[emmasue123Participant]

Hello – new to this forum. My husband was diagnosed with SMM several weeks ago and has been put in the high risk category for it to progress in the next two years. This has also been confirmed through a second opinion.

My question is how to deal with travel insurance. He has no symptoms but if we book a trip and then test results show he needs treatment and we need to cancel our trip, how can we ensure we get our money back. Would travel insurance cover this and does anyone have experience of travelling with this diagnosis and what sort of travel insurance might be best?

Most travel insurance I have looked at focuses on being abroad and then needing healthcare but this is slightly different.

Thank you so much in advance. Grateful that there is this forum.

[mulberryParticipant]

Hi Emmasue123 welcome to the forum.
I suspect that you will need to go through a specialist medical travel insurer or broker to get insurance, fortunately there are many.
I’ve used PayingTooMuch, which is a broker.
Although travel insurance does cost more once myeloma and related conditions rear it’s head, it is not prohibitively expensive (for most) & does give security.
Enjoy planning your next holiday! It can take a while to work out what insurance companies mean by some of their questions, so expect getting travel insurance for the first time to be time consuming,(eg myeloma is not a terminal illness in insurance terms) but it gets easier in time.

[brewy36Participant]

Hi Mulberry,

I’ve just read your reply about travel insurance and was so interested to read your last sentence which said “myeloma is not a terminal illness in insurance terms”. I didn’t realise this and have been put off, so far, in going abroad because I have seen that the clause that you may not get insurance if you have a terminal diagnosis and have been given a prognosis of life expectancy. I was given an 8-10 year prognosis by my consultant when diagnosed 2 years ago, but it was also made clear that no one can really say how long we have and it is different for everyone. So do I declare the prognosis? I’m currently in remission and just on maintenance treatment. No other health conditions. Any advice on this subject gratefully received!

[emmasue123Participant]

Hello! – I am getting insurance through Freedom which donates to Myeloma for each policy taken out. and is recommended on the Myeloma travel info sheet. As far as I understand it you CAN get the insurance with active myeloma (my husband has smouldering myeloma). They take you through a health screening of course so you do have to answer to all sorts of questions around your treatment and so on. A prognosis is only a prognosis in the sense that again, as I understand it, life expectancy is based on statistics and averages and is not an absolute for anyone. I would encourage you to travel and take out the insurance you need that will cover you so you have peace of mind.

Freedom were very helpful https://www.freedominsure.co.uk

Wishing you all the very best and happy travels – love Emma Sue

[mulberryParticipant]

Hi Brewy36
The specialist health insurers that will insure myeloma patients seem to know quite a bit about the disease. I was asked a few pertinent questions, rather than many questions, when I was in remission seeking insurance. I’m intending to go on holiday soon, but I’m on active treatment now so I suspect I’ll have more questions to answer. I’ve several friends on active treatment however who have all been able to find affordable insurance, two have been abroad 3 times in the past 6 months, so I know it’s possible, even though the first quote I got was astronomic (using a company that had offered a “discount” that clearly wasn’t!)
I am now trying to confirm dates and exactly where to go before getting the insurance sorted.
Good luck with your travel plans
Jane

[gcoulterParticipant]

Hi

My wife was diagnosed almost 10 years ago and is about to start her 4th line of treatment. We’ve done loads of travelling during this time and the insurance has not been prohibitive at all. Paid under £200 for an annual policy for worldwide cover.

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