Travel Insurance and Cancer/COPD
Applying for travel insurance
When you apply for travel insurance, be prepared to answer questions relating to your cancer diagnosis, the stage of your cancer and the treatment you have had:
(note here that you shouldn’t be shy or embarrassed-they have heard virtually everything so don’t worry – and never hide things as that which you fail to disclose may cost you £thousands later on! )
If you have had surgery, what type?
If you have had chemotherapy: do you know what drug combination was given to you?
Ask your consultant or cancer support team if you are unsure of this information before applying for insurance.
You will also be asked about the follow up care you are having.
You may need a doctor’s letter confirming that you have had a diagnosis of cancer but that you are fit to travel.
If you have to take any special medical equipment with you, please make sure that your insurance will cover this.
If you have had cancer in the past, many high street travel companies will give you medical insurance as long as you have a certificate from your doctor confirming you no longer have cancer and are fit enough to travel.
Each travel insurance policy varies, some offer more cover than others. Be sure to shop around and pay particular attention to the medical cover they are offering.
Now for a bombshell update! Let’s imagine you were a bit peeved in 2014 when you had to pay £335.00 for your cruise to (eg) the Fjords. Now imagine it’s 2017 and you want that same insurance cover for your holiday of a lifetime Meditteranean Cruise in 2018 (14 nights) costs £2,848.00 but you work it out that with a little prudence you can afford it. What is the next step I wonder? Holiday insurance of course so you phone your trusty insurance company and go through the entire rigmarole of illnesses past, pil;ls potions and whatever else they ask you, mentioning of course that you are now obviously 2 yrs older (3 by the time the holiday comes round) and that you have two new tablets to take on a daily basis, one of them being a drug named RAMIPRIL-a drug that can be prescribed for a few medical problems actually! However, on the travel agents/insurance agents chart it comes under the heading of HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. Those three words scupper your insurance completely as COPD + HBP is the disaster that bankrupts you. That £335.00 suddenly rockets to £2,611.00 – doubling the price of your ‘dream cruise’, basically destroying any hopes you had.
The moral of this sorry tale is that once you have passed 65yrs of age the insurance premiums start to rocket & if you happen to need a couple more tablets every day (even water tablets) then you are rapidly reaching the no-go areas of insurance cover. And it is no use telling a few ‘porkies’ or omitting any relevant details for if something does go wrong during your holiday and the insurance company can find a ‘get-out’ I promise you they will take it to avoid paying out – and you wouldn’t be the first to have to suddenly find £10K to fly you home!
Beware, once over 65 check your insurances BEFORE you book any holidays!
Now please be warned: Several companies have asked me what sort of cancer I had so I answered truthfully that it was throat cancer and that the cancer had all been removed, as had my voice-box/larynx. To my utter amazement the premium shot up because I had throat cancer-the operative word being HAD! I was told that they had to cover themselves against my getting throat cancer AGAIN whilst on holiday! Now let’s think about this for a minute because if you have had throat cancer and surgery has removed every single vestige of said disease then how can I/you possibly need to ‘extra premiumed’ for something that cannot possibly happen?
The problem is that the girls on the telephones simply read from a script and therefore tick boxes – they have no say in the procedures. What you all need to do is to write to each insurer that comes up with this scam and complain.
Where you plan to travel to ?
Travel insurance costs vary depending on where you are travelling to, whether or not you have cancer. Medical costs in the US are very high and you may find it difficult to get cover. It may be easier and cheaper to get travel insurance for European countries.
If you are travelling within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, you should carry a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). For more information visit www.ehic.org.uk.
If you have been affected by cancer, getting travel insurance can often be difficult. From the insurance company’s point of view, there may be more risk involved in insuring you as you may be more likely to need medical treatment while you are abroad. They may also consider it more likely that you will cancel your trip at the last minute due to illness.
Specialist insurance companies often cover a wider range of people with cancer and pre-existing medical problems. To be sure you are covered for any medical problem.
If you are travelling abroad for treatment:
If you are thinking of going abroad specifically for medical treatment, different rules apply. It is important to note that your EHIC does not cover going abroad for planned treatment.
The S2 (or E112) form entitles you to pre-planned and endorsed treatment in the state- funded sector in another EEA country and Switzerland. Treatment will be provided under the same conditions of care and payment as residents of that country and you may have to pay a percentage of the costs upfront. First, you should discuss your plans with your doctor before you make any travel or medical arrangements. For more information visit www.nhs.uk and search for planned treatment abroad.
Specialist brokers and insurance companies:
We have listed some companies below which have been recommended to us by supporters and visitors to our website. These companies listed are specialist brokers or companies which will consider providing travel insurance to people who have been affected by cancer:
JD Travel
Tel: +44 (0) 344 2474749
Fax: +44 (0) 2084643657
These good people headline with Travel insurance for Pre-Existing medical conditons which is exactly what we lary’s need as too many companies start on the trail of charging you a fee ‘in case of throat cancer rearing its ugly head‘-when we all know that we have already lost our throats courtesy of cancer!
JD Travel take each case on an individual basis so if you are thinking of travelling abroad with any medical conditions give ‘JD’ a ring….. and it could well be “JD” with just that one phone call …. and if you fancy a leaflet to read then drop us an email and we’ll send one straight out to you or simply email the company themselves. Why not nip onto their website for a browse around?
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Insuremore
0844 567 5028
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White Horse Travel Insurance (Highly recommended)
http://www.whitehorseinsurance.com/home/
Tel: +353 61 475631 Fax: +353 61 475634 – These have been found to be very competitive indeed, covering all our ‘lary’ conditions along with COPD etc at ver competitive prices!
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Flexicover Travel Ins
0800 093 9495
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Direct Travel Insurance
0845 605 2700
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Freedom Travel Insurance
01223 446 914
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Free Spirit (P J Hayman & C)
0845 230 5000
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InsureCancer (Medi TravelCover Ltd)
0845 649 0190
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Travel Insured (Manor Insurance)
0800 027 6171
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Travelbility
0845 338 1638
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Payingtoomuch.com
01243-784000
Silversurfers (who cater for the over 50’s) have also provided a possible travel insurance option so give these a try too. Remember, it’s up to you which company you choose to insure you but there are some pretty hefty differences in premiums!
Please note that“20-20 Voice” Cancer does not offer travel insurance, nor recommend any particular broker or insurance company.We do recommend that you phone around (or e-mail various companies) explaining that you are a laryngectomee and that you HAD cancer, BUT that the cancerous tissues have all been removed surgically leaving you without voice. You might think this to be exceedingly obvious but trust me it is not! My wife has spoken to many a ‘girl on the other end of a phone’ explaining that I do not need insurance cover ‘in case’ I get throat cancer as I no longer have a larynx yet they insist that I have to be covered against throat cancer! Weird I can tell you!
Each insurance broker listed is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) .
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) represents the UK’s insurance industry and also acts as an advocate for high standards of customer service in the insurance industry.
Association of British Insurers
020 7600 3333
*****Please share your travel insurance experience*****
If you have had a good experience booking travel insurance, either with one of the companies mentioned above or with another company, please let us know.
You can e-mail us at admin@2020voicecancer.org or call/text us on 07757-382970
Enjoy your holidays where-ever you go, but if it is abroad do not take any chances whatsoever with
your medical insurance as you do NOT want to end up with a £10,000 medical bill because you omitted a minor detail (to you) when setting up your holiday insurance! There is also an excellent guidebook from Paul Cantile which gives a plentiful insight into ‘larytravel’.
A Laryngectomee’s Travel Guide to the British Isles (insert pdf icon here)
