Well, I'm not a happy bunny. Gone onto Insurancewith.com the specialist breast cancer travel insurance site and I've been refused cover. I'm confused! I know other ladies on here have got reasonable quote so not sure what's gone wrong. I've also done Moneysupermarket.com - came out at £400 for a week's insurance which is ridiculous and Comparethemarket.com says "excluded from insurance" and went on just to quote for my husband. It asks if I'm neutropenic - I am always below 1.5 which my understanding is being neutropenic - I've googled it to make sure and it confirms. Is that where I'm going wrong. I could put no I'm not - I don't know what it'll be when I'm wanting to go on 8th OCt - but in reality, when on Ibrance it's never above 1.3 so that doesn't feel right. It's frustrating because I feel really well, I don't have to take any pain medication at the minute - I accept I get breathless walking up inclines/steps but I can walk on the flat. I'm stuck now, don't know what else to do. Does this mean I'm never going to be able to travel abroad unless I pay extortionate insurance - which incidentally is more that the flights at £400.
Travel Insurance Refused: Well, I'm not... - SHARE Metastatic ...
Travel Insurance Refused
Where I’m from (Philippines), I can’t get cover for medical insurance for pre-existing condition but I buy ordinary insurance to cover me for travel cancellation, delays, loss of baggage, documents, etc. Just nothing to do with medical expenses relating to pre-existing condition.
I didnt get option to skip medical questions. Im going to ring and query it - also see if we can exclude pre-existing although that would worry me a bit. X
This is strange with regard to Insurancewith
I had no trouble getting insurance with them to travel in Europe...after the policy expired this year they actually sent me a. Email to see if I wanted to renew and at a reduced premium
Nobody asked about neutropenia..I just told them my diagnosis and meds I’m on
I don’t understand why you’ve been refused
Barb xx
I know its odd isnt it. I did it on line which is where the neutrophil question came ofrom Been busy today but gonna ring tomorrow and question it. X
I spoke to a human as the online thing said I couldn’t do it online....this might explain it....when you actually speak to someone I think it will be fine
Hope so
Barb xx
They're referring me to their underwriters who will ring me in 3-5 days so hopefully will be sorted. I'm going to book it anyway, bugger it, I'll go without insurance if I have to. x
I’m so sorry! How frustrating! I recently traveled in Ireland for weeks and my US travel ins covered pre-existing conditions AS LONG AS the records showed one was under dr care for the condition for at least 3 months with medication taken being the same time period, and with doctors permission. It was Travel Guard. Perhaps there is a European version of Travel Guard you can hook into. Hoping that is so, k.
Thanks I will do x
I’ve both gotten insurance and traveled without it. My Stateside health insurance will cover out of country expenses as an out of network provider. Over here, if you sign up within 2 weeks of booking your trip, you can get covered for trip expenses even if you have preexisting conditions. Alternatively, the airlines usually offer to insure your costs for flight for a fairly reasonable amount and sometimes I pay the higher hotel rate to insure I can cancel without penalty. At least those two big expenses are covered. Does your health insurance reimburse for out of country health costs at any level?
Hmm we dont generally have health ins as we have NHS but actually Im with BUPA through my employer so I can check see if theres anything on there. I was thinking about going without and taking a chance. Thanks x
I have Bupa private healthcare but as far as I’m aware they don’t do travel insurance...might be wrong
If I was you I’d just go anyway but that’s me...I said this to my hubby before I did get insured and he thought I was mad!!
Barb xx
I would still check with the country you are going to that your medical insurance will be accepted. Watched a real documentary show with parents and two teenagers who went to Bahamas I believe or Bermuda, not sure. They were all walking on the beach which was not far from their hotel and they were robbed by two men. The 17 year old son got scared and started running and one of the robbers shot him in the back (HE LIVES). But the real hell began bc the husband was told his insurance would cover him but when it happened, they would NOT accept that insurance. They would not even begin to treat him (and the kid was in pain) until the father paid $5,000 (he did so on his credit card) and then a few days later, they needed another $10,000 and they would not continue any treatment until that was paid up. The father did not have it. He had to call family and friends in US to wire him the money. They they wanted more. He thought his travel insurance protected them but in some countries, they are a bit corrupt and will not accept your insurance. It was a horror seeing what they went through bc of their medical not being accepted. They would not even give his son pain medication until he paid the first $5,000. Just as a precaution, I would check to make sure. I did read that most countries will accept the paid medical insurance that people buy when traveling but on this trip, the man had his work medical and no doctors or hospitals would accept it.
I called my insurance before I left on my trip. That scenario is a nightmare and inhumane. You'd think the U.S embassy/envoy would intervene. Can you imagine if that happened here?
And it was not even a third world country. They were basically blackmailing them into paying immediately. He called the embassy and they could not help. It was so awful and we were talking about an island. He was told his work medical insurance covered him on this vacation with his family but once there, they would not accept it so in the end they say its best to purchase the international medical insurance and don't assume that they will accept it. They were only about 100 feet from their hotel walking on the beach when this happened. They assumed they were safe.
That happened to a doctor I know who got sick in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Her husband had to charge $25K on his AMEX to get her out of the hospital there. He flew her home, contested the charge. They were really messing her up in that Mexican hospital, scaey stuff.
It's not about calling your insurance and they assuring you that you are covered for out of country care, it's calling the country you are visiting to assure that they really will. I mean with this man they downright refused to treat his son until they were paid first. (Eventually the man's insurance repaid him for all he had spent) but here is his son who was shot and he was being denied medical assistance and the man was frantic calling his family for the second round of money they wanted.
I’ve gone without insurance.
i'm thinking along those line Nancy. x
Taking a big chance there. I think if I were feeling well I might take that chance, but I know I would be a nervous wreck bc costs will spiral out of control very quickly. Not just for cancer, but if you God Forbid, broke a leg or an arm. Now rethinking it, I am not sure I would take that chance. Just because one person did not get ill on a trip abroad, does not mean we will. You don't want to be in a country that will not treat you unless you come up with thousands in cash for medical assistance. It is better to spend the bucks (even if a bit high) and have that big boulder off your back. But then again I am a pessimist. So I always expect the worst and plan for it.
Had the same conversation with my daughter this morning.. Her friend's mum just went to Santorini and day 2 fell and broke her leg. You just never know do you.
Yep you are right. I would NEVER travel overseas with medical insurance. I also used to never purchase the cancellation fee. Two days BEFORE I was leaving for Peru and going on Amazon trekking expedition where I knew would be alot of walking and I had to carry my own back pack, I woke up to excruciating pain in my left shoulder. I could barely rise it above a few inches. I was freaking out as I was leaving in two days alone and knew it was going to be a rough trip. I went immediately to my then primary (before cancer) and he knew I was going because he gave me the drugs I need to take before going into the rainforest and he sent me to a sports doctor. He suggested I cancel the trip and I said No...I have no cancellation insurance and I have been waiting so long. I don't care if I drop dead in Peru, I am going. He then asked if I never had a cortisone shot and I said no, but give me one if it will help. He said no, you have an allergic reactions to it. I already knew I was going to be 10 hours away from any real medical. So he gave me like 120 of the strongest vicodin. I took them and by the time I landed in Peru and got to rain forest, the pain was gone. I have no idea what started it. But after I returned home, there was a story on the news about two young men who were doing the same trip as me amazon first for two weeks and then going to Machu Picchu. Well one of the young men (it was for one's pre marriage trip), developed an eye infection and they took him to Cusco (the closest hospital which I had seen before I got on boat to go to Amazon) and the nurse was sleeping, it was dirty, I could smell alcohol on the doctor's breath and thought Oh no...I will never come here. Well, they brought that young man to that clinic/hospital and it was determined (bc the infection go so bad so quickly) that his eye had to come out. THEY TOOK OUT THE WRONG EYE. TRUE!
I think they're a bit more civilized where I'm planning to go but wow, that's horrendous isn't it.
This sound a bit nuts but you can stop palbo for a couple of weeks without impact. Then your neutropenia status will be different.
My wife was neutropenic before we went away this year and could not start the next cycle. The Dr said we could skip a couple of weeks and get it on return from holiday
That's true but to be honest, as much as I want a holiday, I wouldn't stop the palbo for it. I am thinking about going with no insurance though which does make me a bit nervous but reading the posts, some of the other ladies have chanced it. It's frustrating cos I feel absolutely fine. I'm ringing insurancewith.com today to try again as that's what Barb did and she was fine. I've got another few suggestions from others too, so I'll get there one way or another. Where there's a will there's a way, right? 
. Thanks.
Yes, it was forced on us so we didn’t have to consciously make that decision. That said the pharmacist said a week wouldn’t matter.
We insured with ‘Insurancewith.com’ no questions as low level as white blood cell status. Might be worth trying?
That's who I tried with!! I spoke to them this morning and they're referring me on to their underwriters. x
I didn’t read that properly. How frustrating for you. Hope they sort it out.
Hope you get sorted with some reasonable insurance ... a holiday will give you a great boost ! x
Me too, I was cleared to fly in August and have been trying to get off since then. Found a window of opportunity 8-15th Oct and then this. grr. Never mind, I'll keep trying, where there's a will there's a way :). Thanks. xx
Would you contemplate getting insurance with the exclusion. I am not advocating just asking
I would but wasn't given the option. Maybe that's something I can look into with other insurance companies. xx
I'm more concerned about the breathlessness on stairs/inclines while on Ibrance than the travel insurance issue! Ibrance can cause Interstitial Lung Disease, which causes becoming out of breath easiy. So see your onc and a pulmonologist right away! I develope ILD while on Ibrance for just a few cycles and three years later, the ILD has also caused me to develope atrial fibrillation and both of those cause me much more trouble than the MBC has on a day to day basis, and I've had mbc for 15 years! I have had no trouble getting travel insurance when I book travel thru a travel agent. The travel may cost a bit more that way, but with the insurance, at least I feel more confident about traveling, and booking travel months ahead of time.
Hi, I think I read one of your previous posts about this but I actually had the breathlessness, cough and wheezing before Ibrance. It's how it all came to light. It's the mets to my chest wall that causes my issues. It's not been worsened by the Ibrance but after reading your other post, I've kept my eye on it in case it did. It did get worse at one point and I was scanned for it but that was due to my neck lymph nodes and I was checked for superior vena cava syndrome. Thanks for the info though and I definitely keep it in mind. Super frustrating with the insurance. I'll just keep trying - I phoned them today and they're getting their under writers to ring me. I've had a few other suggestions too so I'll get there hopefully. xxx
Why dont you seek regular travel insurance? I admit that I travel without insurance. Since my MBC diagnosis, I’ve been to India, Brazil, Europe (for 6 weeks) and Puerto Rico. I travel with antibiotics just in case, but haven’t used them. My neutrophils are typically at .8 and they’re usually higher when I return.
Hi, I have done - I went through Moneysupermarket.com search engine which came out with a ridiculously high quote that would cost me more than the flights/hotel. I'm waiting for the underwriters to ring me back now from insurancewith.com so I'll see what they have to say. I'm sure I'll get it sorted, well I hope so anyway, and if not, well yes, travelling without insurance is an option. Thanks.
I know my situation isn't the same as yours, but when I traveled from US to London in spring of 2018 on a tour with Roadscholar.org, I got insurance, no problem. But I think the requirement was that I could only get the insurance if I got it within 14 days of booking my trip, or, maybe even at the same time as booking my trip, I must have inquired about pre-existing conditions, since that would have been my main concern.
yeah I think it's a bit different here plus we don't go through travel agents, we tailor make our own so it wouldn't apply. I'm waiting for the under writers to come back to me so I'm hopeful I'll get it sorted. Thanks.
i have traveled to Mexico, Peru, and Costa Rica twice since the mets diagnosis in July 2015. the travel locations have been healing for me. no insurance, accept travel insurance for flight/luggage, et al.
Hi, I got insured in the end . Cost me £176 for the week - it includes everything including the medical stuff so I can live with that. I wouldn't want to go without the medical insurance tbh but I know from the replies on here quite a few people have done. xx
Did you manage to get insurance?
I am having the same problem, neutropenic and waiting for underwriters to call.
I hope you got your holiday.
Going in a few weeks. I ended up paying £176 for a week but it includes everything so I can cope with that. Better than the £400 I was originally quoted or indeed, the refusal to insure me at the very beginning!!! I went on Go Compare in the end so maybe you can try that and don't tick the terminal button because when I spoke to one of the people, she told me that consider terminal to be when there's nothing else that can be done - definitely not that in my case so that helped too. Good luck, I hope you get sorted. xx
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