Survivors of cancer ‘are exploited over travel insurance’

People who have recovered from cancer are being exploited by travel insurers who routinely charge them two or even three times the normal premium for a holiday, says a leading cancer charity.

 

Macmillan Cancer Support argues that many insurers refuse to offer cover or charge exorbitant rates in the hope that customers would look elsewhere.

 

A survey of 1,137 people, together with an in-depth focus group, many who have been free of cancer for years, found that more than a third had been offered premiums well over the normal rate, while 6 per cent were refused cover.

 

Eight per cent said that they had travelled without insurance because they could not find a company willing to cover them.

 

One in three people will have cancer at some point in their lives and the latest figures show that more than half are cured.

 

The charity accuses the insurance industry of failing to keep up with the scientific advances that mean people who have had cancer go on to live active, healthy lives.

 

“Cancer is changing, and it looks like the insurance industry needs to move with the times. It has to recognise that not everybody with cancer is going to die. More people are living long and active lives after cancer and that’s why Macmillan is calling on the travel insurance industry to look again at the risk posed by people affected by cancer and improve the deals offered to them,” says Ayesha Owusu-Barnaby.

 

Health cover is one of the biggest components of travel insurance, and companies invariably ask about pre-existing conditions to calculate the risks and the premium.

 

Former cancer patients reported that insurers appeared to take no account of how long ago they had had their treatment.

 

The charity says that hundreds of people contact it each month to complain about travel insurance. This prompted it to carry out the survey.

 

Travel insurance sales staff are roundly criticised in the survey for being insensitive, ignorant and uninterested.

 

As well as being refused cover, callers said that insurance sales staff also regularly asked insensitive questions about their health, demonstrating their ignorance about cancer.

 

One caller, who was seeking insurance for her husband, was allegedly asked: “How long has he got?” and “Is he going to die?” by sales staff.

 

“Some of the stories we’ve heard are shocking. Many patients tell us that they have been asked thoughtless questions about their cancer which leave them feeling discriminated against. This can be very distressing when you’re trying to buy insurance for a restful holiday or trip abroad to visit family,” says Ayesha Owusu-Barnaby.

 

The Macmillan survey backs up research conducted last year by Cancerbackup, another charity. It found that almost 90 per cent of people who had been affected by cancer found it difficult or impossible to get cover, while 70 per cent found the experience of trying to buy insurance distressing.

 

The charity has launched a Recovered But Not Covered campaign on the back of the research, which aims to help people affected by cancer get a better deal on travel insurance. It intends to work with insurers to challenge their attitude towards cancer and encourage them to review the insurance risk posed by the growing number of cancer patients who are out of active treatment and are recovering or recovered many years ago.

 

The campaign also aims to improve the levels of customer service offered to cancer patients. Macmillan is calling on travel insurance companies to look at their customer service training for sales staff. In the future, the charity intends to develop best practice standards.