Travel Insurance

I would be interested for any help/advice in relation to what insurance you take out when you go on holiday and have cancer and who you think are the best to go with.  My husband has found it quite difficult and when calling many companies, he has been quoted some extortinate prices to cover me.  When we went for normal cover, it was fine but many did not want to insure me even then because I am terminally ill.  We finally went with the Post Office but they have changed their underwriteres now so cannot use them to cover me for travel.

We would be interested to hear whom you use so that we can contact them to possibly use ourselves.

Many thanks

Cookie17

 

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  • Wow, that is awful.  I had insurance off them last month for a week in Italy and it was £75.  Why do they all charge differently.

    Hope you manage to get a more reasonable quote, Toni. 

  • Hi tonim

    Im gobsmacked at that, perhaps your condition is just too much risk for them, or they just dont want your business. have a try with insurancewith.com. I was quoted silly prices too but insurancewith gave me insurace albeit with a hefty excess in the £35 region if I remember right. When the prices get up in the thousands Id just go on holiday without being insured, it isnt a legal requirement. Take your own risk for cancellation theft etc and use the European health card if you need medical care. Hospitals in Europe have pretty high standards with France and Spain better than UK. Holidays are really important for our wellbeing, getting away to do something different, gives us new energy to deal with our problems. You could always come down to sunny Devon where it rains six days out of seven.

  • Kim, I think it's raining everywhere at the moment, I am in Essex and it's pretty grim here.

    The only problem of going without insurance is if you need to be brought home for medical reasons or otherwise, you are then not covered.  I have to say I have taken a chance once or twice though.  Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind!  

  • Thank you everyone for you kind responses and valuable advice. i will certainly take it on board when we hunt around for insurance.  Your help has been much appreciated.

     

    Thanks

    Cookie17

  • Hi cookie I have an annual travel insurance and when I told them of my condition they would continue to cover me except for any cancer related claims. They won't give me full cover again for 5years. So going to Austria I have taken the risk of having this & my European health card. The main consideration is if you had to cancel can you afford to lose the money & what would be the chance of becoming ill ( or worse) on holiday.

    ​

  • Thank you River56 for your response.  I am intrigued with everyone's responses and what they have been told. What you have said is very much what we have been told, we can only get cover for general accidents and if something happened to my husband who is my carer too. 

    I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your thoughts. They are much appreciated.

    Cookie17

  •  

     

    Guys,

    If you click on the link posted by moderator Jane there's some good info on there.

    Travel insurance not covering your cancer related issues is a waste of money and you might be in breach of the airlines and travel agents terms and conditions. The EHIC coverage varies from country to country - see the link below.

    I have used Allclear a few times since diagnosis and know that in the event of me becoming ill on holiday due to my cancer or my other pre-existing conditions I will have Medivac costs to the UK covered. The risk is high and so are the premiums. Insurance for a week in Croatia cost me almost £400 - annual Worldwide travel excluding USA and Canada was over three times that. 

    I hope this helps.

    Dave 

    Useful links - www.thisismoney.co.uk/.../Travel-insurance-illness--EHIC-covers.html

    www.wanderlust.co.uk/.../potential-costs-without-travel-insurance

    www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/.../tragic-dads-body-trapped-spain-7936551