Travel insurance

This information is about travel insurance if you have had a lymphoma diagnosis and are planning to travel to another country. We have separate information about travelling safely outside the UK if you have lymphoma.

On this page

What is travel insurance?

What is 'health insurance' or 'medical cover'?

What healthcare is available to me when I'm outside the UK?

How much does travel insurance cost?

What happens if I need to make a claim?

Medical screening questions

Travel insurance policies

Where can I find travel insurance?

Frequently asked questions about travel insurance and lymphoma

What is travel insurance?

Travel insurance can help to partly or fully cover costs of unexpected things that might happen when you travel outside the UK. For example, a cancelled flight, lost baggage or medical treatment.

Even if you are travelling within the UK, you might be interested in finding out about travel insurance to cover cancellation costs, personal liability & baggage. It is a good idea also to find out where your nearest NHS hospital will be.

Your travel insurance policy lists what you are covered for, including your level of cover.

When you want to buy travel insurance, some of the things to consider are:

• the level of cover that’s most suitable for you
• whether to buy single of multi-trip cover
• any policies you already have in place (existing policies)
• whether your bank offers travel insurance – you might be able to upgrade your account to provide cover in some situations, so it can be worth checking.

If you’re travelling with other people, it can be helpful for you to all have the same insurer. This is in case the trip needs to be shortened for anyone in the party if you become unwell. Some companies will only offer cover if you take this approach.

While arranging insurance can take extra time, support is available, and planning ahead can make travel feel much more manageable.

Jana, diagnosed with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma

If you are a family member or friend of someone with lymphoma

Consider whether to tell your travel insurers about your family member or friend’s lymphoma. Even if you’re making a completely separate trip, it could help to provide cover for you to be able to come home early if the person becomes unwell. 

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What is 'health insurance' or 'medical cover'? 

Many travel insurance policies have the option to include something known as health insurance or medical cover. 

Depending on your particular policy, if you need to make a claim, this might to help with costs such as: 

• any unexpected medical care or lymphoma treatment you need while you’re away
• your travel costs if you need to return so the UK sooner than planned.

Travel insurance providers might ask you for a ‘fit to travel certificate’, before they offer you cover. You can find out more about this in our frequently asked questions section.

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What healthcare is available to me when I’m outside the UK?

Depending on where you are going, you might be entitled to ‘necessary medical care’ – this means that it cannot reasonably wait until you return home.

What is the UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)? 

The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) can help you to get necessary medical care in the European Economic Area (EEA) and some other countries. The healthcare could be free, or you might need to pay the same cost that a local resident would pay. 

You can read more about the GHIC on the NHS website.

What if I’m travelling outside of the European Union (EU)?

You will need to check what is available in whichever part of the world you are travelling to. The UK has reciprocal healthcare agreements with some non-EU areas. These allow UK citizens and residents to get free or reduced cost healthcare when visiting these areas. 

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How much does travel insurance cost?

The cost of travel insurance varies according to your individual situation. Insurers base their price on your age, as well as your answers to the medical screening questions they ask you.

Some people feel upset and frustrated that travel insurance can be more expensive for people who have lymphoma than people who don’t. We explain reasons behind the cost in our frequently asked questions section.

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What happens if I need to make a claim?

Check your policy before you travel. Depending on your policy:

• the insurer might pay for large expenses such as hospital bills
• you might need to pay for smaller costs yourself first (such as the cost of seeing a GP or over-the-counter medicines) and then claim the money back later. 

Tell your insurer as soon as possible about any costs you need to pay for. Wherever possible, do this before you have any treatment.

When you travel, take:

• your insurance policy number
• the contact details of your insurance
• your last hospital letter or email.

Some people take a photo of these details so that they have them on their mobile phone. You could also email them to yourself if you’ll have access to your emails while you’re away.

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Medical screening questions

Insurers calculate the cost of the cover (premium) based on how likely they think it is that they will need to help you with costs. To do this, they ask you some medical screening questions, which might include:

• how likely you are to cancel your trip
• how likely you are to become unwell when you’re away
• the cost of any treatment you might need while you’re away. 

The list below gives a general idea of the sorts of questions you might be asked by an insurance company. It can be helpful to have this information ready before you start your search for travel insurance.

• What is your lymphoma diagnosis, including its type and stage, if relevant.
• Have you had lymphoma treatment? If so, what treatment?
• Are you having treatment at the moment?
• Have you finished treatment? Most insurers count being on maintenance therapy as having treatment.
• When was your last hospital check-up?
• When is your next planned hospital appointment?
• Are you taking any medication, including strong painkillers?
• Do you have any upcoming tests or scans, or are you waiting for any test results? 

If you are having tests for lymphoma, you should let your travel insurers know – even if you’ve not yet had a diagnosis. Your medical team might also suggest that you do not make the trip.

Chrissie Kirby, Haematology Clinical Nurse Specialist

If you have more than one medical condition, you’ll be asked separate medical screening questions for each of them. This is so that your insurance company can offer you a suitable policy.

The companies asking the questions aren’t judging whether or not you should travel. I found it helpful to think about the fact that the medical screening questions are part of getting travel insurance for anyone with a medical condition.

Jana, diagnosed with diffuse large b-cell lymphoma

What happens if my answers to the medical screening questions change?

If anything changes once you’ve answered the medical screening questions, make sure you tell your insurer as soon as possible – this gives you a chance to update your policy and makes it more likely that you’ll be covered if you need to make a claim.

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Travel insurance policies

Your policy lists exactly what you are covered for  It should also tell you if and how much you’ll need to pay towards treatment (the excess). Ask your insurer to explain anything you are unsure about. 

Level of cover

There are different cover options, which vary in price. Think about how much you are willing and able to pay, and what an insurance company is offering.

A company might offer cover for:

• all medical conditions, including your lymphoma
• all medical conditions except for your lymphoma (an ‘exemption’ or ‘exclusion’ policy).

Exemption policies 

An exemption policy is usually cheaper than cover that includes your lymphoma. However, this could mean you’re not covered for a health issue that might (even if unlikely) be linked to your lymphoma. 

With an exemption policy, for example, your insurer might refuse to cover you if you develop:

• heart problems and you’ve had chemotherapy – they might say that there could be a link between your past treatment and these problems
• an illness linked to having a lowered immune system – they might argue that this could be connected to your lymphoma.

If you’re thinking about choosing an exemption policy, it would be a good idea to discuss this first with your medical team.

Single-trip and multi-trip cover

You might be offered the following options:

• Single-trip insurance, which gives insurance for just one round-trip.
• Multi-trip insurance offers, which offers insurance for any number of trips you take within a certain amount of time, for example, a year (annual policy).

Even if you plan to make more than one trip, a single-trip policy might still work out cheaper than a multi-trip policy. This is because the likelihood of you claiming might be considered lower by the time you next need cover.

If you plan to make a number of trips, I would suggest considering an annual policy as it can save all the emotional turmoil of applying and being turned down by various insurance providers.

Penny, diagnosed with follicular lymphoma

Existing policies

If you already have an annual travel insurance policy, tell your insurer about your lymphoma diagnosis. 

• They might agree to include cover for costs related to your lymphoma for an additional one-off cost. If you don’t tell them, you are unlikely to be fully covered if you need to claim. 
• Your existing insurance company might not offer cover for your lymphoma, or the price might be higher than you are willing to pay. You could instead look at getting separate insurance from another company to provide this cover. 

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Where can I find travel insurance?

As a first step, you could search online to get a rough idea of the type and price range of insurance that’s available to you. Be aware that the final price you’re offered is usually higher than the initial online quote. 

Not all companies offer cover for pre-existing medical conditions. Some price comparison websites include companies that do.

You might also find it helpful to talk to our Helpline Team about travel insurance before making contact with insurance providers. 

You do, however, usually need to speak to a company on the phone to answer their medical screening questions. 

Possible travel insurance providers:

The cover you’re offered depends on your individual circumstances – we’re therefore unable to recommend specific insurance providers. You could, however, consider the following possibilities:

• specialist travel brokers, which provide cover for people who have medical conditions
• high street banks and building societies, which might offer travel insurance if you have an account with them
• credit card companies, which might offer insurance if you pay for your trip using your credit card
• private healthcare insurance, as some companies offer travel insurance
• package trip companies, which often offer travel insurance, although it can be very expensive.

A general insurer or brokers might offer you cover – however, this is usually unlikely unless you’ve been in remission (disappearance or significant shrinkage of lymphoma) for a number of years.

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