Leukaemia travel insurance.

Travel feeling secure with travel insurance for leukaemia

When you let us know about your leukaemia when getting your medical travel insurance, you can have the reassurance that should something go wrong on holiday, we’ll aim to help put things right.

Flexibility to change details online

When you buy a policy from us, you can manage it yourself by logging in to your My Avanti account. Here you can:

• access policy documents
• update traveller details
• change your single trip dates (limits apply)
• renew an annual policy if you have no changes to make
• and more.

If you have questions about Covid-19 and how it affects your holiday plans, visit our Covid-19 help page.

Why letting us know about your health conditions is always a good idea

While on holiday in America, John¹ needed urgent medical attention. When he called our 24/7 medical emergency support team, we told him we would settle his bills directly with the hospital.

That meant John could focus on the scans and treatment he needed, knowing the financial side of things was being taken care of.

He had no need to worry about making an upfront payment on a credit card and after getting better, was happy to tell us the service he received was ‘absolutely superb’.

If a medical emergency bill comes to more than £350, we’ll try our best to sort it with the hospital whenever possible.

Can you get travel insurance with leukaemia?

If you’ve had leukaemia, it’s important you let us know about it when getting your travel insurance. Travel insurance is there to give you peace of mind while you’re on holiday, so it’s important that you’re safe and well enough to travel.

The level of cover you can get depends on where you are with your diagnosis and treatment. Take a look at our guide to whether you can get travel insurance.

For us to be able to cover you and your leukaemia, you need to be able to say ‘yes’ to all of the following:

• I am not travelling against the advice of my doctor
• I am not travelling with the intention of receiving medical treatment, tests or consultations abroad
• I am not travelling having received a terminal prognosis.

If the above all apply to you, we may be able to cover you with travel insurance. We treat every person on an individual basis, and understand that everyone’s medical history is different.

Do I need to have had both my Covid jabs to be covered?

As long as you’ve had the vaccines you’ve been offered for Covid-19, you should be covered. If you haven’t been offered both doses yet or you’re medically exempt then you can also be covered.

If you’ve refused any doses of the vaccine or haven’t been able to have a dose you’ve been offered, you won’t be covered.

If you can’t cover me with travel insurance, what can I do?

We want you to go on holiday feeling safe, and that you’re happy with the level of cover we can offer you.

If it’s not possible for us to cover you and your leukaemia, we can suggest alternative providers who may be able to help you.

The British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) can assist you in finding cover that’s suitable for you and your needs.

InsureCancer.com (0845 6490190) specialise in insuring people with active, metastatic, relapsed or terminal cancer, as well as those involved in clinical trials.

I’m travelling with my family, who don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions. Should we be on the same travel insurance or separate policies?

Actually, having cover together may work out cheaper and there are other important benefits too.

If you have to cancel your holiday because of an emergency with your health, the whole travel party will be covered, so you can reclaim the full cost (providing, of course, this is in your policy.)

If you buy separate policies and have to cancel due to a medical emergency, it could mean only you are able to reclaim the cost of your part of the holiday.

What questions will you ask about my leukaemia?

We will take you through questions so we can build a level of travel insurance to cover leukaemia that’s just right for your unique needs. Don’t worry, we’ll take it at a pace that suits you and we’ll always respect confidentiality.

We need to know the type of leukaemia you’ve been diagnosed with or in remission for, which may be one of the following:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
• Acute myeloid leukaemia
• Chronic myeloid leukaemia
• Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia
• Chronic lymphocytic (or lymphatic) leukaemia
• Hairy cell leukaemia
• Aplastic anaemia
• NK (natural killer) cell leukaemia
• Plasma cell leukaemia

Some of the questions we need to ask will go into some detail. You may find it useful to discuss them with your doctor in advance or have your medical notes to hand.

Here are some of the questions we also commonly ask about leukaemia:

• Are you currently undergoing treatment for this or is any treatment planned?
• How old were you when you were diagnosed?
• How long ago was your first remission?
• Have you had any relapses in the last three years?
• Have you had a bone-marrow transplant?
• Has bone marrow (or stem cell) transplantation been performed?
• Have you had any relapses following treatment?
• Are you taking strong painkillers daily for this or any other condition?
• What was your most recent haemoglobin level?
• What was your most-recent white-blood-cell count?
• Have you required hospital treatment in the last 12 months?
• In the last 12 months, has this condition failed to respond to drug treatment?
• Are you having ongoing medical supervision?
• What stage is your condition currently at (if you’ve been told)?

What if my leukaemia is terminal, can you still cover me?

We may be able to cover you for your holiday with a single trip policy when your leukaemia is terminal.

We know you’re not defined by having terminal leukaemia and you may want to enjoy time with friends and family on holiday. But before you go on your trip, it’s really important to make sure it’s safe for you to travel. Speak to your doctors about your travel plans and they’ll be able to give you advice on whether you’re fit to travel. Once you’ve been given the go-ahead, it’s always best to make sure your plans are covered by specialist travel insurance.

Having terminal leukaemia may not stop you from being insured with us. We’ll need to know that your life expectancy is more than six months after you return back from holiday and that it’s safe for you to travel.

To find out more, or to get a quote for your trip, get in touch with our friendly team on 0800 888 6195.

I’ve bought travel insurance for my leukaemia already. Should I tell you if my medical condition changes?

Yes, we need to be kept in the loop if your health changes or if you’re diagnosed with something new before you’re due to go on holiday.

If you forget to let us know of any changes to your health, this may affect the validity of your policy and your claim being accepted if you needed our help further down the line.

With an up-to-date policy, you can travel knowing you are protected.