England Travel Answers

Diane, not certain if what I use, would help, but I didn't need to provide any medical information. I use MedJet Assist. It's more of an "evacuation" to a home hospital type of "insurance" as opposed to providing actual medical care coverage at a "foreign" hospital. Al

Another word of caution; travel insurance policies often have exclusion clauses for pre-existing conditions.

These folks are in the UK hence why I came here. Is that insurance sold there?

Please forgive the lack of good English. I'll try again. These folks are in the UK which is why I came here. Was in too much of a hurry last time.

There are a number of UK companies which offer travel insurance for those with pre-existing conditions. Acceptance and premiums will obviously vary according to age, condition, destination and so on..in other words. they'll be personalised. I have no personal experience, thank god, but suggest they investigate: saga.co.uk/insurance/campaig... Saga is a well-established company. They could also use the comparison tool on this reliable site to find companies and get quotes: moneysupermarket.com/travel-... It is not until they have sought quotes that they will know whether their individual circumstances are acceptable to companies.

It would depend on their age and where they want to travel. I would look on this website which usually throws up something worth checking out: moneysavingexpert.com/insura... I just scrolled down there is a section for firms covering pre-existing medical conditions but I couldn't find any for terminal illness. Sorry, acting out loud here but I just found this website: cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.... Hope something helps, R

Sorry, I should have made it clear that Saga is aimed at over-50s. If the person is over 65 then AgeUK is also a reliable source: ageuk.org.uk/products/produc... and the superb Macmillan charity (with whom I have had some dealings) has a useful information page, with links: macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinfor...

I know that age is a big factor. My father (a British citizen) had trouble getting travel insurance that wasn't prohbotively expensive when he reached 70.

Diane. - do you know to where your friends hope to travel? - it could be an important factor. Doctors are often unwilling to provide predictive reports in cases of terminal illness but if the condition is in remission, rather than aggressive, that might be considered. Both I and my husband are well into our 70s and have pre-existing medical conditions - though nothing to compare your friend's condition. But as we approached 70 we began to experience problems obtaining insurance - particularly for travel to the USA. A few years ago we opened a Co-operative Bank Privilege Account which has a travel policy that will provide cover up to 80 years of age. But even our not unusual, mainly age-related problems incur an addition to the basic premium. We had previously investigated most of the Links above without acceptance. The Cancer advisory site seems very informative with lots of information which hopefully will be useful to your friends.

Thank you all so much. It's great to be able to rely on stalwart VTers. I shall pass on all of this information and hope they can manage to get covered for a week.

Diane - I think it always wise to travel with insurance but if your friends will be travelling within the UK they will have access to all the NHS services. If within the EU there are reciprocal arrangements - they should obtain the FREE European Health Insurance Card. It does not however the cost of repatriation in the event of serios illness nor extended stay cover for a relative/friend.

Yes, the EHIC will cover them in reciprocal countries *but*..and it is a big but in this instance..not for repatriation etc. If they do not already have an EHIC card and intend to travel within the EEA (not just the EU) then they should get the card through this site: nhs.uk/nhsengland/Healthcare... which also states what countries provide what coverage. In some you have to pay and then claim back the cost. There are deliberately misleading sites which charge for an EHIC card. The card is free; such sites are a rip-off.

They have tentatively found an agent subject to a doctor's note saying he can travel. Hopefully that will work out for them. Again, thanks for all of your help. Maybe this can help others. Diane

If they do obtain cover Diane it would be good if you could get them to share the details of the company with you so you could post it here. Not only senior travellers but sometimes younger people with health problems often have problems in finding appropriate cover.

I will do that Barbara.

This was the final and happy post of the folks I was asking for. *** paid out a lot of money for insurance on previous holidays i wish I had known before about this company who seem to take the view that if gp says you are fit to go on holiday then you are dont know anyone who would go on holiday against gp /oncology advice and they appreciate this in the ammounts they charge for insurance anyone wanting this of course its uk company just access it by googling MIA and selecting the option for cover for chronic illnesses you do have to phone them to go through the screening , but they do not ask a barrage of questions poste3d this as i thought it may be helpful to anyone in the uk wanting travel insurance in these circumstances***

Glad they found a suitable company...and hope they have an excellent trip! :-)

Thanks J. I don't actually know them but post on the Cancer Forum. She sounded very desperate to take her husband on a holiday so I am very happy it all worked out. Great of VT members to give their input. Diane