Travel insurance
I have almost finished a year of chemo, I am really well and have had no complications.We are about to take an overseas trip and I am having a hard time finding travel insurance as no one will cover "my pre- existing condition". Have any of you had this problem ? how did you get around it ?. I don't care if my breast cancer is not covered as it's highly unlikley that I would be seeking treatment for it in the few weeks I'm away. But I do want to be covered for everything else. What have you guys done?
Mia .E
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Do you have private health insurance? My Mum had trouble sourcing other travel insurance but was fine getting travel insurance through Medibank as she was covered with them for her BC and other conditions.
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Hi
Yes I do have private insurance, they still will not cover it , but I have only tried online so maybe I should give them a call.
thanks for your interest
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Hiya, Give them a call or go into your local branch that know you. I have had no problem getting travel insurance for our planned holiday O/S in August by going through my existing health fund who have paid for all my treatments/ops etc. So they know about pre-existing but has not been raised as an issue....
Ree xxx
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Hiya, Give them a call or go into your local branch that know you. I have had no problem getting travel insurance for our planned holiday O/S in August by going through my existing health fund who have paid for all my treatments/ops etc. So they know about pre-existing but has not been raised as an issue....
Ree xxx
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Ok Thank you, I will go into our local branch and see them, probably better than giving them a call.
Mia xx
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I took a trip to new Zealand in Feb right after I had finished radiation I took out travel insurance more for problems with flights than the health side as I am an NZ resident. I used Southern Cross Insurance they are on-line www.scti.com.au I think that's the website. I am sure it said you're not covered for any pre-existing conditions if you don't inform them so I didn't!! Obviously I was lucky and not far from home and all went well.
Good luck and let us know how you get on
Sarah
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I realise this question is 7 months old but thought this info might be of help to other travellers.
I have just had a 2 month battle with southern cross re having to cancel a trip due to diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer and would never insure with them again. I was diagnosed with bc after taking out insurance for an O/S trip and they tried to say it was pre-existing. Sure it was obviously growing but for how long who knows. I have another trip booked in a few weeks and have taken cover with covermore. Wont be covered for anything to do with bc but it seems to be the best I could find in regard to other things.
You shouldnt have any trouble getting travel insurance to cover unrelated things like lost luggage, delays, falling over and breaking your leg, as long as it isnt related to breast cancer.
One positive with covermore is that they will cover for b c if you have not had any treatment chemo/radio in the previous 6 months and the cancer had not spread to anywhere other than the initial site. i dont qualify as I had LN invasion but for those lucky enough to have just had it confined to the breast I suggest you check out their policy, With all the women out there getting b c diagnosis surely there is a travel agent / insurance agent who could give us all a bit of help here. Advise from someone in the "know" is invaluable. Trouble is we wont know how good an insurance policy is until we need to claim on it. I went with southern cross as I thought being an aussie/nz company I would stick with the locals and their policy seemed easy to follow. Good luck everyone wanting to travel - there is life after b c it's just made extra difficult for us, but we are strong and we will survive!!!
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Hi , thanks for your info. I ended up getting my travel insurance with NIB as they are my health fund.and knew about my pre-existing condition. It didn't cover my condition but covered everything else, but I had to pay $648 for myself and my husband, which is a lot more than I would have had to pay if I didn't have breast cancer. They would have covered the condition if I had had no treatment in the last 12 months, but as that was not the case I paid extra. Doesn't seem fair to me as nothing would go wrong relating to by cancer while I was away anyway, but that's the way it is with insurance companies they get you coming and going!
Cheers Mia
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We are travelling o/s next February and I will be booking the flights next week. I did look into this earlier in the year. Just to add a bit more info. My health insurance company (MBF/BUPA) said that they would insure me (just do it a couple of months in advance to travel). Also my friend got her insurance through her credit card bank. (she has secondaries) when she travelled to England and was away for a month. It is worth checking out. Apparently they have a criteria (based on what your usage of the card). XLeonie
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Spoke with my credit card bank - Westpac. Unfortuately the credit card that I have does not automatically cover travel insurance. However they are doing up a quote for me. He told me that it would be $180 for both me and my husband to cover us for a period of 12 days going to Thailand. He read part of the policy to me - it was fantastic cover. I told him that I have secondaries and my husband has just been cleared for DVT. The only thing I have to do is have my GP or Specialist fill in four questions re the secondaries and "bob's your uncle". We are not covered for our pre-existing illnesses whilst away but we don't want to be!!!! XLeonie
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Hi Leonie, Sorry but I am not following. Is it $180 for regular travel insurance with westpac? I dont understand why your GP or specialist would have to fill in paperwork re secondaries if they are not covering you for the pre exisitng cancer. I would be very anxious not having cover for a DVT when flying. I also had a DVT and have injected myself before every flight to reduce the risk.
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Hi Leonie, Sorry but I am not following. Is it $180 for regular travel insurance with westpac? I dont understand why your GP or specialist would have to fill in paperwork re secondaries if they are not covering you for the pre exisitng cancer. I would be very anxious not having cover for a DVT when flying. I also had a DVT and have injected myself before every flight to reduce the risk.
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Hi - I am about to go on the trip of a lifetime and it has been dampened somewhat by trying to organise travel insurance. I have read the postings above and the fact sheet which was really useful. I love BCNA - I don't feel quite so alone with all of this....
I was intending not to tell the insurance company about my 'pre existing medical condition' as my medical team have advised that it is highly unlikely anything would happen related to my breast cancer while I was travelling and in the unlikely event that it did it could wait until I return from my trip. However my GP strongly recommended to take out travel insurance that covers the condition.
So I started to call around the big ones (RAC, HBF, Sure Save) - many were very happy to cover me but not for the pre-existing condition! I finally find Cover More (1300 72 88 22) and after answering some questions they have agreed to provide cover. (FYI - I had breast cancer that spread to lymph nodes and was diagnosed in 2009). Have yet to read the fine print but it is encouraging. It was double the price, just over $500. The peace of mind will be worth it. I hope this is useful to others.
I am travelling to UK, France, Spain and Turkey... je parle un petit peu francais et jádore Paris!
Wendy
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Hi - I am about to go on the trip of a lifetime and it has been dampened somewhat by trying to organise travel insurance. I have read the postings above and the fact sheet which was really useful. I love BCNA - I don't feel quite so alone with all of this....
I was intending not to tell the insurance company about my 'pre existing medical condition' as my medical team have advised that it is highly unlikely anything would happen related to my breast cancer while I was travelling and in the unlikely event that it did it could wait until I return from my trip. However my GP strongly recommended to take out travel insurance that covers the condition.
So I started to call around the big ones (RAC, HBF, Sure Save) - many were very happy to cover me but not for the pre-existing condition! I finally find Cover More (1300 72 88 22) and after answering some questions they have agreed to provide cover. (FYI - I had breast cancer that spread to lymph nodes and was diagnosed in 2009). Have yet to read the fine print but it is encouraging. It was double the price, just over $500. The peace of mind will be worth it. I hope this is useful to others.
I am travelling to UK, France, Spain and Turkey... je parle un petit peu francais et jádore Paris!
Wendy
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Hi just saw this reply. We ended up getting travel insurance through our health fund BUPA. Yes my husband had another DVT return. We disclosed all to BUPA. I think the total cover was about $250 for the 12 days away. It was touch and go (long story) if we actually went on the trip due to my husband's issue. We saw a specialist (another long story) prior to going and were given the okay to go. It was a long scarey trip on the plane (thinking about what if) but all was good. No issues and my husband had more tests on his return. I am so glad we went as it was a trip of a lifetime - a family wedding and lots of fun. If you don't take risks then nothing is achieved - however if you put "things" in place then the risks are covered!!! Enjoy your trip. XLeonie
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