I am lucky enough to have just been put back to a yearly watch and wait. With this in mind should I take Holiday Insurance that excludes CLL. I have no symptoms at the moment and wondered do things suddenly get worse and if I was on a two week holiday for example would there be any likelihood of being hospitalised.
Is there anyone who can give me advice on this please.
My advice would be to declare the CLL as a pre-existing condition Essexman because insurance companies require this. However you could expressly ask for it NOT to be included for cover. Many people do that in order to keep the premium down.
The problem could arise if you contracted a medical problem associated with CLL that couldn't discount CLL as the reason. It's highly unlikely but insurance companies are notorious at looking for get out clauses. Even a severe cold that prevented travel could be pinned on a wonky immune system that wasn't disclosed.
Best to err on the side of total disclosure with travel insurance. And always take an EHIC for Public Health Service cover.
Newdawn
Sorry if I wasn't clear but I have declared my CLL to the insurers and they have offered me cover but excluded the CLL and I am wondering if anything related to CLL could come on rapidly forcing me to make a claim while I am abroad
With a compromised immune system we are more susceptible to all infections and particularly susceptable to foodborne illness in some cases, which in my experience can progress in a matter of hours....
It isn't the CLL that is likely to be problematic, it is the related matters and that improperly washed salad... 
Oh sorry Essexman, I misunderstood. I thought from your post that you were electing to exclude the CLL from the cover in light of the very good news about an annual W&W.
To some extent the same advice would remain and it's incredibly difficult to predict the sudden onset of a condition associated with CLL like shingles (heaven forbid!).
CLL by its very chronic and it seems indolent nature in your case, is unlikely to necessitate a sudden rush into hospital. The EHIC card would cover any need for sudden medical care in Europe and your private travel insurance would allow you to receive private care for non CLL related health emergencies.
I'm wondering by what extent the premium would rise if CLL was included? I'm somewhat cynical about travel insurance and I'd be concerned about links being made with a compromised immune system. But in reality I would personally travel without my CLL covered if the additional premium was extortionate. I am mindful of the fact that I travelled home with a severe chest infection last year and had I been unable to fly, I do wonder if the insurance company may have taken the view that my Stage A compromised immune system was largely/partially to blame?
Presumably you generally have good health at present with the absence of sudden and persistent infections? Those are the things that can be CLL related. Not sure if that helps.
Newdawn
I declared CLL on my application for travel insurance and the premium rocketed from £23 to £66 for 4 nights in Iceland and from £ 42 to £163 for 4 nights in New York, and this was with another person on the same policy. Had I taken the policy out solely in my name the New York trip would have cost me £450.
I agree with Newdawn that insurance companies will always look for a reason not to pay out and if they can use CLL as a reason they will.
Personally I would never take the chance and would always make sure I am covered but I do begrudge the extortionate premiums I have to pay.
This goes back to my gripe about why insurance companies class CLL as a serious enough illness that it needs specifying so they charge extortionate premiums and will pay out on some Critical Illness policies but the benefits agencies don't think it is serious enough for us to be able to get any benefits despite the affects the illness can have on our lives.
Better be safe than sorry, despite the cost.
Anne xx
I have the same problem, indolent CLL with 6 monthly check-ups and otherwise in good general health but my annual travel insurance excluded the CLL when I declared it, so when travelling outside the EU I take out additional insurance which is exhorbitant in the case of the US. You could hope if you need treatment for anything the doctors will write it up as something not CLL related
I travel to the tropics every 2 months and don't take out the insurance as though we get told by our doctors plenty of times that "that symptom is not CLL related," I have absolute confidence that an insurance company would disagree and peg even a jelly fish sting as caused by the pre-existent CLL. I do however tell the airlines and they arrange wheelchairs, preferred seating etc for me. The resorts also have been very good to recognize when I am getting over-fatigued and order a golf cart to drive me to supper, or the room.
Have just taken out travel insurance , was dreading it as thought it would be sky high after reading all the comments on here but was pleasantly surprised , I phoned world first after it being recommended on here and it was only £66 for the year with cll included but with a higher excess for anything cll related, as I am early stage a I thought this was good
HI Essexman, presumably you live in the UK? - I too live in Essex. I recently took out an annual multi trip policy for myself, (stage B CLL), my wife (high blood pressure) and our two children for a bit under £200. This is restricted to Europe, but the medical conditions are included. The company is staysure.co.uk, and they specialise in existing medical conditions. Hope this helps, and long may the W&W last!
I have to get travel insurance too but find it strange that aparantly i have been going around with indolent CLL for the last 9 years ,donating blood, holidaying abroad etc because my GP surgery didnt tell me,my consultant tells me it hasnt changed in 9 years so things such as travel has changed but I havent ignorence is sometimes bliss.
The problem I found recently is insurance companies only hear ChronicLL and don't seem to know or understand that there are various stages of the disease, so when I went looking for quotes the fact that I was stage A low count didn't make the slightest bit of difference & I ended up paying what I'd normally for 4 years for 2 trips this year.
Some more or less wouldn't cover me or at least gave me a list of exclusions as long as my arm & I ended up going with SAGA who were expensive, but didn't put any exclusions into the policy.
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