Booking your holiday? Don’t forget to book your insurance too – especially if you have cancer

With medical costs soaring in other countries as well as UK, cancer patients are warned they must have medical insurance when they go abroad, even if they hold the EHIC Card (European Health Insurance).

.

Why?  Because EHIC only covers you for emergency treatment – not repatration costs (if you have to be flown home).  Even from a European city this can cost over £20 – £50,000 by Air Ambulance.

.

But trying to find insurance for a holiday, many of us find problems.  We are quoted wildly differing premiums, and cancer charities have been concerned that many post cancer patients find they are quoted a massive premium – sometimes more than the trip will cost.

.

Others complain that they have been refused insurance “because they didn’t tick the right boxes” when interrogated by insensitive Call Centre staff.

.

It is no use going to Europe and expecting the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) to cover you completely if you need treatment – all you will be given is emergency cover, and NO help with repatriation. Go further afield, what the brochures don’t tell you is how far you might have to be airlifted if there is a medical problem – and who will pay for this?

.

When booking a holiday, how many tour operators will have the expertise to tell you if there is a suitable hospital near by – or, if you go somewhere like the Galapagos, how many hours it will take to transfer you to the nearest medical centre?

So, seeing a gap in the market, insurance expert Krish Shastri set up MediTravel Cover and InsureCancer.com . He says “our sole purpose is the provision of travel insurance to those diagnosed with cancer. Our interests are aligned with those of the patient – our existence is dependent on our ability to help, and we do not have conflicts of interest”.

.

This service is highly specialised, with each case being individually assessed, and “given our focus on cancer, all our applicants must be in the care of an oncologist. In order to better reflect our specialist skills we adopted the trading style ‘InsureCancer’  – this change does not affect the registered company (Medi Travelcover Ltd.) details.

.

But don’t expect them to provide a cheap quote for a trip to the Galapagos – apparently it can take around 14 hours to transfer somone with a broken leg!

Each case is individually underwritten on the basis of clinical fitness; “we do not use arbitrary guidelines such as age etc. i.e. no age limits apply. However, we do take into account the standards of medical care available at the chosen destination. In addition, the patient’s clinical fitness requirements for Paris will be quite different to the requirements for Perth, Australia.

.

When I made a ‘test call’ and asked if I could be insured to go to a popular destination, I was quoted a very reasonable rate – which included all my warts!’

.

But when I enquired if the cost would be the same for the same length of flight to another popular destination, I was told that this would be almost impossible to obtain, as the medical cover at that resort was not considered suitable – (translation: definitely not up to standard!)

.

So it reassuring to know that the company has the expertise and knowledge about medical facilities around the world, including the USA.

.

Krish says “you may be interested to know that H.M. The Queen bestowed the country’s highest corporate honour ‘The Queen’s Award for Enterprise’ on InsureCancer and Medi Travelcover Ltd. in recognition of: “Pioneering insurance underwriting innovation for those affected by cancer.”

012252-780190. www.InsureCancer.com

1.  You MUST carry an EHIC card if going to European destinations.  You will be asked to show this, and if you don’t, your insurer might charge you for the difference that the hospital will charge them.  You get it from your local Post Office.

2.  The internet has become the top source of information for patients seeking the latest and best medical treatment options, however, it is also potentially open to abuse, particularly when seeking insurance quotations.

Dr Richard Theo warns patients to seek independent, authoritative sources of information only and to be aware of ‘‘Sham Websites’.  He says: “Watch out for sham websites, unfortunately there are numerous websites that say that they will provide you with quotes and price comparisons when in fact all they do is take your personal information and sell it on.” In guidelines prepared for in Capital Health Dr Theo has prepared a simple checklist to, “suss them out”. He says, “If they don’t do all of the following then look elsewhere:

• the website should demonstrate the service they provide before taking your information for example a video or pictures that show sample quotes or the price comparison features of the website
• the website should be run by an FSA authorised company with their registration number displayed plainly at the bottom and the words “Authorised and regulated by the FSA” and not “appointed representative”
• the website should provide a freephone telephone number plainly on the home page to allow you to contact them. If they don’t then it’s just a sham website phishing for your personal information. Call the number and ask whether they are able to advise you themselves

A concern that patients often discuss with in Capital Health is the all-too frequent discovery that the private medical insurance (PMI) cover they thought was in place, is not.  In response to these concerns, in Capital Health has created a new ‘Your Health Insurance’ section on the in Capital Health menu bar.

www.inCapitalHealth.co.uk

But choose your insurer carefully, and one day you may find you are eternally grateful, when a kindly voice on the telephone miles away says, “don’t worry – you are covered – and we will take care of all the administration”.