Travel insurance to Caribbean ( medical conditions)

kremmen

I have had a look but cant find any information that's pertinent .

I planned a 3 month break in the Caribbean this winter and then got hit by TIA and prostate cancer. I am being treated and stable. I have checked and there should be no bar to travelling but my holiday insurance company has withdrawn cover and stated they will pay for deposits I have paid for airfare and accommodation. I may take this route but I am investigating getting single trip insurance policy which current insurance company may cover cost of. 
The trouble is my age (70) and length of break just over 3 months. A difficult combination to cover but I am ringing around.
I may bring length of break down under 3 months to make it easier. 

Anyway I just have to keep investigating but wondered if anyone had experience of companies they would recommend.

Last possibility is getting insurance exemptions and covering everything but some specific health conditions but I don't even know if this is a thing.

Thanks in advance for considering.

Paul

Brie

Have you tried Staysure?  Expensive but might fit the bill.  We've a policy but never needed to claim thankfully.

soolin

I second staysure, they actually listen when you explain what is happening health wise and actually check back they have the correct info. They are expensive, but I was so reassured when I spoke to them about my OHs prostate cancer I felt it was worth it.

maman

I'm also happy with Staysure. We needed to claim last year for a cancelled flight because DH was hospitalised just before a holiday and had no problems getting reimbursement. Incidentally (unlike with car insurance 😡) we weren't penalised for making a claim when renewing insurance this year. 

MyRealNameToo

kremmen said:

I have had a look but cant find any information that's pertinent .

I planned a 3 month break in the Caribbean this winter and then got hit by TIA and prostate cancer. I am being treated and stable. I have checked and there should be no bar to travelling but my holiday insurance company has withdrawn cover and stated they will pay for deposits I have paid for airfare and accommodation. I may take this route but I am investigating getting single trip insurance policy which current insurance company may cover cost of. 
The trouble is my age (70) and length of break just over 3 months. A difficult combination to cover but I am ringing around.
I may bring length of break down under 3 months to make it easier. 

Anyway I just have to keep investigating but wondered if anyone had experience of companies they would recommend.

Last possibility is getting insurance exemptions and covering everything but some specific health conditions but I don't even know if this is a thing.

There are a couple of insurers that simply exclude all pre-existing and related conditions it does make the claims process slower though and as there is no medical screening you are a little exposed to what they may consider related to a stroke or cancer.

AllClear is another one that has a reasonable reputation for considering pre-existing conditions 

If price isnt a major consideration then you could try a broker like Macbeth Scott & Co who managed to arrange cover for us when everyone else was saying no

TELLIT01

I wouldn't even think about travelling using insurance which excludes pre-existing medical conditions, especially to anywhere outside Europe.  Medical costs could be astronomical.

MyRealNameToo

TELLIT01 said:

I wouldn't even think about travelling using insurance which excludes pre-existing medical conditions, especially to anywhere outside Europe.  Medical costs could be astronomical.

The biggest travel claim I ever saw was from someone having a stroke on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Was airlifted from ship to a Caribbean island, they didnt have the facilities so was airlifted again to the US and moved a final time to another specialist US hospital. Unfortunately they didnt survive. 

Considering inflation would have been over £2m now probably and clearly would have been more had they survived. 

SevenOfNine

I've spent hours on line & ringing 10 companies so far. I'm 70 as well.

A chest CT for a different reason identified Early Interstitial Disease (lung), only category I fit for having that is Acid Reflux cough. It's described as Mild, Stable & Unchanged (monitored 3 times with chest CT). I get asked 'breathing' questions but I've no symptoms whatsoever (been to zumba this morning!!!).

It's either a "NO" or "single trip only" accompanied by an astronomical price from some insurers, cheapest coming out at about £1000 - £2700 & upwards!

Nowadays no insurer seems to offer cherry picking of declarations, it's declare EVERYTHING & if you don't & something happens NONE will be covered when they check your records. No excluding is accepted (years ago it used to be a 'thing' you could do, but not any more).

Have you tried www.insurecancer.com or holidaysafe.co.uk both were mentioned for cancer cover.  I got a flat out "NO" from Staysure!

Good luck Kremmen, its pretty soul destroying. I feel like at 70 & 76, my medical issue has scuppered our travel plans. We were going to Caribbean for 10 days.

sheramber

A friend who had cancer treatment  a few years ago but is still getting  checked uses goodtogo travel insurance. 

SevenOfNine

I've struck lucky with SAGA! I believe they cover up to 180 days.  Also Travel Insurance Saver, but for how many days depends on the policy.

luci

I feel your pain. I've spent hours and hours researching and doing dummy quotes for medical travel insurance to cover my PEMCs. My current insurer, LV=, will no longer cover me, nor any of the usual insurers.

I think the length of your trip, and particularly the location, will probably be a bigger problem than your medical conditions, which are not minor. You cannot cover some conditions and not others. As I was once told, "You can't cherry pick what you want covered".

I tried Staysure, but they wouldn't even quote

I tried the Medical Travel Compared travel insurance comparison site. It returned quotes from £1252 to £12,642 (yes, £12 thousand+) for a 2 week Single trip Worldwide inc USA. Most companies I tried were "Unable to quote".

I eventually found two insurers that would cover my PEMCs, but only for Europe. They were AllClear and Insure & Go.

For people who struggle to get medical travel insurance, the following are recommended by Which?

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/everyday-money/insurance/travel-insurance-directory

and The Medical Cover Firm Directory

https://www.biba.org.uk/find-insurance/travel-medical-conditions/

You can also call them on 0370 950 1790. Their opening hours are Mon - Fri 9am - 5:30pm.

I hope you manage to get cover. How much it will cost is a different matter.

If you reply to me, it may take me a few days or more to answer, as I'm going on a cruise in the morning for 2 weeks. I'm making the most of my current policy before it expires next month!