Travel Insurance for America??

[Guest user]

Hi
Just wanted to give you an update concerning the insurance.
When i got the written quote i was not happy when it said 'i would not be covered for an undisclosed condition'.
As my main concern is the fact i am on tamoxifen and have had cancer i took it further. Rang and got extra cover notes sent to me which state i have declared my cancer and medication. No extra cost.

Towergate which seems to be Fortis i would recommend.

Rxx

[Guest user]

Hi,

Just wanted to post an update:
The best deal for me ended up being It’s So Easy.
A one trip combined Mexico & U.S.A., three weeks, joint policy, for approx. £170.00. Tamoxifen not an issue.
Their policy has lower excesses and better coverage than the MIA online quote I had earlier. So, I decided to extend it a bit and go away for a bit longer!

Good luck to everyone & ¡buen viaje!

[Guest user]

Thankyou too debsy.
I've just got annual cover for me and kids from towergate - worldwide cover for £133.00

[Guest user]

Just wanted to say Thanks to Debsy, for the towergate insurance.
Amazingly got it for £43.80, infact hubby was dearer as he is over 50.

Worth phoning around. For some reason i just could not get insure pink up on the net, however i am sure they would not have been cheaper than this. I dont think tower will insure you if you are terminally ill though, and one of their questions was 'have i undergone any surgery etc int he past 3 months.

Worth giving them a ring though if you need insurance

Rx

[Guest user]

Hi R

I reckon £106 for insurance to US is brilliant...much better than elsewhere. Take it up and enjoy the trip.

Jane

[Guest user]

Hi
well i have been a bit slow on the insurances. The only one i have rang so far was miaonline which i was a bit disappointed with it was £105, considering i am past 2and ahalf years since i finished treatment and only taking tamoxifen its more than i thought.
Like has been said by folk you cant get insured more than 2months before the trip.
Have had pain in mastectomy area and under arm so it has kinda made me nervous. Doctor cant feel anything though so i will pursue the insurance tomorrow. going to phone insure pink.
Rx

[debs66]

did you try AXA as i got insurance from them, before my rads actually finished, and got a years policy to!
no one else would even consider me, and i got a good price to.
deb x

[Guest user]

Hi again,

Liverbird, how did you get on with your quotes?
Thanks to everyone who has replied. Have followed up all your suggestions!

Well, have had no end of trouble getting someone to insure me as I am under a year from finishing treatment . The usual answer is “no” until one year post rads. Annual policies for me are out of the question at this stage. Tamoxifen & Herceptin are usually counted as treatment, but they will consider you.

I have a grand total of ONE quote under £1000.00 for up to 30 days in U.S.A. and Mexico this coming spring. This is from miaonline: £264.00 for myself and OH. I still have a few other specialists to phone, but they won’t quote for me until I am 4 weeks post rads. (Next week) I think the excess is £150.00…must check.

The mia quote was interesting: they take into account where in the U.S. you want to go and what you want to do there. So, the fact that I will be staying with family is a bonus, but as I will be on the west coast, it would be more costly to repatriate me.
Quote includes cancellation for both of us. The woman I spoke with was really helpful and it seems like they look at everyone as an individual. How refreshing! You cannot book the insurance more than 2 months in advance. And one of the conditions is that I get a script for antibiotics…

The European insurance options for me were less of a problem, but Spain takes a higher premium than say France or even Portugal.

So, anyone who is 2 or 3 years out will have more options. I was also told that at five years out, BC wouldn’t even register (from an AXA underwritten company).

Well, gone are the days when OH and I had joint annual worldwide policy for £99.00!!!! Sad, ain’t it?

LXXX

P.S.

Would love to have a sticky on this whole topic!

[Roberta]

I have got COMPASS annual insurance from FORTIS for £83 to cover me worldwide (incl USA) and includes cover for all my medical conditions. Since I had stage 3 bc 4 years ago, have ongoing chronic osteomyelitis and a pulmonary embolism last year I think that it's a total bargain. I take arimidex,ongoing trimethoprim (antibiotic), ongoing wafarin and a few other drugs.

I just needed to be able to answer the following questions and no further details of my medical problems was required.

For you, or anyone travelling with you:

As far as I know the following apply:-

1. Nobody is waiting for an operation, hospital consultation (other than for regular check ups), or other hospital treatment or investigations.
2. Nobody has received treatment, other than regular medication, in the last 12 months for:
Any blood disorder
Any form of cancer, leukaemia or tumour
A transplant
Any psychiatric illness
Dialysis treatment
Dementia
3. Nobody has any breathing or heart problems which have needed hospital treatment more than once in the last 12 months.
4. Nobody has been seen by a specialist in the last three months (other than for regular check ups) or been admitted to a hospital overnight.
5. Nobody has been diagnosed by a registered doctor as having a terminal condition.
6. I do not know of any other reason (other than medical) why the trip is likely to be cancelled or cut short.

[Guest user]

My husband and I opened a joint Gold Account at Lloyds Bank for £12 per month which along with AA Breakdown cover/several other things (cant remember without reading booklet) and also covers unlimited worldwide travel insurance. The policy does not include BC but you just pay a supplement when you travel to cover a specific medical condition. Just paid £45 suppl for America and am going to Jamaica in March which was £62 extra. Have a great trip!

[Guest user]

I got a years travel insurance from Aberdeen last year which was £75 for myself, husband and son.£500 excess for anything to do with BC. I believe that they have changed brokers now though and not offering such good deals which is such a shame

Jools

[Guest user]

Insure Pink insured me for a trip to the U.S. in the summer and were by far the lowest.

[debs66]

Hi Liverbird
I had soooo much trouble trying to get insurance for some holidays this year and no one would insure me until after treatment finished, and i couldnt get yearly insurance until i was clear for 3 years. I got some quotes which were really high, but then rang AXA, who I have private health with. They insured me during treatment, so I could book a holiday for this year and all they wanted was confirmation that my oncologist said i was ok to travel. I have also got yearly cover and it cost me £129, which incorporates a holiday to florida later this year. We took out a joint policy for my OH to, and the total was £210. I did get a discount as i have the private health, but the cost for us both was still the cheapest by far.
I am also covered for anything to do with BC and Rheumatoid arthritis, which I have had for 18 years.
deb x

[lolly73]

I was dx in Feb last year and am on zoladex and tamoxifen. Since my surgery I have been on 2 hols, 1 to Spain and 1 UK, and both times have been insured with TESCO as they WOULD cover my BC for a £50 supplement. Think only if no spread to nodes though.

[Guest user]

I went to New York while still on herceptin + tamoxifen for primary and went to Florida for 2 weeks last year still taking tam, I went with Fortis thru Marrs Insurance brokers and now its Towergate Risk Solutions and on both occassions it cost no more than Tesco or the PO who would have excluded any BC.

New york was £62.50 for me and husband and Florida £83.77 for family cover. tel 0208 920 1234.

They have quite a simple yes/no question medical statement, lymph node involment is accepted as local providing they have been removed via surgery and I also think they like you to have finished chemo for at least 3 months.

I recomended the above to a friend and she saved hundreds on a holdiay to south america, they also offer annual if making more than 1 trip. I think they used to be listed on this site, not sure if they still are but I definitley found them very good and professional when asking me the medical questions, they also had my details on record for the second trip and because there was no change it was all handled in 1 call.

Hope this helps,

Debbie

[Guest user]

After treatment for bc its pretty easy to get insurance which excludes cover for bc.

Personally I'd never go outside EU or other countries which don't have reciprocal agreement without insurance, and certainly not to USA where the costs can be astronomical. Feeling well now won't stop the nightmare of various scenarios like say breaking a bone cause of undiagnosed mets.

Jane

[Guest user]

Hi There,

I shopped around and found a policy for the Carribean for OH and 2 kids and me for about £30 total. It covered usual plus 5 million dollars med insurance. It didnt cover anything to do with Bc but as It was only a year from DX and felt really well i felt it was a chance worth taking. The company was Columbus insurance and I found it on a price comparision site. You have to book on this site as if you go direct it is twice as much ( which is crazy but true)
Love Andrea xx

[Guest user]

Worth trying Freedom Travel too if they are still around (google..they are in Cambridge) After primary bc I found they were the only insurance co. who would cover me for US (that was late 2004...and I did have to pay £300 for 8 days in San Francisco.)

Enjoy the trip.

Jane

[Guest user]

That sounds really good, I have not been abroad since Dx over 3 yrs ago, as we have relatives who live in the States we thought we may take our youngest who is 21 in April for a visit. I had said to hubby he could take her then thought I should be more confident and go.
Will try miaonline.
Hope you have a wonderful time on your holiday.
Rx

[Guest user]

Hi
Just to let you know I have just been quoted £89 for single trip to Florida, which I thought was reasonable considering I finished chemo in Aug and Rads in Oct and I am still on Warfarin. The policy covers myself and my partner (ages 44 & 46) would not quote for an annual as with in 12moths from chemo or rads

Regards

Helen

[Guest user]

Hi

Try Miaonline.co.uk - They have recently started to offer the US - I am waiting for a call back for a quote as we are due to go to Florida in Feb and our current policy excludes anything to do with my BC.

Hope you may find it useful
Regards
Helen

[Guest user]

Not the USA, but I have an annual for Europe from ItsSoEasy - cost for self and OH was about £100, including cover for bc and a couple of other medical problems. They deal with medical probs so knew that a year out from a primary diagnosis I'm not a big risk, and asked sensible questions - unlike previous insurer, who flipped at the word cancer and quoted around £500.

Didn't take US cover as I knew we wouldn't be going this year (oops, last year now!), but might late 2009. The woman I spoke to did say that it's sometimes cheaper to take worldwide cover than US-specific cover.

Lyn

[Guest user]

I've been to the USA via Fortis. I wasn't having any treatment for breast cancer as I discharged myself immediately after radiotherapy and stopped taking tamoxifen early, ironically this makes the chances of cancer coming back somewhat higher, but means I can also truthfully say I am not having any treatment, thus making me insurable for breast cancer

ha ha

[Merlyn]

I got an annual insurance from Insure and Go, but they wouldn't cover me for Breast Cancer even though I didn't have node involvement.

I am afraid I just took what I was offered and took the risk (I think it was their silver policy) Went to China and then Malaysia just within the year so took full advantage of the annual policy.

Pink seems to be the best Insurers for people with Breast Cancer but they don't do an annual policy as I have tried them.

Sorry I can't be more help, they do seem to be a bit mean over Cancer insurance don't they.

Merlyn

[Guest user]

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for starting this thread Liverbird. Hope you don’t mind me joining in as I’m looking for answers too!

I’m really hoping someone comes up with some good news on this topic.
Does anyone have an opinion regarding annual policies VS single trip which include travel to the U.S.A.?

I’d like to get a decently priced worldwide annual policy for myself & OH as I need to be able to get back & forth to the States more than once a year for family reasons, and to travel in the EU. I’m finding though that some of the specialist companies won’t do annual policies.

I can’t get ANY quotes at the moment as I haven’t been ‘signed off’ yet!
Sorry, meant to say deemed to be 'fit to travel'....

Lomalinda

XXX

[Guest user]

Dont know if this will help but I have travel insurance free with my Tsb platinum account. They do not cover
anything to do with my breast cancer(2005) as I am am on Tamoxifen. They said this is considered as still
undergoing treatment. I did go to Las Vegas last year for my birthday, took the chance!! Loved every minute of it.
Sorry cant be more help but im sure there have been posts previously re insurance for USA so im sure someone
will be along soon to help with your query.
Enjoy your trip
Regards
xx

[Guest user]

Has anyone got recent travel insurance for a trip to America? If so could they let me know who they got insurance from.

The only thing that worried me is being on tamoxifen, would this affect the cost of insurance?

Thanks
Rx