Cancer survivors ‘priced out of’ travel insurance, says UK charity

Cancer survivors are increasingly being “priced out” of travel due to excessive insurance premiums, according to a UK charity.

Cancer support charity Maggie’s is calling for the Treasury to work with cancer charities, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), consumer groups, industry experts and insurers to create “a fairer deal” for people with cancer in the travel insurance market.

Many insurance providers decline coverage or quote prohibitively high premiums for individuals with a history of cancer, even if treatment was completed years earlier.

Josh Cull, 28, was quoted over £3,000 for a trip to Southeast Asia, despite being “healthy and fully recovered” more than two years after treatment. “The trip was supposed to be a reward for everything we’d been through,” he said. Unable to afford the cover, he chose to travel uninsured.

Similarly, 72-year-old Millie Tharakan was charged £1,300 for a basic annual European policy, despite being declared fit to travel by her oncologist. “Most insurance companies I spoke to wouldn’t even consider covering me. It feels so unfair,” she said.

Dame Laura Lee, Chief Executive of Maggie’s, said: “The last thing people should have to think about is inflated insurance costs when they should be focused on recovering from treatment and living well with cancer.

“Travelling and taking holidays can be so important for someone’s wellbeing and recovery, and it is extremely unfair that people with cancer are being priced out of the opportunity to visit family and friends abroad or simply explore the world.

“We believe a task force could help understand why people with a history of cancer are routinely refused cover or quoted unaffordable prices and could develop clear recommendations to ensure people are treated more fairly by insurance companies.”

Industry response

Tim Riley, Managing Director of True Traveller, said to ITIJ: “Travel insurance plays a vital role in offering peace of mind to all travellers, particularly when unexpected health challenges arise during a trip either from a pre-existing medical condition or a sudden and unexpected accident. However, the issue of disproportionately high premiums which was raised by Maggie’s cancer charity last week does remain a matter of concern for all travel insurers.”

Riley explained: “Insurers apply premiums which they believe are justified based on the higher risk of a medical emergency taking place when someone is abroad. This does lead to a medical screening premium being attached on top of the regular travel insurance premium, and unfortunately this medical screening premium still attracts the full insurance premium tax (IPT) of 20%. The Association of Travel Insurance Intermediaries (ATII) has lobbied for the removal or reduction of IPT on medical screening premiums, but so far without success. So, on a £3,000 premium, £500 goes to the government, so it’s essentially a tax on being sick.”

Graeme Trudgill, Chief Executive of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), stressed the importance of those with medical conditions, including cancer, having access to the right travel insurance to protect them from costly emergency medical expenses abroad. “There are many factors, including your health, which are taken into consideration to establish the level of risk and policy premium,” he said. “Cover is not always readily available through standard online channels for people with medical conditions, but there are specialist insurance brokers who are best placed to advise on cover, who work with specialist medical screening companies and can help find a suitable policy with a more considered premium which reflects the individual circumstances.

“The Financial Conduct Authority has a ‘signposting’ rule in place so that, in certain scenarios, consumers with medical conditions are signposted to either a specialist provider or a Travel Medical Directory (one of which is BIBA’s) to help find cover for travel insurance. Helping consumers access insurance is an area that our Access to Insurance Committee has had a focus on for many years, and we have offered our support to Maggie’s to help navigate the complex issues that people with cancer face in finding travel insurance.”

More than one in five holidaymakers (22%) travelled without insurance for their last trip abroad, new research from Go.Compare Travel has revealed.