As part of our series on ‘Family Life in the Holidays’, a specialist travel insurance provider has answered some questions from parents of a child with a brain tumour.
Mary Holt from Free Spirit, has almost two decades of experience helping people with medical conditions navigate the complex insurance market and finding solutions to a wide range of specific needs.
General questions
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You will need to tell them:
- where you are travelling to
- dates you are travelling
- are the treating doctors happy for you to travel to your picked destinations?
- if you wish them to do any activities whilst away, would the GP approve?
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Yes, and it must be confirmed that they are fit to travel at time of calling for a quote. (So if you call today, but your child will not be fit to travel till September, most insurers will not quote, as it is all material facts of the day that they are interested in.)
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To ensure you are covered for cancellation if you are unable to travel due to the child becoming unwell, you should buy the insurance as soon as you have booked the trip.
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Yes, for example, if you are travelling to the USA the premiums will be higher, as medical costs are very high in these areas, or you may not be able to obtain cover.
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All insurance companies have medical warranties attached to them. Some will want to know the full medical history, some will ask in the last five years or last two years.
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Insurers all look at this in different ways, some will count every visit, others will count checkups. Most specialised insurers would only count check-ups.
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No, most insurers will not cover if it is a clinical trial.
Questions around specific tumours or treatments
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Most insurers will not cover anyone who is travelling for treatment. Some specialised companies will cover, but exclude the treatment and the condition that the treatment is for.
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Yes, to get cover you would have to go through a specialised travel insurance company.
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Specialised travel insurance companies would be able to help. There is a list of companies at the bottom of this page.
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How do the actuaries make their decisions for teenagers flying independently, especially for a long-term, slow-growing, low grade tumour which has been present since birth? Do they also take into account the adjuvant treatments such as growth hormone and cortisol replacement?
This is something that would have to be declared on a travel insurance application to obtain the cover you need. The insurers take into consideration:
- the way the questions are answered on the application
- the treatment
- that he is fit to travel at the time of requesting a quote
- where he is travelling to
- the duration of the trip
We have more information about travel on our travel and brain tumours webpage and factsheet.
At The Brain Tumour Charity we do not recommend, and have not vetted, individual travel insurance companies. However, from feedback gathered from those who have been affected by a brain tumour, we have produced the following list of companies who may be able to help:
- Free Spirit – 02392 419 070
- Insurancewith – 0203 8296 761
- Columbus Direct – 0880 0680 060
- Flexicover – 0800 093 9495
- MIA – 0800 999 333
- All Clear – 0808 168 9554
- World First – 0845 908 0161
- 4Medical – 03459 080121
- InsureandGo – 0330 400 1383
If you have further questions, please contact the Children and Families Team on 0808 800 0004 or [email protected]