I was pretty disgusted when I had to phone Holiday Extras for a medical screening - no choice of company, as they had been selected by an organisation which is arranging international & in country travel, accommodation & insurance for a course in Iceland, at no cost to myself. Despite having no risk factors (and pointing out that I had travelled independently or as an expedition leader all over Europe, Scandinavia, North Africa, Middle East & Latin America, usually doing far more adventurous things that I would be on this course, since diagnosis and never made a claim) they wanted to add ?7 to my premium, which the organisation is paying. However, I did tell the woman who "screened" me that I'd know which company not to choose when arranging my own insurance in the future!
By chance, one of the other 4 people on the course is a very old friend of mine - we first met on as fellow leaders on an expedition to Svalbard in 1987, then he asked me to come on an expedition he led to Greenland in 1992, where I had a lad with diabetes in my group of 12 youngsters. We meet at least once or twice a year, when he comes to stay for the expedition reunion meeting down south in January and / or when he flies out of Stansted Airport and / or when I pass near him on the M6, when we often have a day fell walking. When I mentioned the irritation over insurance, he had obviously forgotten that I had told him about having diabetes, but equally, he's had no reason to remember, as I've always had pockets full of food and a discrete testing & injection style!
