Category: Holiday Health

Coronavirus and Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is something many people take for granted but since Covid 19 Corona Virus became a global pandemic you may not get  the cover you would expect.  With millions of confirmed cases around the globe this virus has devastated the travel industry.  Airlines and travel operators alike are laying off staff and warning of further cuts and in some cases the possibility of administration and bankruptcy.  Here are some basic points to watch out for with your travel insurance.

Annual Policies  

Policy Refunds

Already Booked

Protect Yourself

Covid 19/SARS

Should I Travel?

Many insurance providers restrict cover for any travel policies purchased before 11th March 2020 when the World Health Organization declared Covid 19 Corona Virus a pandemic.  Before you can consider travelling anywhere you must first check the Foreign Commonwealth Office website to see what advice they are giving.  If you choose to travel against the advice of the FCO your travel insurance is automatically invalid meaning you cannot make a claim should anything go wrong.

Post Covid 19 it is vital that you check the FCO website before you even book your holiday as this is an ever changing situation and very few countries throughout the world remain unaffected.  It can’t be any clearer.  Step one of any travel plans for the foreseeable future is check the FCO website before you do anything else.

Annual Policies

If you have an annual travel insurance policy then any trips you book after the FCO has advised against travel will not be covered. If you have booked before the FCO advice changed then you should be able to make a claim for cancellation. Always always check your individual insurers terms and conditions prior to cancellation. They all vary. And the cancellation may have to come from your travel operator before you can make a successful claim. If you decide that your trip is too risky for your own reasons but the FCO advice says it’s okay to go then you won’t be able to claim for any monies you may lose. Insurers call this disinclination to travel and you won’t be covered.

Policy Refunds

Many people with annual travel insurance policies want to know if they can get a refund for the remaining months before expiry. The answer is maybe. Once again they are all different so check with your policy provider. Some of the big names like Churchill, Axa and Direct Line are giving pro rata refunds. Providing you haven’t already made a claim on that policy. Others such as Treatufair will not give any refund. Don’t consider cancelling your insurance until you know if you are likely to travel as soon as restrictions are lifted..

Already Booked Ahead

People often book their holiday well in advance of the travel date. In the months ahead it is vital to keep checking the FCO website. Originally the FCO were advising against travel for 30 days. This made it clearer for tour operators and customers alike when it came to cancellation. In early April 2020 the advice was extended to “indefinitely”. With no clear end date in sight travellers will have to wait and see if the advice changes as their holiday gets closer. Be sure to check with the FCO and your airline or travel operator to see if they cancel your journey. If so you should get a full refund from them. Once you are within 28 days of your due travel date and the advice is still not to travel you can contact your insurance company and begin your claim.

WARNING: Some airlines are offering you vouchers. If your airline cancels on you then you’re entitled to a full refund. Take the refund rather than the voucher because if the airline fails then your voucher will be worthless. If you’re a fan of collecting airline points (Click here to read our article on BA versus Virgin points) ask the airline to return the points to your account or you may lose them.

Protect Yourself

At the time of writing many UK Travel Insurance companies aren’t even quoting for policies. So if you have insurance already it may be worth keeping it going. Travel policies are going to get trickier in the future. As the advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office changes you must remember insurance companies are risk averse so premiums are bound to go up. When that time comes be sure to take out a policy that includes disruption cover. You will then be eligible for reimbursement of costs associated with delays. If you’re unfortunate enough to end up in quarantine this will also be covered.

Covid 19 and SARS

One very important fact to check when buying travel insurance after Covid 19 is whether or not you are covered for the Corona Virus or and SARS like infection. Many insurance companies have withdrawn this type of cover due to the global pandemic. You cannot afford the risk of travelling without it. Even if you think your policy is okay, check. Because terms and conditions continually change. The travel industry will recover from this but it will likely be a long and slow return. Make sure you’re fully protected when you can travel again.

Keep Safe !

For more posts about travelling with health conditions click here for arthritis and here for fibromyalgia.

Travelling With Fibromyalgia:  Is It Worth It?

Best Vacations For People with Fibromyalgia

 Travelling with Fibromyalgia can affect us all in different ways but the best vacations for people with fibromyalgia usually involves a warmer climate.  Warmth and sunshine can make us feel a hundred times better and at times eliminate fibro pain.

Travelling with Fibromyalgia to colder climates usually means you will experience more fibromyalgia pain.  If this applies to you then chillier climes will  be something you avoid so seek out the sunshine. This often means you need to travel in Winter and find a sunny long haul destination.  Don’t be put off long haul because of your condition.  You deserve your holiday as much as anyone else – maybe more.

Successful Travelling With Fibromyalgia

Premier Inns are one of my favourites to stay with, the price is reasonable and the food is excellent.  They have such comfortable Hypnos beds and a choice of pillows to suit.  They also offer a unique good nights sleep guarantee or your money back.  Sleep is such a big issue for anyone diagnosed with fibromyalgia so being as comfortable as possible is top priority.

Airport Comfort

Drop your cases off and go through security as soon as you arrive.  Then you can browse the shops and look for somewhere to relax until your flight is called.

Those endless rows of metal fixed airport seating are not for us Fibromites.  We need more cosy comfort to keep our fibro pain at bay.  All major airports have cafes, bars and restaurants offering tub chairs, padded seating or even sofas.  If your budget will allow then Number 1 Lounges are worth considering.  Adult entry is from £26 and all your food and drink (including most alcoholic drinks) are in with the price.

Long Haul Loyalty

This is often the most difficult part of a journey.  Sitting through a long haul flight with fibromyalgia can get those Fibro flare-ups into pole position.  Long periods of inactivity can cause excruciating fibro pain and joint stiffness. 

Even cruising doesn’t get us off the hook.  Unless you book a round-trip cruise you’ll have to fly in one direction.  To see how we got our first upgraded cruise click here.

Having enough personal space in economy class seats is pure fantasy. The obvious (and most expensive) thing to do is upgrade your seat.  Easier said than done for a lot of Fibromites who are on a tight budget. 

Get With The Program!

Loyalty programs are a good way around this but it takes patience and time to build any real benefits.  There are lots of loyalty cards to be had  so rather than be swamped by joining every program going. 

My preferred airlines are Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.  Both these airlines allow you to convert your Tesco Clubcard points to flying miles.   £2.50 of Clubcard Vouchers gets you 600 British Airways Executive Club Avios points or 625 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.

I already shopped at Tesco so this was a no brainer for me.  You can also apply for the British Airways or Virgin credit cards to boost your points even further.  Whoever you choose to travel with they’ll have a loyalty program so tailor them to your needs.  If you need help picking the right program for you click here.   

Virgin’s Shops Away section helps you collect more miles by shopping online through their website.  You’ll find all your favourites such as Ebay, John Lewis, M&S and many more.  British Airways Avios are equally as good and have lots of spending and earning opportunities.

Planning an upgrade takes time but not too much effort and typically will pay for upgraded seats every other year for us, leaving only the taxes to pay.

Once you’ve gone to all the trouble of getting your upgrade why not stay away for longer?  A few extra days or weeks in the sun is good for our health so add extra accommodation costs into your travel plans and feel the benefit.

Short-Haul Economy

If you can’t bag a free upgrade by using loyalty points or flying miles then most economy travel classes offer seats with slightly more legroom for a nominal fee.  Airlines have recently begun to introduce up to three levels of economy seating offering different options.  Extra legroom usually features in at least one of these options.

Once again plan ahead by choosing your seat from the seating plan as soon as your airline allows.  If it’s an Exit Seat make sure you or your partner are capable of opening a heavy door if necessary.

I can suffer economy on a flight of 2-3 hours by doing a lot of in-seat fidgeting, ankle/joint rotating. Frequent trips up the aisle help to keep everything moving.

 

Long-Haul Flight With Fibromyalgia

A successful long-haul flight for me is the holy grail.  Travelling with Fibro means economy does not work for me in this scenario.  If I can’t upgrade I can’t go. My last economy long-haul flight without an upgrade left me in so much pain hubby wanted me to go to hospital.  The last thing you want at the start of your trip!

Travelling with fibromyalgia means finding ways to control fibromyalgia symptoms and avoiding a flare up.  Moving around on the flight as much as possible can prevent joint stiffness and an inflatable travel pillow provides support.  TRTL is one of the best on the market.

Supplements

Anyone who lives in the UK should be taking Vitamin D, especially in Winter time.  People with Fibromyalgia often need extra vitamin D, B and Magnesium to help us through.  Magnesium helps with muscle cramping so whenever I’m  travelling I take an extra dose to prevent those painful spasms

Overall Opinion

There’s no doubt that holidays in the sun give us a real boost.  If you take the time to plan ahead to make your journey easy and comfortable, the benefits are huge.  And if you encounter any severe difficulties airport/airline staff are always happy to help you overcome them.  Your holiday begins the moment you step out of the house and making it as easy as possible will reduce an anxiety you may feel.  Our overall opinion is that yes, it’s more than worth it.

See our post 10 Top Tips For Travelling with Arthritis  for more helpful suggestions.  We also have a sister site for people with living with fibromyalgia. Click our link to take a look at fibrostars.com. Happy travels Fibro friends!

 

Photo by Emre Gencer on Unsplash

Updated March 2020 – Read our top tips for travelling with arthritis to make your journey as easy as possible.  Travelling with Arthritis can be an uncomfortable business.  Not only is it painful but it can be exhausting.  Don’t let that put you off.   There are ways to help manage your condition when you’re travelling

Arthritis Research 

According to Arthritis Research UK nearly 30 per cent of the population suffers with some form of arthritis.  Being in both the rheumatoid arthritis and osteo arthritis camps I know how unpleasant it can be.  Sadly, it is no longer just a problem for older people as 2.7 million arthritis sufferers are under 35 with a heartbreaking 12,000 of those being children.  Depending on the severity of your condition it can be debilitating and painful.

 

In Winter time the thought of trekking thousands of miles to your holiday destination can seem daunting.  Bad weather makes everything hurt just that bit more and you lose sleep because of the pain, but don’t despair.  Getting away from Britain to somewhere warm and sunny can bring welcome relief.  

Basic Preparation

It really goes without saying.  The most basic pre-journey prep is travel insurance. Make sure you’ve declared every condition you have had ever!  Leaving something out, however insignificant it may seem will give the insurers the excuse they need not to pay out.  Be honest with them.   If you’re going somewhere medically expensive like the USA then a holiday injury or illness could financially ruin you.

There are many specialist insurers out there who will cover you for any number of ailments.  From our own extensive research we found that the top two travel insurance companies were All Clear and Staysure  .  If you are or have been a cancer patient then TreatUFair,  HolidaySafe and TravelInsurance4Medical should be more affordable. We’ve personally used All Clear, Staysure and more recently Treatufair.  Be sure to get quotes for both the time period you require and for the whole year.  We shaved over £300 off our travel insurance with treatufair by taking out an annual policy rather than the 4 weeks we actually needed.  Crazy I know but the saving was real enough.

If you have travel insurance with your bank contact them first and update your details.  It may be that they won’t initially cover you for some conditions.  But after a couple of trouble free years of that condition they will then cover it.  Barclays Bank offer particularly good cover up to the age of 80 years.

Meds

Don’t forget to order extra medication to get you through your holiday.  If like us you prefer to go away for a month at a time we usually give our surgery 3-4 weeks notice of our requirements.  Don’t scrape through with your meds running out the day you’re due home.  You don’t want to be left without them if there are any delays to your return journey.  Read on for our top tips for travelling with arthritis!

10 Top Tips for Travelling with Arthritis

1. Travel to the airport the day before and check in to a nearby hotel.  Premier Inns offer a great nights sleep for a reasonable price.  Break your journey into smaller segments whenever you can.  Driving to the airport can be the first joint-stiffening challenge so take plenty of breaks and give yourself time for a leisurely lunch on the way.  After all, the moment you leave home is where your holiday truly begins.
2. Make sure your flight isn’t too early in the morning.  I know you want to get there soon but if your joints are stiff in the mornings it’s better to have some time to get moving. If this can’t be avoided then be sure to give yourself some extra time.  You don’t want to start your journey feeling exhausted by the pain of trying to move reluctant joints.
3. Check in on-line the day before.  It takes a lot of stress away if you’re running late.  If you’re travelling to the airport on the same day it only takes a minor traffic accident to ruin your holiday plans.  If you’ve followed our advice and booked into a hotel nearby the night before you can afford to sleep in.   Then  on arrival at check in all you have to do is drop your bags off.

At The Airport

1. Get through security at the first opportunity.  It’s the pain before the pleasure and if the queue is long don’t be afraid to ask the airport staff for assistance.  They’re always happy to help.
2. Use an airport lounge.  If you don’t have free access to one with your airline then No.1 Lounges (https://no1lounges.com/ ) will cost you from £26 per adult.  You’ll find they are often located fairly near the gates so mega convenient.  They have lots of comfortable seating and fresh food and drinks ( even alcohol but not champagne!) are included in the price.  And let’s face it you can easily spend silly money in an airport just for a cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich!
3. I don’t often stray into this territory but just before you board USE THE LOO!  It is much easier to use the airport facilities than the cramped confines of the onboard WC and will save you at least one unpleasant visit. If you have obility issues this simple action is more important than you realize.  No one is a fan of aircraft loos!
4. Assistance is also available when boarding.  Your airline want you to have a positive experience so they’re happy to help.  It’s always a good idea to request special assistance when you book so they can prepare for your arrival.  They will at the very least give you a lift to your boarding gate and may well give you priority boarding so it’s definitely worth asking.

Onboard

1. Whether you’ve upgraded or not try to bag yourself an aisle seat.  That way you can get up and move around as often as you need without disturbing your fellow passengers.  Sitting still for long periods of time is going to encourage your joints to sieze up.  Do small exercises rotating ankles and wrists whilst seated.  Stand up and wiggle a bit – you won’t be the only one!
2. Take your time disembarking and again assistance is available and you’ll be whisked through the airport on a buggy or at least a wheelchair.  If you’re feeling more energetic and want to make your own way, let everyone else gallop off to baggage reclaim where they’ll have to wait anyway and take it slowly.
3. Finally and most importantly, relax.  Your holiday has already begun and stress no longer belongs in your life.  Only fun and enjoyment should lay ahead of you.

BONUS TIPS – Travel midweek.  Airport queues are always longer and busier at the weekend.   Check out accommodation accessibility and reviews on TripAdvisor.

So now you’ve read our top tips for travelling with arthritis be sure to keep them in mind.  It’s often the simple actions and detail that can make the most difference.  Your journey will rarely be perfect but hopefully following our tips will help to make it more bearable.  Read our article Travelling With Fibro for more useful advice.  Happy Travels!

Photo by Niels And Marco on Unsplash

Updated March 2020 – If you think your holidays should be longer then you’re definitely in the majority. Read on to find out how it can benefit your health.

Taking more holidays can prolong your life!

Jump To:

• Take Some Extra Time
• Where To Find Long Stay Holidays
• The Evidence
• Overall Opinion

Well here’s the news we’ve been waiting for!   It’s now official that holidays do us more good than a healthy diet and exercise when it comes to relieving stress.  Yes folks, holidays should be longer!! Put me on a plane somewhere warm and sunny and in a couple of days my aches and pains are a distant memory.

And what’s even better news is that we need at least 3 weeks a year.  Most of us take a fortnight at a time given that we get 4 weeks statutory holiday.  But don’t you find that fortnight goes all too quickly?  And have you considered taking more than two weeks in one go?

Long stay holidays are perfect for retirees and being able to take term time holidays means your budget goes further.

Take some extra time for your holidays

Your ideal Winter break is probably the whole six month escape and if you already have a property abroad then why not?  If, like us you don’t have that luxury, then accommodation costs will dictate the length of your stay.  We keep an open schedule through the Winter months so we have the travel freedom we’ve always longed for.  This allows us to tag on an extra week or month or two when we can afford it.  We are now converts to the longer holiday.

Don’t get me wrong, a fortnight is great,  especially if you’re still working but when you break it down it means only one clear weekend.  Most people begin their journey on a Saturday and travel home on a Saturday.  This means the moment that first stress free full  weekend has passed you’re already on a countdown to the end. Extending your stay, even to just three or four weeks gives you a flavor of what it’s like to live like a local.

Where to find long stay holidays

More and more holiday companies such as Jet2 and Tui are beginning to cater for long stay holidays.  Popular winter destinations being the Canary Islands and long haul hotspots such as the Caribbean and Florida.  For the over fifties Saga are a popular choice but by no means the only one. Just Google ‘long stay holidays’ and you’re spoilt for choice.

If you’re feeling a little more confident you can do the research yourself and book independently.  Many long stay vacationers prefer the privacy of an apartment or villa so they can live like a local, booking your flights separately. The most valuable resource available at this stage is TripAdvisor. It’s a mine of information wherever you’re planning to go. It has lots of reviews from other travellers so you can make a more informed decision.

There are global websites where you can choose your own accommodation.  One of the more popular and well known sites is HomeAway along with  Airbnb.  There is a whole host of independent rental sites and if South West Florida is on your list, then we can recommend the service we received from Dallas at  Secret-Places.com  and Michael at LVCC Luxury Villas for higher end homes.  They both offer villas that are clean, comfortable and luxurious but again, most villas will likely have an honest review on TripAdvisor.

Cruise lines are old hands at the extended holiday offering durations that range from a couple of days with Fred Olsen Cruises to Cunards staggering 107 night world cruise.  So if you’re a fan of the open seas and want to experience different cultures then this is the option for you. (Take a look at our article here to see how we got an upgrade with Cunard).

The Evidence

In a recent 40 year study, the University of Helsinki found that people who take less than three weeks annual holiday are more likely to die young than those who take more.

As advocates of the longer holiday we found that even three weeks was so much more relaxing than two.  And those extra days away sent us back home feeling more refreshed and ready to take on the world.

The study, which began in the 1970s, involved 1,222 middle-aged men born between 1919 and 1934 who were at risk of heart disease – due to factors such as high blood pressure, smoking or being overweight.

• Half were given instructions to exercise, eat healthily, achieve a healthy weight and stop smoking, while the others were given no extra advice.

• The research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Munich, found those given advice were more likely to die young – with experts suggesting interventions may have added extra stress to their lives.

• Among the same group, those who took less than three weeks off each year were 37% more likely to die young over the next 30 years.

Professor Strandberg from the University of Helsinki calculates that “the harm you cause by the intensive lifestyle regime is concentrated in a subgroup of men with shorter yearly vacation time.

“In our study, men with shorter vacations worked more and slept less than those who took longer vacations.”

Give it a Try

So there we have it.  It’s official and the figures are out there to prove it.  And it’s now a fact that some of the long stay winter holidays abroad can work out cheaper than staying at home and turning up the heating.  Being retired doesn’t mean you don’t need a holiday anymore, quite the opposite.

This is our golden time when we’re free of ties and constraints.  When we can take time to breathe and enjoy and  fulfil our travel dreams.  No one ever imagines a retirement spent huddled over the fire trying to keep warm.

Overall Opinion

There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored.  Tag an extra week or two onto your holiday whenever you can.  And if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous you can make a month or two (or three).  The cost is a little more in food and accommodation and no extra cost on flights.  You don’t need an excuse anymore, you’re already there so why not make the most of it?  Just think of long stay holidays as the healthy option!

Happy Holidays!