THE insurance company under fire over its cover of a former Adelaide man stranded in Mexico has admitted it refused his claim because of how the policy was purchased.

Ryan Maudlen, 33, is today awake in a Cancun hospital, but unaware of the row over his insurance claim with InsureandGo, estimated to top at least $200,000.

Mr Maudlen, who has suffered from Crohn’s since he was 14, has been brought out of a medically induced coma after suffering severe blood poisoning following emergency surgery to treat the disease, which causes bowel inflammation.

The insurance company has refused to pay the bills, despite initially telling the hospital at least twice that it would fund the care.

His family said he had renewed the policy he had purchased several years ago while living in Britain and was not considered to have a “pre-existing condition” because he had not had an episode in the past two years.

In a statement posted on its website last night, the British company said it had refused a pay out because of the “circumstances under which the policy was purchased” but did not outline what they were.

The Advertiser believes the issue surrounds the fact the policy states in its fine print that “you are in the UK at the time you purchase the policy, and that your trip starts and ends in the UK”.

After working in London as a business systems analyst, Mr Maudlen met his Salzburg-born girlfriend travelling in 2011.

The pair has been living in Vancouver, Canada, and they began this ill-fated trip in Alaska in July, planning to drive down to Argentina.

The company said it was “unable to comment on specific cases without the full permission of the customer”.

“We are, however, willing to confirm that the main reason we declined the claim was the circumstances under which the policy was purchased, rather than the medical conditions that led to Mr Maudlen’s hospitalisation,” the company said.

Mr Maudlen remains in a critical condition in the private Galenia Hospital’s intensive care unit as his mother Deb, 64, and girlfriend, Katharina Reigl, 29, maintain a bedside vigil.

The family face financial ruin after being forced to pay for his urgent care following complications from emergency surgery, during which more than 60cm of his bowel was removed.

People have donated more than $84,000 to the family after hearing about Mr Maudlen’s plight.

His dire medical condition means he faces the prospect of being stranded in the coastal town, more than 1600km east of the capital Mexico City.

In a series of messages on social media, a company spokesman refused to answer further questions from The Advertiser, citing data protection laws.

But the company’s statement provoked anger from his family, who say they had not informed Mr Maudlen of the insurance dispute to avoid placing further stress on his fragile body.

His devastated father, Robert, 64, attacked the company’s “poor form”.

As the insurance company refused to back down, he has now been forced to remortgage his Modbury Heights home “to the hilt” as first reported by advertiser.com.au.

Mr Maudlen, who has travelled extensively since leaving Adelaide in 2007, was placed in a coma last week after his bowel and intestines perforated, causing kidney and liver failure as well as heart problems.

Despite his life-threatening condition, Mr Maudlen has astounded doctors who had believed he would not pull through.

Medical costs are now put at more than $30,000 a day and the hospital has threatened to discharge him if they do not meet the mounting charges immediately.

They total medical bill is estimated at more than $200,000 while a medevac flight costs a further $160,000.