Travel insurance - pre existing conditions

busyonlineshopper

I'm looking for travel insurance that would cover me in the event of having to cut short/cancel a holiday abroad... my mother has cancer, and is living with it, it is treatable, but is not curable so inevitably, and sadly, she will decline at some point, (she is 80 years old now).  I have a couple of holidays booked but am looking to book a trip next year, and can't find any appropriate cover.  I've found cover for cancer patients, but not for someone travelling without the patient.  Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

tacpot12

I have an annual policy with Avanti Insurance and my reading of the policy suggests that you might be covered if you insure your mother at the time as yourself on an Annual Policy as I can't see any requirement that every member of your family who is named as a traveller travels on every holiday that the lead organiser goes on.

However, this would require you to pay the premium for the pre-existing health conditions that your mother currently has, and this might make the insurance prohibatively expensive. You would need to call the insurer and discuss this with  them. I am fairly sure that they would decline to cover you both if your mother has no intention to take any holidays abroad, but they might, if you pay the premium. I would get their agreement to cover the scenario in writing. You can normally pay for the insurance and cancel it within 14 days if necessary. 

I would advise you not to worry about the risk of your mother being taken ill or dying when you are on holiday, unless you are going somewhere so exotic that getting home at an unplanned time is going to financially cripple you. For most holiday destinations, even places fairly exotic ones line the Maldives or Thailand, you will be able to get home for less than £1000. The loss of your holiday will be nothing compared to the loss of your mother, and losng the money you have spent on the holiday is just a risk you may have to take.  (My parents are in their 80s, but are fine so long as they are both well. I'm going on holiday for a month in July and haven't insured against the risk of one of their existing conditions incapacitating them. I'll deal with it if it happens.) 

My experience has shown me that I need to take at least two credit cards on holiday with me (a problem with maxing one out unexpectedly in the USA caused problems). So I would expect to be able to get home using my credit card and get a bank loan to pay of the card once I was home.  

busyonlineshopper

tacpot12 said:

I have an annual policy with Avanti Insurance and my reading of the policy suggests that you might be covered if you insure your mother at the time as yourself on an Annual Policy as I can't see any requirement that every member of your family who is named as a traveller travels on every holiday that the lead organiser goes on.

However, this would require you to pay the premium for the pre-existing health conditions that your mother currently has, and this might make the insurance prohibatively expensive. You would need to call the insurer and discuss this with  them. I am fairly sure that they would decline to cover you both if your mother has no intention to take any holidays abroad, but they might, if you pay the premium. I would get their agreement to cover the scenario in writing. You can normally pay for the insurance and cancel it within 14 days if necessary. 

I would advise you not to worry about the risk of your mother being taken ill or dying when you are on holiday, unless you are going somewhere so exotic that getting home at an unplanned time is going to financially cripple you. For most holiday destinations, even places fairly exotic ones line the Maldives or Thailand, you will be able to get home for less than £1000. The loss of your holiday will be nothing compared to the loss of your mother, and losng the money you have spent on the holiday is just a risk you may have to take.  (My parents are in their 80s, but are fine so long as they are both well. I'm going on holiday for a month in July and haven't insured against the risk of one of their existing conditions incapacitating them. I'll deal with it if it happens.) 

My experience has shown me that I need to take at least two credit cards on holiday with me (a problem with maxing one out unexpectedly in the USA caused problems). So I would expect to be able to get home using my credit card and get a bank loan to pay of the card once I was home.  

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.  I will try Avanti.  As you say, the cost to get back will be the least of my worries and upset should something happen to my mother...  If I'm honest, it is more a case of being concerned re cancellation of trips.  I have planned to go to SE Asia later this year, which is costing in excess of £8,000 (for 2 of us) and if by then (November), she is significantly worse, I wouldn't go, and of course, it isn't a direct flight either...  Also am looking ahead to an extended period of travel October 2024 as part of a work sabbatical, which I would like to plan for, but am hesitant due to possible losses in case of cancellation before travel.  Thank you for your suggestion.

michele-p

Have a look at Staysure, I have an annual policy, and my other half was diagnosed with an illness last summer. I wanted cover for a solo holiday, and spoke with them about it first. They were very helpful, in my case said I would be covered if I needed to cancel if he got worse or needed treatment.

sheramber

For cover for close relatives not travelling you need to declare their health  history. so all pre exisiting conditions are noted.

The insurance company will then assess whether they will cover them. They may want more information or it may be  case they will not cover them.

If you do not declare their medical history then they can refuse the claim if  they check the medical history and they find  the claim is related to a pre existing condition that they were not informed about.

DullGreyGuy

sheramber said:

For cover for close relatives not travelling you need to declare their health  history. so all pre exisiting conditions are noted.

The insurance company will then assess whether they will cover them. They may want more information or it may be  case they will not cover them.

If you do not declare their medical history then they can refuse the claim if  they check the medical history and they find  the claim is related to a pre existing condition that they were not informed about.

The issue is that almost all (I've not found an exception but accept there may be some) only allow you to declare the medical conditions of those travelling under the policy as such there is blanket exclusion for any non-travelling family members pre-existing conditions. 

You may be able to find a company that will allow you to declare the conditions of a non-travelling family member but with terminal cancer and her age you may find it is cost prohibitive -v- booking a trip with cancellation rights and/or paying for an emergency return flight.

TELLIT01

You may get help from an insurance broker as it's not a standard requirement for most when arranging travel insurance.  We have insurance through Insureandgo but it was a nightmare trying to speak to anybody on the phone.  Their office was so noisy that I could hear more from other people's conversations than from the one I was trying to have.  If I hadn't gone through a lot of the questions on-line before phoning I would have given up.

sheramber

DullGreyGuy said:

sheramber said:

For cover for close relatives not travelling you need to declare their health  history. so all pre exisiting conditions are noted.

The insurance company will then assess whether they will cover them. They may want more information or it may be  case they will not cover them.

If you do not declare their medical history then they can refuse the claim if  they check the medical history and they find  the claim is related to a pre existing condition that they were not informed about.

The issue is that almost all (I've not found an exception but accept there may be some) only allow you to declare the medical conditions of those travelling under the policy as such there is blanket exclusion for any non-travelling family members pre-existing conditions. 

You may be able to find a company that will allow you to declare the conditions of a non-travelling family member but with terminal cancer and her age you may find it is cost prohibitive -v- booking a trip with cancellation rights and/or paying for an emergency return flight.

AllClear state

Non-travelling relatives You may have a close relative with a medical condition who is not travelling with you. In some cases, if their state of health deteriorates greatly, you may want to cancel or curtail your journey. Subject to all the other terms and conditions, such claims are covered if the relative’s doctor is prepared to state that at the date you booked your trip, he/she would have seen no substantial likelihood of his/her patient’s condition deteriorating to such a degree that this would become necessary. If the doctor will not confirm this, your claim is not covered. In the event of a claim the doctor must complete the medical certificate on the claim form. 

DullGreyGuy

sheramber said:

DullGreyGuy said:

sheramber said:

For cover for close relatives not travelling you need to declare their health  history. so all pre exisiting conditions are noted.

The insurance company will then assess whether they will cover them. They may want more information or it may be  case they will not cover them.

If you do not declare their medical history then they can refuse the claim if  they check the medical history and they find  the claim is related to a pre existing condition that they were not informed about.

The issue is that almost all (I've not found an exception but accept there may be some) only allow you to declare the medical conditions of those travelling under the policy as such there is blanket exclusion for any non-travelling family members pre-existing conditions. 

You may be able to find a company that will allow you to declare the conditions of a non-travelling family member but with terminal cancer and her age you may find it is cost prohibitive -v- booking a trip with cancellation rights and/or paying for an emergency return flight.

AllClear state

Non-travelling relatives You may have a close relative with a medical condition who is not travelling with you. In some cases, if their state of health deteriorates greatly, you may want to cancel or curtail your journey. Subject to all the other terms and conditions, such claims are covered if the relative’s doctor is prepared to state that at the date you booked your trip, he/she would have seen no substantial likelihood of his/her patient’s condition deteriorating to such a degree that this would become necessary. If the doctor will not confirm this, your claim is not covered. In the event of a claim the doctor must complete the medical certificate on the claim form. 

So a kind of half way house... not as good as declaring it and the insurer confirming its covered (at a premium or not) but better than a blanket exclusion. 

busyonlineshopper

Thank you for all your help.  Sadly, I don't think the oncologist would be able to write a letter to declare that my Mum's health shouldn't deteriorate which seems to indicate that (understandably) I won't be able to get insurance.