Travel Insurance for child with serious medical condition
Travel Insurance for child with serious medical condition
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Discussion

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

Hi

PH has always been a source of really helpful information for me and I'm venturing into unfamiliar waters and am one of those people who like to be forearmed with information.

We do lots of traveling and have always had an annual family travel policy to cover us all. My son has recently been diagnosed with quite a serious and very rare medical condition. I have made our insurer aware and they quite understandably are refusing to insure for that condition, as such I need to get specialist cover. I have the details of 18 insurers from the MoneyHelper site which I will slowly work my way through.

I guess my main question is - how does this all work, do I get cover for my son then alternative cover for the rest of the family? I have had to cancel our family cover, as our current insurer insisted on removing winter cover from the policy due to my son's condition, the rest of the family need winter cover!! I was quite happy for him to be excluded but computer says no.

Are there any pitfalls or specialist terms and conditions I need to be aware of?

s2sol

1,262 posts

192 months

I've got quite an unusual form of lung cancer, and I've used a company called insurancewith.com. it's a specialist in travel insurance for people with medical conditions.
The online quoting system isn't great, it's better to speak to an advisor. There'll be a lot of questions, so it's a good idea to be prepared before you make the call. The answers you give can make a big difference in the amount you pay.

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

s2sol said:
I've got quite an unusual form of lung cancer, and I've used a company called insurancewith.com. it's a specialist in travel insurance for people with medical conditions.
The online quoting system isn't great, it's better to speak to an advisor. There'll be a lot of questions, so it's a good idea to be prepared before you make the call. The answers you give can make a big difference in the amount you pay.
Thank you, I hope treatment is going well.

They are No.12 on my list, so I'll bump them to the top, and my concerns clearly match yours - I'm definitely worried about saying the wrong thing and creating an issue for him. I will be picking up the phone, I very much doubt his condition will be on their online quoting system.

Jamescrs

5,719 posts

86 months

Without wanting to pry into what the medical condition is, are there any support charities which specialise in the condition? they would be my first port of call because they will have likely come across this before and will point you in the direction of relevant insurers.

Personally I would look to secure an insurer for your son first then ask them the cost to add the rest of the family on as a family policy.

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

Jamescrs said:
Without wanting to pry into what the medical condition is, are there any support charities which specialise in the condition? they would be my first port of call because they will have likely come across this before and will point you in the direction of relevant insurers.

Personally I would look to secure an insurer for your son first then ask them the cost to add the rest of the family on as a family policy.
Unfortunately not, there is one in the US but it's not very active (they've been unresponsive to the queries about the condition we've already posed). Statistically he's likely to be the only person in the UK diagnosed with the condition currently, so there's little likelihood of that ever changing.

TwigtheWonderkid

47,652 posts

171 months

JQ said:
Statistically he's likely to be the only person in the UK diagnosed with the condition currently,
Without meaning to be a harbinger of doom, you might face the issue that without enough statistic data on the condition, due to its rarity, you may struggle to get cover with anyone, even from those who will cover even more serious conditions.

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

TwigtheWonderkid said:
JQ said:
Statistically he's likely to be the only person in the UK diagnosed with the condition currently,
Without meaning to be a harbinger of doom, you might face the issue that without enough statistic data on the condition, due to its rarity, you may struggle to get cover with anyone, even from those who will cover even more serious conditions.
Yep, that's also definitely a worry. And don't worry after 6 months of this not much shocks us these days.

wrencho

340 posts

86 months

We have used Fish Insurance in the past. You can get a quote online if the medical condition is "straightforward" and the people on the phones are extremely knowledgeable if you need more assistance.

https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

wrencho said:
We have used Fish Insurance in the past. You can get a quote online if the medical condition is "straightforward" and the people on the phones are extremely knowledgeable if you need more assistance.

https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/
Thank you, they were not on my list and have been duly added.

Road2Ruin

6,148 posts

237 months

I am insured with the Post Office and have a serious medical condition. They obviously asked a load of questions and cover me, but the price is a lot more that before I knew I had the condition.
I can't say whether they will cover your son's, but certainly worth a look.

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

Tuesday
quotequote all
Road2Ruin said:
I am insured with the Post Office and have a serious medical condition. They obviously asked a load of questions and cover me, but the price is a lot more that before I knew I had the condition.
I can't say whether they will cover your son's, but certainly worth a look.
Thanks, will add them to the list.

Pincher

9,872 posts

238 months

Tuesday
quotequote all
Nothing useful to add but sincerely hope you manage to get something sorted so that your son and the rest of the family can continue to enjoy holidays together.

Old Merc

3,772 posts

188 months

Wednesday
quotequote all
As this is quite unique the only option is to start with specialist travel insurers.
Have a word with Staysure , I understand they can cover children with medical issues.
I do hope you can get this sorted and take your son and family on a good holiday

Mexican cuties

735 posts

143 months

Yesterday (18:03)
quotequote all
also after 2 cancers and other issues i was advised to check out Allclear travel insurance, have ruled out the states, was silly money but their advisors are really good, hope it all works out

peterperkins

3,295 posts

263 months

Yesterday (18:12)
quotequote all
Tricky. Without wanting to pry can this condition cause a spontaneous critical flare up that would require urgent treatment when abroad?

If not, then perhaps you can just exclude it from any cover you obtain, so the child is insured for everything apart from the special condition.

Best of luck with it all.




pidsy

8,550 posts

178 months

Yesterday (18:45)
quotequote all
Mexican cuties said:
also after 2 cancers and other issues i was advised to check out Allclear travel insurance, have ruled out the states, was silly money but their advisors are really good, hope it all works out
I’m with AllClear have been for 4 years - various cardia issues including an ICD.

They’re very good on the phone and reasonable.
Won’t cover me for the states which is understandable but frustrating. Annoyingly, I’m finding Caribbean cover difficult to negotiate.

fridaypassion

10,946 posts

249 months

Yesterday (18:53)
quotequote all
I'm with all clear - lymphoma doesn't seem much more expensive than regular cover been with them 12 years now.

Pincher

9,872 posts

238 months

Yesterday (22:13)
quotequote all
Having said that I have nothing to contribute, mention of AllClear reminded me that I know someone fairly senior there - can reach out to him on your behalf if need be.

JQ

Original Poster:

6,538 posts

200 months

Yesterday (22:15)
quotequote all
Cheers all. I’m going to start phoning insurers tomorrow.