Somerset family's travel insurance warning over hospital stay
Mr Kirby's partner Helen Whitemore said they "just want him home" and he is "getting a little bit depressed".Liza Whitemore said: "He's not come out of bed for a month, not walked. He is just waiting and hoping he can come home."
She said Mr Kirby, of Marston Magna near Yeovil, knew he had a benign tumour in his chest and declared it to Allianz Insurance, but did not get a fit-to-fly certificate as insurers recommended.Allianz said it "acted in good faith" and denied the family's claim due to the pre-existing condition.
Ms Whitemore said her stepfather fell ill on a holiday the family had taken to celebrate a number of birthdays."He was struggling to breathe, so he went to different clinics for X-rays, scans and tests. We thought 'this is really good, they're onto it'," she said.But once they reached a hospital to pick up some antibiotics, Ms Whitemore said they were shocked to be told "antibiotics won't cure cancer" and that Mr Kirby was going to die. "Obviously, there's a big communication barrier," she said."But it was so scary, my poor mum, bless her. She didn't know anything of what was going on," Ms Whitemore added.She said Allianz agreed to fly her stepfather to a general hospital in Athens but would not cover the cost of an air ambulance back to Yeovil.
The family warned British holidaymakers to ensure they travel with their European Health Insurance Cards and up-to-date-insurance documents, to avoid a scenario like theirs.Helen Whitemore said: "We should have done it differently - we didn't. "We're paying the price and we don't want it to happen to anyone else. "You're left on your own out there."Allianz said it sympathised with Mr Kirby but was unable to pay out due to the nature of the pre-existing condition.
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