Should I downgrade my bank account that includes holiday insurance because of cancer investigations?

[HolidayOneDayMaybe]

I'll try to explain all the background to avoid a long set of Q&As

I've had a £22 fee-a-month Lloyds Bank account for years, because it includes free travel insurance, with no questions to answer on many common illnesses.

I'm now 59, and had a lump in my kidney detected during a scan last year. They said it most likely is cancer, but is small and is only 1-3% chance of spreading, but it hasn't grown much if at all, so they are calling that "stable", and recommending leaving it there unless it gets much bigger. They can't do a biopsy, it's either leave it or remove the whole kidney.

In subsequent scans, they found a lump in a lymph node near there.
They said it's unlikely to be related to the kidney lump
All the blood tests, ultrasound and physical exams of testicles, and prostate gland show no sign of cancer (these are the places cancer would normally spread from to those lymph nodes)

So: I'm having an operation to remove the lymph nodes in that area. They will then tell me if they contained cancer. I assume if they do, I'll need some treatments. Otherwise I'd be stuck with something that's probably cancer, but "stable".

Am I wasting my time carrying on with this expensive bank account?
I'm thinking even if this operation eliminates issues with the lymph nodes, that if I call up and say "I've got a suspicious lump that's 'stable' in my kidney", will they just add a huge extra charge on the insurance, which I should add I haven't used since 2022 btw.

If it was just down to monitoring a symptom-less lump for the next years, do I have to tell them? Can they refuse the costs of an A&E claim abroad later, just because I have this unrelated lump that might be benign anyway?

Has anyone got experience of this, because the combination of insurance and cancer is new to me

Read your policy really carefully the information should be in there. If you are thinking of cancelling the policy anyway then why don't you just talk to them and ask them what they will be prepared to do about your insurance under the circumstances. Full disclosure is usually a part of any insurance policy so I strongly suggest that you rule out not telling them.

Having just come off a cruise with an average passenger age of c70-75 there were a few discussions about insurance. One passenger had a similar bank account to you but phoned up declared their medical history and paid a couple of hundred pounds extra. Some had paid c£3000 for travel insurance, so the bank account linked insurance was a good deal.

I agree with pp it’s worth reading T & Cs and talking to your bank. Definitely do your research as insurance varies considerably.

I found the opposite (but I don't do cruises, so that may make a difference) - what they wanted extra for pre-existing (but stable) conditions was more than the annual policy from a specilaist insurer with the same pre-existing conditions. But I think cruises make a huge difference - it would cost me a lot more to include cruises. Luckily, my idea of hell is being stuck on a ship with loads of other people!

@PhilippaGeorgiou 😂 fully accept it’s not everyone’s idea of a good holiday.

Cruise insurance is ££ plus if you are in your 80s or 90s and have medical conditions it’s ££. I have been on ships with people helicoptered off, you need good insurance.

I definitely agree shopping around is key.

@HolidayOneDayMaybe Hope this helps.

I have a similar policy. I called them before a big remote holiday to check everything was in order, even though my GP advised I'm low risk but my medication had changed. They asked if I had a new conditions and said it was fine as I hadn't.

If I were you OP, I'd wait until you know for sure.

Surely the point with travel insurance is that you might need to claim for cancellation if you developed symptoms or became ill as much as claiming for emergency treatment when away?

Yes this exactly but people often don't realise it.

@HolidayOneDayMaybe sorry you are going through this OP. And hope for a good recovery. As PP have said best to read the T & C’s

Not cancer, but I do work overseas a lot (including US) and have a couple of medical conditions that make getting insurance a nightmare.

A few years back I had some pending investigations booked that I completely forgot to inform my insurer about before I went away. While away I suffered an unrelated injury and needed some minor hospital treatment.

I was told during the claim process that as my injury/treatment was completely unrelated to my preexisting condition and the pending investigations, they would foot the bill. They are a 'premium' insurer and I'm a long-term customer though; they said that if I'd been with a more budget provider they may not have, but not sure if they were just trying to spook me!

However if I'd needed treatment related to the pending investigation, they would not have paid out.

My friend has a coop account with the insurance as an extra - she was waiting last year for gall bladder surgery and they refused to cover - she had to buy a new policy for £400 for a 2 week cruise (she’s under 50) she’s now had it out so phoned again to make sure she is covered but nope ! Not valid for 12 months after surgery.

Well, I had the operation, it was a major operation so needed to rest for 4-6 weeks, and I got the test results today - the thing on the lymph nodes was just a benign growth.
So now I'm post-op, so recovering from surgery perfectly well, just avoiding heavy lifting.

The consultant said today - basically I have a lump in my kidney, it's not diagnosed as cancer, but is 80% likely to be cancer, but it's so slow growing (if at all), it's classified as "stable", and I would be likely to die of old age or something else before it causes me harm (if it is cancer). In the meantime, they will scan it every 6 then 12 months.

What do I say to the travel insurance people? Is recovery from a surgery that turns out to be not an illness something to declare?

Is a lump that might be cancer one day an issue?

Could you take advice from a kidney or more generic charity? It’s hard to say what’s for the best.

glad the lymph nodes were benign though. Wishing you all the best for your recovery.

I have a similar account with nationwide, and you can basically declare a condition and pay an upgrade fee. Probably best to speak to them on the phone so you can explain.

I have a lot of experience with travel insurance because of multiple health conditions.
Essentially you are required to declare any contact with doctor or hospital within a specified period ( usually the last two years but sometimes one year).
So that means anything, chest infection, UTI, or much more serious. They will then decide whether they will cover you and whether it costs you extra or not.
Most companies will refuse all cover if you have something awaiting diagnosis but not all. All Clear and Aviva agreed to cover me for everything except the thing under investigation.
Nationwide use Aviva for their packaged bank, not sure who Lloyds used.
Failure to give full disclosure can result in a claim being refused.
I think what you might need is a label for your condition so you can demonstrate that you are not "awaiting diagnosis" . Perhaps " benign lump?" You can tell them that as part of your condition you are monitored. That might work?

I take the view that travel insurance is for big stuff, needed hospital treatment abroad or medevac home. You hope it's never needed but I would bend over backwards to make full disclosure.

Lloyds use AXA

I asked the consultant today what I should say. He left the wording up to me, but said: "You have not got a cancer diagnosis, you have a lump that is 80% likely to be cancer, it is stable, and we will scan it again every 6-12 months". He does not recommend proceeding with any treatment.

So it's not "awaiting diagnosis", and a biopsy cannot be taken given the location, so it's either "remove the kidney" (which creates its own risks), or "wait and see", The Christie's MDT recommend wait and see given my age.

I don't want to accidentally say the wrong thing to the insurer. I don't even have a holiday booked, have not had one since 2022, but this account with its insurance is costing me ~£260 a year, and I'd rather just cancel it if they are going to try to fleece me for having what seems to be a background health concern. I'd have no issue in excluding holiday cancellation costs due to this, but if they want to add a huge amount to cover treatment whilst abroad, then I think that would be opportunistic, since any treatment would be based on scans, and be on a waiting list of at least a month or two.

I think so, just don't want to press the red alert button by mistake. I assumed others must have been through this already.

I declare mine and DH's to Nationwide and pay an extra £250 fee which compares very favourably with buying travel insurance separately. If I bought a separate policy it would be around £500 so with the monthly fee and extra benefits it's still worthwhile.

Wow, absolutely pathetic outcome.
"Computer says no"

Allianz said because I don't have a cancer diagnosis, they can't proceed with screening and consequently have cancelled all cover for ALL prior conditions that were previously included for no extra cost, including high blood pressure, etc. Why????

Whereas if I did have a cancer diagnosis, they would continue with the screening, and tell me how much extra I need to pay (for something that the consultant told me will not pose a risk anyway). They were not prepared to just process it as if I had a cancer diagnosis

That's frustrating. DH and I are now with Nationwide and Aviva who are happy to exclude a condition awaiting diagnosis.

I had a similar experience in January with another insurer. They had all our many pre-existing conditions, we were due to travel and DH was awaiting an xray. I'd have been happy for them to exclude that but no, they went nuclear and withdrew all cover. We had to cancel the holiday which they did pay for to be fair but it was so frustrating as he was fit to travel.

What I found out later after I made a formal complaint was that there is sometimes room for manoeuvre if you can get past the front desk. A senior manager rang me and suggested she could ask the underwriters for a bespoke cover.

I've asked to make a formal complaint, to be fair I've had this Lloyds account since I was a kid in the 70s, they owe me a lot. In fact I now realise they are paying no interest, so I'm down about £600 a year for what appears to be indifferent service, I'll be moving my account if they don't fix this.

I went to try the "Money Helper - Travel insurance directory" government advice site that Allianz referred me to. Whatever I entered, I got "No quotes available".

I then tried a firm called payingtoomuch, and had the same problem, but had a call centre open - I called them and the lady said "have you tried a single trip quote". I tried that, and got several quotes for a fictional one week in Greece later this month. Bizarrely, although some were for £25 - £30, others below were £400-£500!

This at least reassures me that I can get insurance, but with more faffing.

Essentially though, I am in very good health for a non-gym-bunny of my age other than a suspect lump that is known to be not growing fast enough to concern the Christie hospital's team. my private medical cover team and the Christie offered to remove the kidney, but the Christie team advised it was a lower risk option to keep what might well be a healthy kidney, since the risk of it spreading if it is cancer is only ~2%

I had assumed that if I offered to forgo cancellation cover, my existing policy would be fine, possibly with no extra fee. If this lump were cancer, they would not expect any symptoms for years, so why is there any risk in offering insurance for all other medical issues?

Anyway, what a pain.

I've notified my bank account of an operation and they charged me an extra £30 to update my travel insurance

Do make a formal complaint (ask one of the medical underwriters to have a proper look at what your doc has said, and ask them to be specific about whether you could pay more/waive certain aspects of cover.)

But yes complain directly to Lloyds.

Am invested in the outcome as have a lloyds account with travel insurance and currently partner having cancer treatment!

which bank was it please?

Lloyds just brushed it off and said it's up to the underwriters.
I asked them to record that I expected better, and would reduce the account to zero-fee and no longer keep a large balance in it, given that the benefits had been withdrawn for no logical reason