We have a Barclays Travel Plus Pack for which we pay a monthly fee and this has worked well for some years now.
In 2021 my husband was diagnosed with bladder cancer - it hadn't spread outside the bladder and the treatment was via immunotherapy (BCG) with regular cystoscopies to check the bladder in between treatments.
After his first course of BCG we decided to go on a cruise - this was October 2021. He phoned the insurers for advice and told them what the course of treatment was. They said they would cover his bladder cancer and we have that in writing. Since then we've been on quite a few trips safe in the knowledge that he is covered - although it hasn't been needed.
Last month I developed a viral infection whilst abroad and had to have a doctor out. Barclays paid the claim but advised me to phone to check my cover would not be changed. So I did and whilst on the phone they also updated my husband's health questions, despite only doing this in February 2023. They have now decided that as he is having 3 monthly cystsocopies they will not cover the bladder cancer. Despite trying to reason with them and arguing that they appear to have just changed their minds about covering him they won't budge. Apparently if you have more than 2 cystos per year they won't cover you - although he's been having them for nearly 2 years now. They claim to have asked my husband this question when we phoned them in 2021 but he can't remember that. In fact we were so shocked at the fact they they were covering him I actually rang them back to check!
If I hadn't had that infection in Madeira we would not have phoned them and would be unaware that he would not be covered.
At the moment we've asked for a recording of the phone conversation so we can check exactly what was said and they are going to send it to us. We've just returned from a week in Turkey and went without him being covered for bladder cancer. As he's been well, apart from UTIs, everything was fine. He's now on low dose antibiotics so that's no longer a problem. Barclays say they will cover him again for bladder cancer once his treatment finishes and cystoscpies are reduced to 2 a year.
I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this? We're going on a cruise in September to celebrate his 70th and wondering whether he should take out a separate policy to cover his cancer.
Hi Elpie Bee
I haven't had exactly the same scenario as your husband but I have bank accounts with two different banks that include travel insurance. One of them is happy to cover everything to do with my melanoma and breast cancer diagnoses whereas the other one will only, at present, cover the melanoma diagnosis. If necessary I buy a standalone single trip insurance to cover me.
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. There are lots of recommendations there so it's best to go through the thread, make a list and then sit down with a big cup of tea to start phoning around.
I hope this helps and let us know how you get on
x
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
I hope your complaint gets resolved to your satisfaction. Unfortunately, it appears that any slight change to our medical circumstances can result in insurers declining to insure or ending cover.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
