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Help with travel insurance query

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User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 17:47

My husband  is three & a half years post RP and is due to start RT  (x20) next week as he has gradual psa rise (current 0.14) and the RT  will be finished mid March. Looking at going for a week to Europe early June & hoping any  side effects will have settled by then (everything crossed!)  His original diagnosis was staged at T2. For insurance purposes, I’ve been told I must mention it when buying a policy to travel abroad- does anyone have any experience of this or advice to offer about good companies etc.   I’m hoping the RT will work and going forward this won’t be a ‘thing’ insofar as insurance is concerned and also lots have said we should wait and see until booking but I figured it was good to have something planned to look forward to etc?  Any help gratefully received 

User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 17:47

My husband  is three & a half years post RP and is due to start RT  (x20) next week as he has gradual psa rise (current 0.14) and the RT  will be finished mid March. Looking at going for a week to Europe early June & hoping any  side effects will have settled by then (everything crossed!)  His original diagnosis was staged at T2. For insurance purposes, I’ve been told I must mention it when buying a policy to travel abroad- does anyone have any experience of this or advice to offer about good companies etc.   I’m hoping the RT will work and going forward this won’t be a ‘thing’ insofar as insurance is concerned and also lots have said we should wait and see until booking but I figured it was good to have something planned to look forward to etc?  Any help gratefully received 

User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 21:21
I used Cedar Tree and found them very competitive, an annual policy was about £330 but excludes travel to North America
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User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 19:07

I got travel insurance for the first time this year from Insurance With. I was diagnosed 4 yrs ago. Got an annual policy for my wife and I for around £360. The previous quote I’d had was for £900 last year.


They will ask loads of questions but they were really great with me. Apparently the firm was set up by a lady who couldn’t get travel insurance cos she had had cancer.


Give em a try!

User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 19:16

For travel insurance you do need to declare any ongoing medical conditions. I have a separate medical condition which has been in remission for ten years but as I am taking medication for that condition then I have to declare it. I am also currently using Insurancewith for a single trip in July but there are loads of others. Its worth mentioning to his medical team your holiday plans because you do need to declare that you are not travelling against any medical advice.

User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 21:21
I used Cedar Tree and found them very competitive, an annual policy was about £330 but excludes travel to North America
User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 21:30
Yes, we are also with InsuranceWith.

John climbed Kilmanjaro in between starting the HT and starting the salvage radiotherapy - Insurancewith covered him for about £100 I think. We went to France as soon as the SRT was finished; didn't see any point hanging about! Just a note of caution, he will need to be very careful in the sun post-RT, particularly around his midriff and particularly if he is fair skinned - factor 50 or total sun block and a t-shirt, ideally.
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard
User
Posted 08 Feb 2023 at 22:44
When you are in the process, the questions asked by travel insurance companies seem very scary.

However I took the view that in a similar position to you when I was renewing our annual insurance (i.e. waiting for salvage RT due to PSA increase after RP) what I was insuring against was not a claim for a prostate issue - PSA levels are not suggesting any imminent acute health risk - but things like broken legs. For the current year prostate cancer is excluded, my current company wouldn't look at a condition for which treatment was initiated but not completed.

I am hoping at the next renewal I will be able to re-instate fuller coverage, but who knows. I have been signed off by the oncologist, but realistically there hasn't yet been enough time for testosterone to get back to a level where PSA might be detectable - but I am hoping PSA stays low and can be quoted to the insurance company.
User
Posted 09 Feb 2023 at 10:27

Insurance companies seem very wary of covering PCa post Covid. Never experienced this problem 3 years ago for our Australia trip.

User
Posted 09 Feb 2023 at 14:34

Thank you everyone, feeling a bit more informed now!  It’s hard to know how everything will settle down after treatment but good to have things to look forward to. Thanks again for the help

User
Posted 09 Feb 2023 at 16:53
I was treated for prostate cancer in 2019 and my wife for bowel cancer in 2020 (just before covid took hold!) We went to Normandy last September, then Salzburg before Christmas and to Malta last week. For the last 2 trips we took out travel insurance with Admiral, declaring our medical history. The insurance was comprehensive, easily arranged on-line and reasonably priced. After the Salzburg trip they gave me a 30% discount on my next one. I bought single trip insurance but could also have opted for annual multi-trip cover. It's tedious filling in the medical conditions declaration, but Admiral are definitely worth a look.

Hermit
User
Posted 18 Feb 2023 at 00:57
Hi Hermit
I was really interested in your experience with Holiday Insurance from Admiral for both you and your wife. If you don't think it too impertinent, could you give me an idea of cost prior to 30% discount.
My wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer last year and at the end of her Treatment - Jan to July 2022, we went on holiday in Sept to Canaries and it cost £400 from Insurancewith, so I'm imagining it could easily be £600 now that I've been diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer.

My wife and I are desperate to relax on a nice beach as soon as my Treatment is finished, but Insurance may be difficult to obtain, or too costly for 2 x Cancers! What unbelievable bad luck, I think I must have ran over a Lucky Black Cat at some point in time!

Scott
User
Posted 18 Feb 2023 at 14:59
For the week in Malta at the end of January, travel insurance with Admiral was £59 after the 30% discount, and with our cancers and othe medical conditions (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes) declared. We went for the lowest level of cover but that was still more than enough to cover any conceivable eventuality - I think (without checking) that medical cover was up to £10 million, with cancellation at £1500 (more than we paid for the trip). All done on line and confirmed immediately. We also have GHIC cards as back-up.

regards,
Hermit.
User
Posted 19 Feb 2023 at 00:00
Hi Hermit,
That sounds fantastic price for your Travel Ins. I shall most certainly try Admiral Ins when I'm in a position to have a holiday. What is the GHIC Card? Is that the card UK citizens used to have before Brexit?

Scott
User
Posted 19 Feb 2023 at 07:35

Scott,


Rather than trying to explain it(and possibly get it wrong!) please see here about GHIC and EHIC.


https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/


hope this helps,


Derek

User
Posted 19 Mar 2023 at 11:51

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
I was treated for prostate cancer in 2019 and my wife for bowel cancer in 2020 (just before covid took hold!) We went to Normandy last September, then Salzburg before Christmas and to Malta last week. For the last 2 trips we took out travel insurance with Admiral, declaring our medical history. The insurance was comprehensive, easily arranged on-line and reasonably priced. After the Salzburg trip they gave me a 30% discount on my next one. I bought single trip insurance but could also have opted for annual multi-trip cover. It's tedious filling in the medical conditions declaration, but Admiral are definitely worth a look.

Hermit


I had annual insurance with Admiral until I recently updated my PCa because I've opted to receive HIFU treatment. They rang me while i was waiting in St Pancras for the Eurostar last Wednesday and cancelled my policy! 

I received an email saying "you are covered to cancel any trips already booked .. if you should become ill as a result of the prostate cancer and your doctor confirms you are not fit to travel". 

User
Posted 30 Mar 2023 at 22:04
Husband is with Insurewith too.

He is well and has been on enthuzamide for over 2 years. PSA is undetectable at present but he has just had a colonoscopy to remove a small polyp. There was a larger one (15 mm) but they said he would have to come back for an advanced polypectomy colonoscopy which was very frustrating. Apparently the practitioner wasnt trained and a more senior Doctor would have to do it.

My issue is that we are just about to renew our annual travel insurance and will of course mention all of this and give them a copy of the report. Husband’s consultant is happy for him to travel. We have an expensive holiday booked at end of May 23….

Happy to buy just a single trip insurance or exclude this element of the cover as it’s unlikely that we will have the next colonoscopy and the results back before we go to Australia.

Has any one got any wise words. Can afford a private procedure if it helps but I understand that it needs specialist equipment.

We live near Oxford if that helps. We can travel if required

User
Posted 15 May 2023 at 08:58

Rad Theraphy side affects can go on for a long after finishing treatment ( i know as mine finished 7 Dec 2022 ) if i was you i would wait and poss grab a last minute trip there are always available for EU.


 


Good Luck


 


Barry

User
Posted 15 May 2023 at 10:53
I was diagnosed with PCa in late 2007 since when my wife and I have been fortunate to have had many trips abroad. I have always informed the various insurance companies I have used of my PCa but have asked that this be excluded from cover, as I wished to carry my own risk for this. I have taken the view that PCa is a relatively slow advancing disease and it is extremely unlikely that for most men with early or intermediate stage to suddenly require PCa treatment or repatriation. The only exception to this is when we went to the USA when I did cover PCa as if the unlikely happened there, the cost could be ruinous. Those men where the disease is well advanced, are in a different situation and travel insurance cover for PCa, although high, seems a sensible option.
Barry
 
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