Holiday Insurance

[Caran]

OH is looking for this. He had lung cancer two years ago. Has twice yearly checks, no return and all clear. Any one know of a company that would be ok with this and not cost a fortune. He was quoted £800 for a four day holiday from this Sunday.

[Peter Pedant]

I just go
secure in the knowledge that if I did fall ill and claim
they would reject it

[Buenchico]

This specialist broker is recommended on the websites of several charities (serving the needs of people with disabilities and/or medical conditions) and has helped several ABers find cover at reasonable prices:
http://www.able2travel.com/

StaySure has also helped quite a few AB members:
https://www.staysure.co.uk/travel-insurance/medical/

[Denton]

I found Staysure to be one of the dearest.

[Caran]

We used staysure two years ago when he first developed lung cancer. We tried to claim when we had to cancel the holiday. They said they did not reimburse for cancellations. So what was the point of insurance with them.

[Buenchico]

HolidaySafe might also be worth a try. They've got an online medical screening system which, they claim, helps to keep premiums down:
http://www.holidaysafe.co.uk/online-medical-screening/

(They're certainly cheap enough on their basic premiums anyway. I pay just £16 per year for multi-trip European cover with them).

[Caran]

They quoted £800+ !

[Caran]

Also Holidaysafe and Insurewith are the same company!

[Buenchico]

>>> They said they did not reimburse for cancellations. So what was the point of insurance with them

As with any policy, with any company, you need to check exactly what it is that you're being insured against. For example I usually only take day trips (probably costing less than £50 for a return flight, with no accommodations costs), so I'm happy to go with a policy that covers little more than the cost of getting me home if I have an accident, or fall ill, abroad. Cancellation insurance would be pointless for me, as is insurance against me losing lots of money valuables (because I don't take them with me).

So, while I'm happy to pay £15.91 per year, I certainly wouldn't recommend my policy to someone who was spending thousands of pounds on the holiday of a lifetime and taking lots of cash and valuables with them. If you want cancellation insurance you need to CHECK that it's included in what you're paying for.

[Caran]

We had to cancel the holiday due to OH having lung cancer.
It didn't seem right we couldn't claim for our holiday costs.

[Denton]

Caran,try “Payingtoomuch.com”

[Buenchico]

Give Able2Travel a call tomorrow.

[Denton]

Or better still,try one of the comparison sites.

[Caran]

Thank you Denton.

[Canary42]

On what basis didn't it seem right ?

On the terms of your contract

OR

on your personal views of right and wrong, regardless of what you insured against.

It is very important when taking out insurance that you check very carefully what is covered, and also the Exceptions - the latter are exploited mercilessly by Insurance Companies to deny payment if at all possible - they're "for profit" businesses, not philanthropists.

[Buenchico]

^^^ The major comparison sites don't cater for medical conditions or, if they do, they use a 'broad brush' approach (meaning that someone with cancer in remission is treated in the same way as someone with a terminal condition).

PayingTooMuch is a broker, rather than insurer, and so will seek out the best policies from across a range of providers. (i.e. they perform much the same job as comparison sites but, hopefully, with a more 'fine tuned' methodology). The same applies to Able2Travel.

[bednobs]

i used abke 2 travel this year and was quite pleased

[rowanwitch]

Macmillan recommend a few, they are on the website. Thing is 2 years is not very long from an insurers point of view. The strange thing was it was easier to find insurance with a short prognosis than a vague in remission one.