Hi,
My mother’s recently been given a terminal cancer diagnosis. She really wants to go for a weeks holiday abroad to the Canary Islands, but is having trouble getting travel insurance.
Grateful for any assistance on companies who we could contact who would insure my mum.
Many thanks
Delyth
Hi
Thanks for getting in touch. I’m so sorry to hear about your Mother’s diagnosis.
Just to make you aware we can’t recommend any financial products or services but hopefully you may find the following information helpful
Firstly it may worth looking on our online community. We have a helpful travel insurance group here. On this page people affected by cancer discuss their experiences trying to get travel insurance and post recommendations of companies they’ve personally used. By using the information provided by others who have been in a similar position, hopefully you can make a shortlist of companies to try.
Another option for finding travel insurance is the Travel Insurance Directory which has been created by MoneyHelper (a separate organisation to Macmillan). The directory can be used to search for FCA approved travel insurers who may offer cover to people with pre-existing medical conditions. Please visit their directory here.
Does your Mother have any travel insurance cover in place through her bank account or a credit card? They won’t usually automatically cover for pre-existing health conditions, but if she has this cover already through a product it’s worth checking on. They may be able to offer full cover if a top-up fee is paid.
You’ve probably already realised when applying for cover so far, that a lot of companies will ask very similar or even the same questions. The medical screening systems they use are often the same, which leads to a bit of repetition with the questions. Please don’t let this put you off, despite being asked similar questions each company will have their own quote at the end if they can offer cover – so it is worth persisting and shopping around. If you’re struggling to properly explain your mother’s situation with the questions asked, you can ask if it’s possible for the company to manually underwrite the policy. This is where a person would look at the health situation and decide whether to offer cover and at what price, rather than a computer making the decision. Some companies may do this as their standard procedure.
You may encounter some companies that offer a policy with a cancer-related exclusion. This means your mother wouldn’t be covered for any claims relating to the cancer. This could affect the premium considerably, but it’s good to consider the risk of not being covered for anything relating to the cancer.
One last thing I’d like to mention is about the insurance those you’re travelling with have. Some policies may cover cancellation if something happens to a ‘close family relative’. The exact cover would be explained in your policy documents, it’s a good idea to check exactly what may be covered. Some companies may only cover cancellation due to a close relative’s illness if it was disclosed and they were told about the person’s health conditions beforehand.
If you have a current European Health Insurance Card, or you get a Global Health Insurance card (more information here) and you have opted to take an exclusion, you would still be able to get treatment in public hospitals when abroad. However, this treatment may still be chargeable at the time although it may be possible to reclaim some or all of the cost back once you are back in the UK.
I hope this information helps and that you’re able to get cover in place. If you have any further questions or would like to discuss matters such as Pensions, Mortgages or Estate Planning, then don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
Joe
Financial Guide
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