Travel insurance for prostate cancer patients
Alan Taylor was diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer in September 2000. After radiotherapy and hormone treatment his PSA dropped to 0.1 where it remained for a couple of years or so. By August 2004 it had slowly risen to a level where hormone treatment was re-started. The hormone treatment continued until August 2007 when Alan started a hormone holiday. After 12 months off treatment Alan’s PSA is 0.07 so things are looking good.
Since being diagnosed with prostate cancer Alan has done much research of the topic, one area of his research is the effect prostate cancer, and cancer in general, can have when applying for travel insurance. The note on travel insurance was updated in September 2008 and now includes more information about the European Health Insurance Card and planning medical treatment in another EEA country.
This report is based on his personal experience of arranging travel insurance after his cancer diagnosis and treatment and healthcare issues which may be of interest to anyone with cancer. It is important to take out travel insurance when travelling abroad, without it you risk exposing yourself to large medical bills if you were to fall ill or have an accident. When applying for insurance it is important you declare you have been given a prostate cancer diagnosis and the treatment you have received. You must also tell the insurance company about your diagnosis even if you will not be receiving treatment. If you do not tell your insurance company or broker about your diagnosis and later make a claim in respect of your condition, or even any other unrelated condition, your policy may be cancelled.
In Alan’s experience many insurance companies are not prepared to provide a travel policy to someone who has received treatment for cancer or they may do so only with an increased premium, even though the cancer may be said to be cured or that it will be kept under control for a number of years. He suggests a good option is to use a company with specially trained staff who assess the risk or a company which uses an independent specialist health screening company.
Included in this report are helpful tips as to what information you will need when applying for travel insurance and how the insurance company will decide whether to offer you insurance cover. Applying for travel insurance can be difficult unless you have an idea of how travel insurers assess the risk for a travel policy. The aim of his report is not to recommend, suggest or imply travel insurance ‘best buys’, but to provide the reader with sufficient information to ask questions so they can decide which is the best policy for them.
The website www.travelhealth.co.uk offers a range of information regarding a persons health when travelling. It also offers suggestions of companies that have insurance directed at people with pre-existing medical conditions and information.
The report now includes extensive information and tips about the European Health Insurance Card, how to apply for one, how to use it and avoid the problems which can arise when trying to access state healthcare in another EEA country. How to claim a refund of medical treatment costs is also covered. The new arrangements for obtaining information from the Department of Health about how to use the European Health Insurance Card are also mentioned.
A developing area of healthcare is what is called “cross border healthcare”. This is where an individual can go to another EEA country to receive medical treatment with the cost or part of it being paid by the NHS. This is a complicated area and if you are thinking of going to another EEA country specifically for medical treatment it is strongly recommended that you first speak to your Primary Care Trust.