Cancer

Hi Mont and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

A holiday in the Canary Islands sounds lovely but, as you've found, it can be more difficult to find reasonably priced travel insurance when you've had a cancer diagnosis. Personally, I found that the further in time I got away from the original diagnosis, and as I only needed check-ups, the insurance premiums became cheaper.

Have you had chance to look at the recommendations in the 'recommended travel insurance' thread yet? If not, clicking on the link I've created will take you straight there. You might also want to look at this thread as it includes a link to a Travel Insurance Directory. 

Most people recommend that it's best to phone the insurance companies rather than try and do online quotes as often at the end of the online quote it will 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. 

Do come back and let us know how you get on

x

Hi Mont - I recently finished 8 cycles of cgtohemo feeling much in need of a break, like you.

Our usual insurers all came back very pricey, but I found this website useful https://www.medicaltravelcompared.co.uk/ as well as looking at the Which? recommended providers, one of which we ended up using.

I was able to do the whole process online, although I needed to answer very specific (but standard) questions on my diagnosis and treatment. The cover ended up costing less than half the initial quotes at £155 for 2 adults (my wife also has a pre-existing health condition) for 2 weeks, for a Defacto 5-star rated policy. Most seem only to offer single trip cover for travellers in cancer remission, so I've resigned myself to higher premiums for a few years.

My biggest concern was cancellation of flights/lodging at the last moment due to illness. Worth every penny to get away for some warmer weather and a change scene! Enjoy.

Thanks for the suggestion of the compare website. I have spent 2 days calling travel insurance companies from a search which came up with 13 options on the money helper website and either getting declined due to my husband having a terminal prognosis or very high quotes for 6 days in Tenerife. In the end via this search website it came up with 'good to go' insurers and the insurance I purchased online was £600 cheaper than the quote I got from the same company over the phone.

Brilliant - glad it was useful, and enjoy your holiday.

Thanks for the tip about this comparison site. I tried it for multi trip for me and my wife but it returned no results! It looks like I'll have to do the rounds on the phone tomorrow until I find someone prepared to take the risk. I suspect it's because I'm waiting for knee op as well as the cancer. 

Anyway, this is what they suggested next: 

Yes, I was unable to get any multi-trip policies too, but got a good single trip policy at a fair price. It will be a few years before multi trip is an option for me, I suspect. Tesco Bank was the one we used.

That’s a point. I’m retiring in Feb and planning a few trips in Europe this year, but maybe single trip would be better value. 

Update: After several tedious phone calls I got multi trip cover for me and my wife, who also has some medical conditions. It's from Insurancewith and cost me £275 for the year. Of course it excludes cover for anything to do with the cancer, and the dodgy knee I'm waiting for an op on. I should be OK if get hit by a bus or something. 

That's good news. I've now passed the 1 year milestone since my operation. This time I was able to get a multi-trip policy for both of us from Staysure for £289, cancer cover inclusive. My wife also has some conditions, so not too bad. All the best for your trip.