Holiday in 5 weeks, referred for tests. Insurance?

[badtimingisrubbish]

Such bad timing!
I've had what seems to be a period after a long time of being period free. I spoke to my GP this morning, who's referred my on the 2ww pathway as it's a red flag for cancer. I'm pleased I'm having tests and am not stressing, chances of it being serious are really small.

But, I'm going on holiday in 5 weeks time. All booked and paid for. I have insurance through my back account. When should I tell them? I can either:

Let them know now, pay for an upgrade (no idea if they'll cover it or how much it will cost)

Or

Hope that I am actually seen in the next two weeks, and if so and all is fine, I have no reason to tell them anything. If it's not, I call them at that point.

What should I do?

Hi, I am sorry to hear this but as you say unlikely to be serious. I would notify the insurance company now just in case further tests or treatment are required which may delay your trip. Hopefully all will be well and you could then offer to update them before you travel. Better safe than sorry with insurance.

Do you need to notify them?

My bank account travel insurance required notification of any conditions on which medical advice had been sought in the 12 months prior to taking out the policy, not anything new that arises is covered (surely the point of having the insurance is so that if you can’t go due to “new” medical issues you can claim for the cancelled holiday?).

You are always supposed to notify insurance about changes to your health it's in the t&cs

Tbh I'd be tempted to wait and see if I got an appointment quickly, if everything's fine then no need to tell them anything. Fingers crossed for you

@SlipperyLizard you have to let them know about anything that happens before you go on the trip. I'll post a screenshot...

@SlipperyLizard here you go

We were booked to go away in May, had paid the deposit and the balance was due last Saturday.
We are both now awaiting investigations and simply couldn't get insurance so we have decided not to pay the balance and have lost our deposit and the holiday.

I'd be tempted not to tell them just yet in case they simply cancel your insurance policy. Hopefully you will get the all clear within two weeks and you can tell them.

It's the not having a diagnosis that scuppers the insurance. They are unable to discount it if they don't know what it is

Just call them and tell them, the policy is already in place, they are unlikely to add a premium now.
If you don’t call them and in the unlikely event you need to cancel due to follow up treatment etc you may not be covered as you didn’t tell them straight away.

That says that you have to let them know about anything before BOOKING the trip.. not going on the trip.

I would call and tell them. If you have any sort of issue with that part of your body or anything related to the issue you’ve been referred for chances are you won’t be covered otherwise.

Sorry to be the bearerof bad news but I had my insurance cancelled when I informed them i was awaiting test results. I phoned loads of other places and as soon as I mentioned this ' sorry can't insure you'. I was eventually pointed in the direction of Good to Go who did insure me but it cost a fair bit more.

I had this and had to cancel the policy. No one will cover an investigation.

Sorry meant to say unless they are a specialist such as AllCleartravel

@badtimingisrubbish that looks the same as mine (Avila via a nationwide account?), it says 12 months before you open the account or book the trip, whichever is later. So you don’t need to tell them, as you have already booked the trip - and if you get a diagnosis that means you can’t take the trip (hopefully you won’t) then the insurance will pay out.

Most insurers say you need to inform them of any changes after you take the policy out.

Can you provide an example of this term from an actual policy?

OP’s screenshot doesn’t require it, and the point of travel insurance is to cover anything that arises that might stop you going on the trip (as well as medical issues/other incidents on the trip), that’s why you should take it out as soon as the trip is booked.

If anything happens after booking but before the trip, then it's part of your cover so long as you let them know. Shouldn't be additional cost as your cover starts as soon as you take out the policy. This is for single trip cover......No idea of it's the same for an annual policy but worth a call. Husband got kidney stones a few months before flying and was awaiting treatment. No extra cost, but meant he was covered if anything happened on holiday.

Nothing in the screenshot you posted obliges you to tell them about tests you are referred for AFTER taking out the policy. It specifically refers to 'in the 12 months before opening your account or booking your trip'. Yes you should tell them about any new diagnosis results, but not about tests.

If you get tested before your date of departure and get the results back quickly, it may at that point be an "all clear" - in which case you can go and all is well. You don't need to tell them about the test.

OR it may be something that means you have to cancel. In which case the policy will pay out to refund you all the money you have spent so far and you don't go.

The 3rd option is what happened to us - you get a bad result that means you have a new serious condition (as in option 2) but the Drs say that you can still travel, eg if there's an 8 week waiting list for starting treatment and you'll be back by then. When you phone to notify them of the diagnosis they will give you a choice of either taking the refund as im option 2, or paying an additional premium to cover the new preexisting condition. In our case the new additional premium was in the region of £1000.

As the consultant was sure it was fine to travel, we didn't pay that £1000 but instead paid £30 for a separate "excluding all previous conditions" policy that would leave us in deep shit if something went wrong with the new condition while we were away (which we were confident wouldn't happen) but would cover a broken leg or other unrelated misfortune.

@RatedDoingMagic Hi, would you mind saying who you got the ‘excluding all previous conditions’ cover with? I am struggling to find insurers atm, even though I am perfectly well enough to travel. Thanks

My Post Office policy for a recent holiday said I needed to inform them of any changes to my health.

Also OP’s screenshot is not of the full T’s and Cs!

If its a 2WW you will of had the tests and the result unless its a biopsy and then you may have to wait

You do have to tell your insurance company IF you are still waiting on results

I recommend the insurance company ‘staysure’
They insured me for my MANY complex medical conditions and my partner who like you was waiting on results

I was told that If you don't tell them and something happens on holiday they may refuse to pay out - even if it appears unconnected. In this instance, as you are likely to get the results before you travel I would wait until the results are received and then tell them, even though (as is likely) you will get the all clear.
I always have annual insurance and have to inform them of any new condition or investigations.

No, but it seems to be a screenshot of the Aviva policy that accompanies a nationwide account which I also have and which doesn’t require you to tell them about new medical conditions that arise after taking out the policy and after the trip was booked.

Do you have the policy terms to confirm that? I was looking for a screenshot of those rather than an assertion that it was the case.

Always tell the insurance company. It’ll probably be fine but if you don’t and something else goes wrong on holiday, you might have invalidated the policy.