Holiday Insurance for cancer sufferer....

[Kriminal]

We're having problems at the moment trying to get Holiday Insurance for my Dad, as he has prostate cancer (affecting his bones too).

 

I was speaking to a Nurse this morning who asked me if he had a Platinum Card from a bank, as he should be able to either use it for insurance, or get insurance on it (I'm not too sure about that part to be honest).

 

Anybody understand what the Nurse was referring too, or know a way around this ?

 

Thanks in advance

[pompeyfaith]

Most platinum bank accounts come with free extras and travel insurance is usually one of them.

 

I think this is what she means.

 

PF

[Mydogsawestie]

My mum has lots of pre-existing medical conditions & in her late 70's last time I got her an insurance policy from intune travel which wasn't too bad a price & could be done online too without having to go through to a helpline going through lots of medical questions like lots of other travel ins co. (which can be tiring!!!)

 

Have you tried googling cancer travel insurance, to see if perhaps you can get something fairly reasonable that way, hope you get something sorted for him soon or even better find he may be covered already on one of his bank acct card/policies.

[honeybee13]

I would advise being cautious with bank account insurance [sorry PF]. A few years ago I was offered this with my current account, but on reading the small print, it said they wouldn't cover pre-existing conditions. I reported my fairly mild back problem and my OH said he had a shoulder problem, and they immediately excluded both.

 

Please be careful.

 

HB

[pompeyfaith]

I would advise being cautious with bank account insurance [sorry PF].

 

Honey no need to apologise as I am fully aware of the cons, and I should of said that but I was just putting an answer to the question.

 

I had the same with the insurance that came with my bank account, oh and it aint free as they said it was as the platinum account I had cost £12 a mth.

 

PF

[honeybee13]

Hi PF. I think I know the bank you mean, and am still wondering if it's better to have our own insurance we can depend on or use the bank's and not really understand what they might pay for... I could have a no-charge account and pay for the benefits I need rather than all the add-ons, some of which I don't want.

 

Not necessarily to do with this forum, sorry.

 

HB

 

HB

[EYEBALLS01]

I insure my wife who has many pre existing conditions (although thankfully not cancer) with a firm called Travelbility who are actually AXA and the premium for a two week trip to Turkey ,which turned into three because of the volcano seemed quite reasonable at £105 for three of us.

 

They gave us a free week because of the ash which covered us until we got home.

 

I did though, have to claim as I had a chest infection and ended up in hospital and they paid the hospital direct leaving me to pay the £50 excess.

We did though have a problem as my wife got the same thing and as chest complaints were a pre existing condition, I had to pay 850 Euros as they wanted me to produce evidence i.e chest x ray medical report, which I have produced I am in the process of claiming back,

I`ll keep you posted but do make sure you tell them everything as I`m pretty sure they share a database so once you`ve declared a pre existing condition it is there for all insurers to see.

I don`t think that I would risk relying on a bank card. Also if going to the EEC make sure you take his E111 plastic card. Also sorry if I`m teaching you to suck eggs if you can get a `fit ti fly` letter from your GP.

Good luck

[Kriminal]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Looks like I'll steer clear from the bank card thing, and start contacting the ones you have recommended.

 

I didn't think it was gonna be this much of a pain in the ar$e, but it turns out it's because we're going to Greece, and with their financial difficulties it costs big money if somebody was needing treatment over there.

[honeybee13]

Hello again. I saw something on TV the other day about a lady who had started her own company to insure cancer sufferers. Sadly, I didn't take note of her name, but it's a specialist company.

 

HB

[Bookworm]

Just to confirm what others have said: Do NOT under any circumstances rely on a bank card insurance, they are exactly like other inscos and do not cover PMH!!! The nurse, whilst well-meaning, has no idea what she's talking about!!!

 

Insurances through a bank card are exactly the same as others, they will hav the same underwriters, and will go through the same emergency services, the only difference is the phone number so that when you call, the person knows to say "X emergency services, how can I help you" instead of the generic one.

 

The EHIC is a must (not called E111 anymore!) for travel within the EEC as previously stated and I must say that if you are travelling within the EEC and something goes wrong, you are often better off in the state hospital than in a private clinic, especially for "heavy" conditions. :-|

 

Eyeball, your insurance didn't extend it out of the goodness of their heart, if you are delayed abroad through no fault of your own, every insco will have to extend cover until you are back in the UK, unless you refuse to travel even though there is no valid reason, in which case, they'll warn you they'll cease cover from X date.

 

Honeybee, unless there is a specific reason you want to pay your bank extra, the added "benefits" seldom add up in terms of costs and use, they are a huge money spinner for the bank, and usually very poor value for money. For tvl insurance, you'd probably be better off with picking your own as and when you need it (only really regular travellers should bother with annual policies tbh) and this way you can make sure that the terms are relevant to you. ;-)

[honeybee13]

Hi. You're right Bookworm, although we do need an annual policy. I've been too disorganised to look into it, although I reached the same conclusion as you. HB

[honeybee13]

I think the lady I mentioned who had problems finding insurance for herself when she'd had cancer, so started her own company, was on BBC2 Working Lunch last week, if that helps any more.

 

HB

[honeybee13]

I couldn't find anything on the BBC website, but a google search did produce Cancer Help UK, who have a web page on this problem. It's worth a look if you haven't solved your problem.

 

HB

[EYEBALLS01]

I tried to get annual insurance but the companies I tried would only insure specific dated because of the pre existing conditions

[mollybe]

Hi

 

My sister has just finished radiotherapy and the cancer nurses suggested she try a company called Medici. I haven't used them but they may be worth checking out