Благотворительная организация Maggie's призвала правительство и регуляторов создать справедливую систему страхования путешествий для онкобольных

Maggie’s calls for the Government and Financial Conduct Authority to work with the industry to provide better travel insurance for people with cancer Maggie’s, the expert cancer charity, is calling for the Treasury to work with cancer charities, the Financial Conduct Authority, consumer groups, industry experts and insurers to create a fairer deal for people with cancer in the travel insurance market. At the moment, people are routinely being refused travel cover or quoted unaffordable premiums, even when their condition is stable and their doctors are happy for them to travel, which means many either don’t go away at all or take the risk of travelling effectively uninsured. Mike Czemerys, from Edinburgh, had his annual travel policy cancelled immediately after disclosing his stage 4 prostate cancer — no reassessment, no chance to pay more. His consultant had cleared him to travel and his Japan trip was already booked. What followed was a string of refusals. He eventually found cover through a specialist broker, but at £1,900 — over ten times his original premium. He describes the whole experience as a second blow after his diagnosis. Mike is 71 and lives with stage 4 prostate cancer. His diagnosis came just over a year ago, almost by accident. He went to his GP about something minor, mentioned a bit of bleeding and some aches and pains he’d put down to years in the building trade. The GP decided to check his prostate; tests showed a PSA of 118 and scans revealed it had spread. Surgery wasn’t an option, so he was put on hormone therapy and cancer drugs. Within a few weeks his PSA dropped from 118 to below 0.1 and has stayed there – he’s now stable, on tablets only, and is monitored regularly. He says that for someone “nearly 71” he actually feels very well. Before any of this, he and his wife had already booked a three‑week, multi‑stop “trip of a lifetime” to Japan with close friends, something they’d been planning for years. They’d taken out an annual worldwide policy (around £145) with a mainstream insurer. After his diagnosis, his oncologist was clear he was fit to fly and even delayed the start of a new drug so he could go on the trip safely. The turning point came when his wife phoned the insurer to report the diagnosis. The policy was cancelled there and then. There was no conversation about raising the premium, no attempt to understand that his cancer was stable and controlled on tablets – just: “We can no longer insure you,” followed by a pro‑rata refund a few days later. By that point, the Japan flights were paid for and their friends were committed, so walking away from the holiday would have meant losing most of the money. They then tried around eight other insurers – a mix of online journeys and phone calls. Each time, as soon as “cancer” was mentioned, the process effectively shut down. Mike describes it as feeling like a series of kicks: you get so far through the questions and then hit a brick wall of refusals. On top of the shock of being told he had stage 4 cancer, he says it felt like “nobody wants to touch you” and that his holidays that were a big part of his normal life could have been finished. The breakthrough only came through conversations at Maggie’s. Other visitors and staff suggested specialist providers who look more closely at a person’s actual condition. The key difference was the questions: instead of just “do you have cancer?”, they asked whether he’d been hospitalised, whether he’d had surgery, and whether his treatment was stable and tablet‑only, with good bloods. Once someone properly looked at his risk, he was eventually offered a worldwide policy (excluding the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean) for just under £2,000 so the Japan trip could go ahead. This all sits against a wider financial backdrop. With the general cost of living and travel already high, losing mainstream insurance or only being offered four‑figure premiums is a big extra pressure. Maggie's has written to the economic secretary to the Treasury, Lucy Rigby, in an attempt to prompt the Government into taking action. Maggie's chief executive, Dame Laura Lee, said: "While we know there are specialist providers that offer better options for people with cancer, too often people are left overpaying because of the dominance of the key players in the industry. "For years now, Government departments and industry regulators have shirked responsibility for the problem and not even considered working together to find a solution. Our ignored calls for action demonstrate that this shirking is going to continue. "Consequently, people with cancer, and those with a history of cancer, are being refused insurance and denied the opportunity to travel, to visit family abroad, or simply to experience the world after facing the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. "We urgently need joined-up action that puts people with cancer first and finds an adequate solution to this continuing issue." Maggie’s is currently hosting a Farewell Weekend for its ‘Scotties in the City’ Art Trail at Bridgeton Bus Garage, home of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust this weekend - to raise funds for the charity in order to support as many people in Scotland with cancer as it can. Very few tickets are left for timeslots at the Farewell Weekend. Please see link here for availability: http://bit.ly/44bnatG People can also join in the bidding for Maggie’s giant Scottie sculptures at auction – here: Auctions | Wild in Art. Hayley Smith, Project Manager for the Scotties in the City for Maggie’s, said: “We have been absolutely delighted at the response to our Scotties in the City Art Trail in partnership with Wild in Art, which has brought Scottie dog lovers and art lovers from all over the world to the city of Glasgow to view our giant Scottie sculptures in support of national cancer charity Maggie’s. “We promised at end of the trail that we would get the Scotties together for a big Farewell Weekend, and that now seems to have come around very quickly! We hope this weekend will allow people to come and view the Scotties for one last time before they potentially decide to put their hat the ring and bid for their favourite sculpture. “Following this, the Scotties will be auctioned on September 10th to raise as much money as possible to help Maggie’s reach even more people facing a cancer diagnosis across Scotland and the UK. “People like Judy Murray have bid for these beautiful Wild in Art sculptures in the past and it is hoped that we get a lot of interest and that as many businesses and individuals will bid for a Scottie as possible.” Hayley added: “Maggie’s is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and we rely almost entirely on voluntary donations from individuals and the local community to enable our professional team to provide specialist cancer support, psychological support and benefits advice for absolutely everyone who needs it. The best bit is that no one needs an appointment to visit Maggie’s. Anyone who is worried about cancer can just come in.” For 30 years, Maggie’s has been at the forefront of transforming care for people impacted by cancer. Since the first Maggie’s centre opened in 1996 in the grounds of the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, Maggie’s has redefined what cancer care should be, offering free psychological, emotional and practical support for people with cancer as well as their family and friends. Maggie’s 27 centres across the UK are built in the grounds of major NHS cancer hospitals and support hundreds of thousands of people each year. No appointment is needed, and people can drop in to speak to fully trained clinical psychologists, benefits advisors, and cancer support specialists.