Difficulty in getting travel cover at a reasonable cost

FormerMember
FormerMember
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Hi. I'm travelling to Brittany in summer and have been shocked at the results of trying to get insurance. Following advice on the macmillan website, I used one of the comparison websites to get some indicative quotes. On my first attempt, the 40 companies selected declined to give a price. I then adjusted filters and was successful in getting 4 quotes - ranging from £938 to £1283 for ten days cover!

My recent medical history is as follows: A year ago I had a lesion excised from my lung, and biopsy revealed it to be malignant, but a primary cancer that had not spread elsewhere. I have several other lesions on the same lung, but none of them have grown significantly in the last year and, for now at least, no treatment is planned. The lesions are currently not of sufficient size to be classed even as Stage 1 cancer, but will probably grow at some point and will then need chemo - two sessions I have been advised.

To complicate matters, 18 months ago I was admitted to hospital with severe jaundice - bilirubin in excess of 700. A blocked bile duct was diagnosed, and there was more than a suspicion among the doctors that cancer was the root cause. After 10 ERCPs and several biopsies, no cancerous cells had been found. Because of recurring problems with stents, resulting in biliary sepsis, a stomach bypass op was carried out in May last year. Since then, I have regained strength, I exercise without physical discomfort, am eating well and, in some ways, have not been healthier for years. Incidentally, during the stomach bypass they found some thickening of the pancreas, but no malignant cells.

To cap it all, I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation a few years ago. It is controlled by a small daily dose of beta blocker and has been asymptomatic since first diagnosed.

Given all of this, it is perhaps understandable that insurance companies don't fancy the risk of taking me on. On the other hand, I feel really well in myself and, barring accidents, expect to have a good quality of life for some years yet. But try communicating this to a computer program that merely allocates a risk score to the answers to certain questions. Not easy at all.

Has anyone found a way of negotiating an acceptable solution to a similar problem? If you have, I'd like to know how.

  • Hi and welcome to the online community

    Unfortunately, as you have found, it can be more difficult to find reasonably priced travel insurance when you either have cancer or have had it before. 

    I don't know if you've had a look through the Recommended Travel Insurance thread yet as it's where we try to keep recommendations from other forum members who have obtained travel insurance. There may be a company listed that you haven't tried. Either scroll down the page to it or click on the link I've created.

    Most people recommend that you phone the travel companies rather than try and do online quotes as it's easier to explain to someone than try to complete an online form. 

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

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