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Hello Travellers,

   For those sisters who have travelled abroad after treatment, I am wondering if you purchased trip cancellation/interruption insurance? My Approach tour has emergency medical insurance in the package, but not the other. I spoke to a Manulife insurance agent who was quite clipped with me when I explained my situation re: cancer NED and on maintenance meds. She said, "That's it; you've had cancer and you were in treatment in the last 6 months. No, we won't cover you." 

Have you found any companies that are more flexible in their thinking?

Leslie 

@LeslieA

In past discussions, I have heard that Medi-Quote has been used by some cancer patients (not necessarily this site). They are an insurance broker who will take all your information and put it out to insurance companies. Those willing to cover you will come back with quotes. Saves you a lot of time and effort trying to sort through individual insurance company's red tape. 

Thank you GloHo, I will explore that option. 

I am glad that worked out for you, Pat. It was good that your husband's plan would be the safety net. In the general scheme of things travel can go well, but now after this cancer experience I realize that things like my health status can change unexpectantly. Ugh. I am going to be as well informed as I possibly can be in order to make a decision about insurance. And you are right, it is expensive. 

Hi @LeslieA ... I did a comprehensive post last year (which sadly I can't find when I search this site), about Travel Medical Insurance. I have health/dental insurance with a travel medical rider with Manulife. At the time of my diagnosis they had a 6 month stability clause in their policy. As such, I bought a travel medical policy via Medi-Quote but I did NOT buy the interruption/cancellation insurance. I felt that the latter was way too restrictive in the rules vs the actual reimbursement you would get (e.g., for age 64 or less you needed 90 day stability for pre-existing condition; for 64+ you needed 150 day stability for pre-existing).

For the travel medical, I was able to purchase a policy that had a 7 day stability clause in it (meaning I had a pre-existing condition that had to be stable per their definition of stability, for the 7 days prior to the departure). Reading the fine print is SO important as my stability would have been disqualified even if I had gone for an appointment with my onc-gyn and nothing had changed as a result of that appointment. I had the policy in force for an entire year and it only cost me $300.  Thankfully I did not have to use it over the course of that year.

I could not find a travel cancellation/interruption policy that you could buy with a reduced timing "stability" clause. That's not to say one doesn't exist out there so if anyone is aware of one, please let us know.

I did have to cancel a pre-booked river cruise as a result of my diagnosis. Thankfully I was able to get full reimbursement of our travel costs (for the cruise and flight), via my credit card insurance however, it's because my condition was not "known" at the time of my booking.

#Healthandwellness

Wow, the criterion as in no medical appointments or change in medication before the trip is something I never considered. I just booked an appointment with my oncologist for the 6 month follow-up in February, which is about 2 weeks before we leave on our trip! Thank you for this information Alwayslearning; it is helpful! 

@LeslieA yes reading the fine print for stability and exclusions is key. The "no doctor appointment" item wasn't in the stability definition the first year I had the policy but appeared the second year. I made sure to plan my doctor visits accordingly.
#Healthandwellness

Thank you Gratitude123, this is very helpful! Travel is very important to me and is another way for me to appreciate life, so I really want to go places while I still can. After 10 months of treatment tied to my picc line leash, It feels like a window has finally opened, bringing some fresh air. I want to step onto the sill and fly away for a while!