Cancer charity exposes ‘scandal’ of patients being denied travel insurance

Victoria
Passengers queue to check-in bags in departures at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport, west London (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

Travellers queue to verify-in bags in departures at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport, west London (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

A cancer charity has exposed the “scandal” of people currently being denied important respite on holiday as they are not able to safe very affordable journey insurance plan due to the fact of their “misunderstood” ailment.

Southampton-based Planets cancer charity has described the condition which leaves some people not able to take pleasure in a getaway as a needed break from their cure as a “scandal”.

The organisation factors to 1 client becoming quoted £7,000 for insurance coverage for a two-week journey to Canada and a further individual obtained a estimate for £1,000 for a keep in Spain.

Each of these patients have neuroendocrine tumours, recognized as NETs, which are usually discovered in the pancreas, bowel or lungs but can also establish in other areas of the overall body and are gradual growing, with many residing with steady illness.

Neil Pearce, co-founder of the charity which helps clients with pancreatic, liver, colorectal, stomach and neuroendocrine most cancers, stated that other patients have been denied insurance plan since of their current or earlier ailment.

He mentioned: “The trouble for cancer sufferers in getting journey insurance policy at all or working with the inflated rates is a scandal and one thing they marketplace ought to do anything about as it is at present sticking the boot in.

“For a lot of persons, the respite and morale enhance a holiday absent with spouse and children or good friends delivers is a must have to their everyday living, nevertheless we are in the perverse predicament where pretty minor effort and hard work is even put in to establish the issue a human being is in.”

The Horseshoe falls, part of the Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

The Horseshoe falls, section of the Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada (Ian West/PA) (PA Archive)

Planets has launched a petition contacting for the journey coverage marketplace to assessment its procedures all over accessibility to affordable insurance coverage for most cancers individuals and create a model in session with cancer bodies and charities.

Mr Pearce explained: “I have penned letters to insurance plan companies on behalf of people in the previous and I am confident many other professionals have completed the identical but it really should not be left to a lottery of finding a company who will take a letter.

“Even then it can make very little change and, as a result, the possibilities are confined.

“We are calling on the sector to look at this issue and locate a alternative to make sure most cancers patients are basically provided truthful access as opposed to discrimination.”

Mr Pearce said for some patients, this kind of as those with NETs, the likelihood of emergency cases was very unusual and provides small hazard to insurers.

He said: “There is no exertion built to comprehend this as it is at present a ‘one dimension matches all’ method wherever any utterance of the word cancer usually means a human being will both be turned down or charged an extortionate, and typically unaffordable, cost.”

To sign the petition go to: https://www.improve.org/p/assure-cancer-sufferers-are-in a position-to-entry-very affordable-journey-insurance policy

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