holiday insurance

[Rusty821]

my hubby and myself would like to go on a cruise we have spoken with insurance and after waiting 4 days they said they won’t insure me and wouldn’t give a reason

My scan is stable snd I’m feeling fine

Anybody got any suggestions who to use

thanks

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

HI Rusty821

That must be so frustrating for you both.

This link is to our travel booklet and provides some insurance providers you can try, it is from pages 24-35: roycastle.org/app/uploads/2...

Some airlines request that you need a fit to fly letter from your oncologist.

Hope you hear from others in the forum who have managed to secure a reasonable insurance quote and you have a great time on your cruise.

Kind regards

The Roy Castle Support Team

[Cockailschemocancer]

Hi rusty - I am the same and also can’t get insurance. Currently writing this from Hawaii! What I do is make sure I have enough money to get me home full price if I need to, if your going on a cruise you can stop and get a flight no problem. Not saying that’s what you should do but it’s what I do since I have no cancer insurance. I do however have travel insurance with admiral that covers me for standard travel insurance without anything to do with cancer! Have the holiday! X

[Mogs2]

Hello Rusty. I had same issues, declined by my bank and others. It was very frustrating. I’ve been in remission since sep20. Had some crazy quotes by insurers who provide cancer cover of £1000 plus! In the end I was recommended insurancewith.com who were reasonably priced in comparison. They were very helpful. I took out the multi trip policy and was able to go on my charity trek to Cuba and have just returned from Greece too. Holidays are so important for our well-being. Give them a ring, I’m sure they’ll be able to help. Best wishes and hope you have a lovely holiday xPs insurancewith.com was setup by a lady who had cancer.

[Calmrain]

Hello Rusty. I have just come back from a wonderful cruise. I used insurancewith.com. they are excellent and specialise in existing conditions including LC. I paid £67 for 10 days med including a small additional in case of covid. My diagnosis is NSCLC. Hope you get on that Cruise!!!

[Rusty821 in reply to Calmrain]

Hi Thankyou for your reply £67 blimey Iv been quoted £1800 and one company was asking how long I had left whhivh was a bit upsetting I will definitely look at your insurer x

[Manninmaid]

Hello Rusty821

I have lung cancer with bone mets and initially had considerable difficulty obtaining travel insurance. However Mia Travel Insurance has insured me for several holidays within Europe, in each case on a single trip basis. On holiday in Majorca at present. There is a specialist team for serious and life limiting illnesses and they ask about medical history, current treatment and medication. There must be a note on your medical record that your GP or consultant has confirmed you are fit to travel. I haven’t been on a cruise but recently asked whether that would be totally out of the question. The advice was that it would depend upon the countries to be visited.

Hope you can obtain insurance and have a fab cruise. x 🛳 ☀️😎

[Rusty821 in reply to Manninmaid]

Hi manninmaid thanks for your replyLooking at your photo you look so young

I will look into your insurer

Enjoy your holiday too x

[Manninmaid in reply to Rusty821]

Thank you x

[Rusty821 in reply to Manninmaid]

Hi there just tried Mia insurance for a cruise and wants 1279 yikes !!!!!

[Manninmaid in reply to Rusty821]

That’s expensive. It is more reasonable for a single destination. Glad you can obtain insurance but clearly the various countries to be visited bump up the cost. Really hope you get your cruise. x

[Manninmaid in reply to Rusty821]

If you can obtain insurance for a better price elsewhere please post. The first company I found which would insure me wanted a similar amount to what you have been quoted just for a long weekend in Venice. I was traveling there on the Orient Express but they said the mode of transport was irrelevant. The firm in question also insisted on the completion of a detailed questionnaire by the oncologist.

[JanetteR57]

It's so frustrating when we want to enjoy ourselves and make some memories but the pandemic and Brexit have made insurance for cancer patients including lung cancer more expensive as covid highlighted how much medical care those in respiratory difficulty might need. I recently read a really helpful article explaining why cruise insurance is necessary and also the reason why it can be higher than general travel insurance - which makes sense - if they're at sea, it might involve helicopters or special services to get somebody off the ship into a hospital for example. Here is the link which might explain the situation better than I can... medicaltravelcompared.co.uk... years ago I was speaking at a survivorship conference in Brussels and met the founder of a specialist cancer insurance company insure cancer.com that it's not necessarily the cancer itself that's the problems but the complications and potential infections/breathing issues that might require med- evac (medical evacuation) which bumps the premium up.

Most insurance is void if the cancer hasn't been declared and not only for medical cover but delays etc so it is worth shopping around to get cover. I didn't travel for almost 6 years after my diagnosis due to the costs of insurance but then found that premiums varied from company to company and country to country so if one company was reasonable for Greece for example, they might be the most expensive for Spain (which incidentally is usually higher than other European destinations due to their use of private hospitals).

I had to keep taking out single policies for work and leisure which was quite expensive as I was doing a number of 2-3 day trips for conferences but in 2019 I was finally offered an annual policy by Saga who had changed their cancer question from 'have you ever had a cancer diagnosis?' to 'in the last 5 years have you had a cancer diagnosis?' but when I spoke to them earlier this year having booked a holiday with them (they can insure whether or not you are travelling with them) they said their questions have changed and involve whether you're still seeing a consultant as well as other issues.

hope you manage to find some affordable cover or at least a holiday for which you can obtain cover. good luck.