Travel insurance for terminal illness

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I have terminal cholangiocarcinoma on palliative chemotherapy. I just got a quote from AllClear for insurance for 1 week in Europe before my next round of treatment starts (so currently not on chemo) - I haven't booked anything, I just wanted to get an idea of prices. They quoted £3700 which was a bit of an eye opener. 

They also wanted to know if my prognosis is more than 6 months and if not, they can't insure. I haven't been given an exact prognosis and I don't imagine its a straightforward thing to estimate. Also, the cover was very comprehensive. I am really just worried about getting ill whilst away and possibly requiring repatriation. I am not so worried about cancellation or personal items etc.

Has anyone found any companies that cover terminal illness and are perhaps cheaper but cover less. Or has anyone travelled within Europe without insurance as we do have some cover with GHIC I think..

  • Try Boots. If you haven't been given a time limit they won't treat it as terminal at the moment. Good luck !

    Sylvia 

  • Hi  and a very warm welcome to the online community

    Unfortunately, it can be more difficult to find reasonably priced travel insurance when you have had a cancer diagnosis but hopefully you'll be able to find some after looking at recommendations from other members pf the group.

    I don't know if you've had chance to look through the 'recommended travel insurance' thread yet, as it's where the majority of recommendations from other forum members are. If not, clicking on the link I've created will take you straight there.

    I think that different travel insurance companies have different ideas as to what they class as terminal so it's probably best to ask when you ring for a quote. This reply by  to a previous post in this group is possibly relevant to your circumstances. She points out that "some companies class 6 months as terminal and others 12 months but if you do not have a prognosis you are classed as incurable not terminal."

    It is best to phone the insurance companies rather than try and do online quotes as often at the end of the online quote it will often tell you to phone the company and you'll then have to go through all the information again. Also sometimes the broker can refer to the underwriters to see if they would provide cover when an online quote might just give you a straight refusal. 

    Make sure that you have all the information to hand about your diagnosis and treatment before contacting the insurers. This is a list of things an insurance provider might want to know when you're applying for insurance. Some providers might ask for a letter from your doctor saying that you are well enough to travel. This could come from your cancer team or GP.

    As for whether not to take out insurance but just rely on your GHIC card the NHS website says "Your EHIC or GHIC is not a substitute for travel insurance. It may not cover all health costs and never covers repatriation costs. Make sure you have travel insurance as well as your card."

    I do hope that you can get some reasonably priced insurance and that you have a great time!

    x

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     "Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"

  • Thank you for your help. I have managed to get something sorted Blush

  • Hi rm211. My husband is in the same situation as you but is not receiving Chemo yet. Can I ask where you got your insurance from ?

  • I ended up phoning AllClear back as after seeing my oncologist and receiving more recent scan results that were stable rather then showing some progression. Based on the revised information they quoted £500 so went ahead with that. A lot of insurers said no which was quite disheartening but definitely worth phoning round quite a few. I also had some luck with InsureCancer but they did require a form to be filled out by my consultant. They were very helpful on the phone. Good luck!

  • As of last scan,My husbands had grown a little. Although Consultant has said he has several years.I will ring around a few and see if I can sort something out. Thank you for your reply and I hope yoSunglasseshave a fantastic holiday Sunglasses