporation called our hapless friend and asked him what he was doing
writing cheque for $0.00.

After a lengthy explanation the bank manager replied that the $0.00
cheque had caused their cheque processing software to fail. The bank
could
therefore not process ANY cheques they had received from ANY of their
customers that day because the cheque for $0.00 had caused the
computer to crash.

The following month the man received a letter from the gas company
claiming that his cheque had bounced and that he now owed them $0.00
and unless he sent a cheque by return mail they would take immediate
steps to recover the debt.

At this point, the man decided to file a debt harassment claim against
the gas company. It took him nearly two hours to convince the clerks
at the local courthouse that he was not joking.

They subsequently helped him in the drafting of statements which were
considered substantive evidence of the aggravation and difficulties
he had been forced to endure during this debacle.

The matter was heard in the Magistrate's Court in Mudgee and the outcome
was this:

The gas company was ordered to:

[1] Immediately rectify their computerised accounts system or Show
cause,
within 10 days, why the matter should not be referred to a higher court
for consideration under Company Law.

[2] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by the man.

[3] Pay the bank dishonour fees incurred by all the Westpac clients
whose
cheques had been bounced on the day our friend's had been processed.

[4] Pay the claimant's court costs; and

[5] Pay the claimant a total of $1500 per month for the 5 month period
March to July inclusive as compensation for the aggravation they had
caused their client to suffer.

And all this over $0.00.


Who employs these idiots??


This story can also be viewed on the ABC website.


Remember, these "people" walk among us and breathe the same air we do.
What is worse, they breed !
This is a true story.