Travel insurance for older friend with cancer

bigmaz

Hi

We have a friend who is 80 years old. She is due to fly out to see her daughter in America soon.

But we are finding it very difficult to find travel insurance. She has secondary breast cancer, high blood pressure & heart trouble. So now you can see why we are having difficulty :P

We have tried all the companies mentioned in the article on MSE about people with existing conditions, without any luck. We have only found one company that will take her on, but the premium is £2553.....

We are getting desperate now, so thought I would ask on here if anyone has any pointers? Or experience in this kind of thing? She is thinking about going with no insurance and taking the risk, as she cannot afford that price of premium. But that is very risky...

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

pinky_p

Have a look here.

https://www.insurancewith.com

We have used them over the last few years. Luckily haven't needed to claim.

Andypandyboy

Try Staysure too.

exiled_red

My dad had a similar issue when trying to get cover a couple of years back. The prices for insurance were really high with places that would cover him, I can't remember who he went with in the end but I think it was either recommendation from someone at the cancer hospital or through a company that focus on elderly people (Saga or someone similar) if I remember correctly he paid about £1500 for cover for a single (2 week) trip to America. Obviously the price depends on the existing conditions, but I would imagine she will be looking at paying something close to what she has been quoted, you might get something slightly cheaper but I imagine it will still be over a thousand pounds.

Medical bills in America are huge if you need any treatment, so it's a massive risk to not get insurance.

melanzana

Sorry if this sounds insensitive, but what about daughter flying over to visit Mother?

Now maybe mother wants to see grandchildren and so on. But still.

Maybe daughter and family might help defray insurance costs.

There is absolutely no way I would go to the US without adequate health insurance. It is just not an option.

Hope it works out though. Some things are difficult aren't they?

KingS6

If she cannot afford the insurance and no one will pay for her, she should give it a wide berth. It's just asking for trouble.

Travelling at that age is risky, but with those sorts of medical condition on top it's immense.

bigmaz

melanzana wrote: »

Sorry if this sounds insensitive, but what about daughter flying over to visit Mother?

Now maybe mother wants to see grandchildren and so on. But still.

Maybe daughter and family might help defray insurance costs.

There is absolutely no way I would go to the US without adequate health insurance. It is just not an option.

Hope it works out though. Some things are difficult aren't they?

Her daughter has been back a few times. But she wants to go out and see her in her new life before she passes on. I really appreciate your reply, and I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't ask for advice on wether she should go or not from everyone, obviously this has all been discussed with her. Looking for answers regarding getting insurance for her

rs65

I recently arranged travel insurance with Directline for an 86 year old relative to Canada with a longer list of ailments.

Including cancer was £970 or excluding cancer was £270. It wasn't secondary in her case and because of her recent treatment, cancer couldn't have caused a medical emergency.

bigmaz

rs65 wrote: »

I recently arranged travel insurance with Directline for an 86 year old relative to Canada with a longer list of ailments.

Including cancer was £970 or excluding cancer was £270. It wasn't secondary in her case and because of her recent treatment, cancer couldn't have caused a medical emergency.

Unfortunately with the type of cancer Direct Line will not touch her

csgohan4

Try an insurance broker




But you have to be realistic, if she wants to go you need have deep pockets, if not what are your other options?