travel insurance / recent diagnosis
 

We have never purchased travel insurance but we have a European cruise booked for Oct. A brother in law has just been diagnosed with cancer so I am thinking that it might be wise to purchase insurance - BUT will this be considered a pre-existing condition and thus we would not be paid if we had to cancel for a funeral?

Not to be gruesome, but before buying a policy I would check out what degree of relatives it covers for an unexpected death. I recall one report of someone being refused coverage because the death was of a cousin.

Travelex has an extremely customer-friendly policy on this score. If you purchase your policy within 21 days of when you first make your deposit, there is a pre-existing condition waiver for the travelers; you just need to be medically able to travel at the time you make your deposit.

Is the brother-in-law going on the cruise? As long as he has a doctor's clearance to cruise as of the time your purchase the policy, he would be covered. If his condition worsened AFTER the purchase of the policy — or if subsequent tests revealed something worse AFTER the purchase of the policy — resulting in his doctor's advice NOT to travel, he would be covered as well.

You can get Travelex quotes and information here: http://tinyurl.com/26nrckf

Follow up... if the brother-in-law is NOT going on the cruise, there is no pre-existing condition situation with Travelex. If his condition at the time you purchase your policy would permit you to travel, then you're good to go. If things worsen AFTER purchasing the policy, you would be covered.

Your brother-in-law (who I assume is the brother of your spouse who is traveling) would definitely be considered immediate family. Again, go to the link in the preceding post, and you can download the actual text of the policy. Travelex is quite liberal in defining immediate family.

The way I understood your situation, your brother-in-law is NOT travelling with you but you are concerned about what would happen if you had to cancel or curtail your trip if something happened to him - but please clarify as it makes a difference to the advice we can give.

Sadly I have some experience of this situation myself when a close relative died while we were away - he'd had a terminal diagnosis but it was not expected that he would go down hill so quickly. We were fully insured but the travel insurance company only paid out on an ex gratia basis, pointing out that pre-existing conditions cannot be covered for trip curtailment.

So you need to weigh up carefully the prognosis - and YOUR ability to stand the cost of a cancellation/curtailment in then event of a family emergency. Taking out an insurance policy NOW specifically for this eventuality is most likely going to be a waste of money.

Brother in law is not traveling - we booked the trip in Nov. and at that time, did not elect to purchase insurance. So after thinking about it now, I can see where it is sort of "not fair" from an insurance company's perspective for us to want to purchase cancellation / trip interruption insurance after a diagnosis. I assume we either need to decide to cancel the trip before final payment or hope to go ahead as planned.

I think a lot would depend on the diagnosis, prognosis and time involved. If someone has a diagnosis that is treatable and most people have an extended lifespan - but he has a poor result - they might cover it.

If he has a diagnosis for which survival time is usually limited I can;t imagine they would payout on the policy - even assuming he is the brother of one of the travelers - and not a second step brother-in-law.

You might consider a comprehensive policy from Travel Insured.

http://www.travelinsured.com/AgentPa...R&template=One

They are great to work with, you can chat with an agent online if you have questions, and they process claims quickly.

This is what they had to say about a situation like yours:
A covered Family Member means Your or Your Traveling Companion's legal or common law spouse, Domestic Partner, parent, legal guardian, step-parent, grandparent, parents-in-law, grandchild, natural or adopted child, foster child, ward, step-child, children-in-law, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew.

Best of luck to you.