Good afternoon,

My wife has recently been diagnosed with Stage 1/2 breast cancer and is due to have surgery towards the end of August or early September. Thankfully, her consultant has confirmed that we are still able to go ahead with our family holiday to Italy in early August.

Today I contacted Admiral to let them know about my wife’s diagnosis, as I wanted to make sure everything was declared properly. To my surprise, they told me they could no longer insure us and that our travel insurance policy would be cancelled.

Because my wife is the lead policyholder, I was also told that myself and our two children would need to arrange a completely separate policy. They advised that if we decide not to travel, we could submit a cancellation claim. After expressing how disappointed I was with their response, they also mentioned that I might be able to cancel my own cover and receive a pro-rata refund, although I assume this would be subject to an administration fee.

My question is whether they are actually allowed to simply cancel the policy like this?

We did exactly what we believed was the right thing by informing them as soon as we received the diagnosis. I had expected they would assess the situation based on the medical evidence and our consultant’s advice, rather than immediately deciding to cancel the policy altogether.

For context, the holiday was booked well before my wife noticed the lump or had any reason to seek medical advice.

It’s been an incredibly emotional week for our family, and to be treated this way after trying to do the right thing has been really upsetting.

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Thanks,

Phil