Travel Insurance for child with serious medical condition

[JQ]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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