Travel insurance covering illness of family member not travelling

[soootiredddd]

Sorry I’m shamelessly posting here for traffic.

FIL has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has been told he has anywhere from 6-12 months left but no one has a crystal ball and the doctors said that with this kind of cancer it can vary a lot between individuals. Currently he is still quite fit and active all things considered.

DH and I have been wanting to book a holiday this year, we were hoping to go in September (can’t go before that for various other reasons). It would be our DCs first trip abroad. We were on the cusp of booking and then DH said that if his DF became very unwell just before the holiday then he would want to cancel. Similarly if we were already on holiday and he went downhill quickly then he would want to fly back ASAP so that he could be with him at the end. I totally understand this and did the same thing when my own dad was very unwell.

However we don’t know if travel insurance would pay out in these situations? I know most policies cover you if a family member (not travelling) becomes ill but I don’t know if they would in this instance because it’s a pre-existing condition and we know he is j likely to still be here this time next year. Does anyone know or has managed to get insurance to cover this situation?

(by the way, DFIL is totally onboard with the idea of us going on holiday and would hate the thought of us cancelling because he’s unwell. DH is mainly wanting to be there to support his mum)

Try good to go insurance. They cover more difficult to insure people so they might cover this.

Sorry that your FIL is poorly. Insurance is designed to cover expected events that could cause you to cancel a trip. Assuming that you did not have a policy in place before the diagnosis. As you already know that a close family member has a terminal prognosis, unfortunately a policy would not cover cancellation in the event.

Thank you both
@Roselilly36 so do you think nobody would provide any coverage at all for this?

@soootiredddd unlikely unfortunately, if you find an insurance company that will offer cover the premium will be much higher.

When you take out a policy, you have to declare any pre existing medical conditions. If you make a claim, you need to provide medical evidence. The insurers would contact your FILs GP to determine if his condition was pre-existing. At that point, the claim would be declined. What you have to decide is, can you afford to lose the cost of the holiday if you have to cancel?

You need to check the precise wording of the policy, they usually cover unexpected illness of a first degree relative but likely to exclude given that FIL has a terminal diagnosis. Macmillan might be able to advise, they are good on travel insurance for people with cancer.

We were in similar position and insurance wouldn't cover for this as it was already a known risk.

We managed 1 holiday fine but the parent died just before the next holiday.
EasyJet have a bereavement policy and we were able to change the flights free of charge. We had booked refundable accommodation for this very reason so we got money back. Essentially we moved the holiday by a couple of months.

Your best option is to book changeable flights and accommodation you can cancel/change dates. May cost bit more upfront but worth it rather than risk losing whole holiday. A traditional package holiday probably won't give you that flexibility.

This won't help if he suddenly deteriorates while you're away though.
Sorry to hear about your FIL

We were in this situation and while our insurance did cover illness of first degre relatives, it didn't for long-term and existing illnesses.

We managed to get a letter from my dad's GP quoting that the illness was very unpredictable and impossible to know what would happen. In the end my dad passed away a month before we travelled so it wasn't needed but it shows that you most likely won't be covered.

I think booking a very flexible flight and refundable accomodation until the very last minute may be the way to go. It's normally a bit more expensive but we found it easier. If you book directly with the hotel they often offer this instead of going via Tui etc.

You can also check if the package company has a policy to rebook in such events, they may not do it for pre-existing issues though.