Cancer and buying travel insurance

If you have a cancer diagnosis, or have had cancer in the past, this can affect your travel insurance and how much you pay for cover. Here are some of the things you may need to think about.

A pre-existing medical condition means a health condition, such as cancer, that you already have or have had in the past.

Some travel insurance policies do not cover claims related in any way to pre-existing medical conditions. You can ask if the insurance provider will allow you to pay a top-up fee to include this cover.

There are companies that specialise in providing travel insurance for people with pre-existing medical conditions, including cancer. They may offer you a policy that covers these kinds of claims, provided that:

• you have told the insurer about all pre-existing medical conditions
• the medical conditions have been accepted by the insurer in writing.

You may need to pay extra for a policy that covers claims related to cancer. This is because the insurance provider estimates there is a higher chance something will happen that means you claim for medical expenses or cancel your trip.

You should always tell your insurer about pre-existing medical conditions. And you must answer any questions they ask fully and accurately. If you do not and you later need to make a claim for anything, they could refuse to pay or may cancel your policy. They may do this even if your claim is not related to a pre-existing condition.

Your health or prescribed medication may change between the time that you buy the policy and when you travel. Always tell your insurance provider if there are any changes or new information about your health during this time.

It is helpful to have your details and medical information ready before you contact a travel insurance provider. They may ask you questions on the phone or through an online form. When you have a medical condition, it is often easier to explain your situation to someone directly on the phone.

Some questions may be upsetting. For example, the insurance provider may ask about the likely outcome of the cancer (the prognosis). This can be difficult to talk about. You may find it easier to contact only 1 or 2 insurance providers at a time.

Many companies provide insurance quotes using the same medical screening questions and a computer system. If the questions are not suitable for your situation, tell the insurance provider. It is important they understand your situation fully so they can offer a policy that is right for you.

This list includes some common things travel insurance providers may ask you about. You may find it helpful to write down your answers before you contact them to ask for a quote.

Insurance providers may ask you about:

• where and when you are travelling
• the length of your trip
• any health conditions you have
• any ongoing tests you are having
• when you were diagnosed
• where the cancer is or was
• whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body
• what treatment you have had or are having
• any surgery you have had or plan to have
• details of medicines you take
• any symptoms or side effects you have
• how advanced the cancer is
• details of GP, hospital or specialist visits about the cancer over the last year
• whether the health of anyone else could affect the planned trip – this could be someone travelling with you or someone at home
• any medical equipment you need for travel
• any winter sports, extreme sports or other high-risk activities you plan to do on your trip.

Before you buy travel insurance, it is important to check what it will and will not cover. This varies, so read the terms carefully before you buy.

The following questions may help you check whether a travel insurance policy has the cover you want.

Does the policy cover:

• the places and dates of the trip
• other people you are travelling with – some policies cover families or groups travelling together
• the type of trip and activities you plan to do – cruises and high-risk activities may need extra cover
• the things you are taking – for example, this could include medical or sports equipment
• if you cannot travel or need medical treatment during the trip for a condition you have already
• if you cannot travel or need medical treatment during the trip due to coronavirus (covid)

You may also want to check how much:

• the policy costs (the premium)
• you will have to pay towards any claims you make (the excess).

The excess is usually taken away from the final claim payment. For example, if the excess on the policy is £50 and you make a successful claim for £250, the insurer pays you £200.

Make sure you understand how the excess amount is applied because it can vary. You may have no excess to pay. Or a single excess amount may be applied for the whole claim.

But most travel insurance policies have different excess amounts for:

• each type of claim – for example, the excess for lost luggage will be different to the excess for medical expenses
• each person claiming, if more than 1 person is covered by the policy.

This means each person making a claim may pay a separate excess for each type of claim.

If you are planning a trip or thinking about it, it can help to talk to other people who are in the same situation.

Many people talk about travel insurance with cancer cover on the Macmillan Online Community. We have a monthly travel insurance blog and a forum about travel insurance for people with cancer at macmillan.org.uk/travelinsurancegroup

You can find out which insurers people are recommending. Remember, you need to find an insurer who can give you cover that is suitable for your needs. There are also tips about buying travel insurance and travelling abroad when you or someone you know is affected by cancer.

You do not have to join the Online Community to read what people are saying.

We cannot recommend individual travel insurance providers for you but the UK Government has more information about travel insurance for a trip abroad on their website.

We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.

We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:

• use plain English
• explain medical words
• use short sentences
• use illustrations to explain text
• structure the information clearly
• make sure important points are clear.

We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.

You can read more about how we produce our information here.