It's a tough call and I'm not surprised that the coverage for this sort of thing isn't great. How much would it cost you ordinarily to fly all of you back? If it isn't much more than 1500 pounds, then it seems to me you are better off without the insurance unless that insurance also covers the days you would miss on your holiday.

On the other hand, have you tried shopping around? Perhaps other insurance companies cover this sort of thing but at a more reasonable rate?

Finally, and I say this with all due respect, but would your father want you all to abandon the holiday of a lifetime if the worst does happen? I don't know you or him or have a complete understand of the situation - and I do appreciate it's difficult when there is a funeral involved and so on - but it might be worth thinking about.

To summarize, I would contact other insurance companies and ask them if they cover this sort of thing. I'm sure it's rare but it must come up from time to time. And, if the cost of flights for all of you is close to the cost of the insurance, I would be tempted to just risk it. I realize you won't know exactly where you would need to fly out of but SF, LA and LV should all be priced similarly. This way, if the worst does happen, you aren't out of pocket much more than you would have been anyway, at least in terms money up front (but you would lose X days of your holiday, true). And, if the worst doesn't happen, you have saved yourself 1500 pounds or there abouts.

I have just received a medical screening form addressed to my dad so he has to go to the doctors and give all this evidence. This doesnt seem very fair to someone that is terminally ill.

Our holiday has only the deposit paid at the minute, the full balance isnt due until may 5th, so i think i will assess the situation then and see how my dad is.
Why arent things straight forward in life

Thanks for your reply

Michelle xx

hi,i just read your post and i can't believe the rubbish you have to put up with from some insurance companies!at a time when you just need someone to tell you everything is ok,they do everything but!we booked a holiday in sept 04 for the following may05.the next day i found out my dad had prostrate cancer.luckily,he's still here after treatment,but to be honest i felt awful because we'd just booked a hol and i didn't know what the situation was going to be.don't think i mentioned it to my insurance company because i didn't want to think about it.i can't offer any advice but i hope you sort it and hopefully have an amazing holiday

My Dad has prostate cancer as well, but secondary cancer of the bones, he has tests fairly frequently to establish where it is because it has now escaped into his bones, but luckily not to his kidneys or lungs, which would be fatal.

My Dads carer has a hunch that everything will be ok, but i cannot go on holiday just on a hunch can i?

This is making me very sad, and sometimes i feel selfish even thinking about going, but my dad i know for sure would tell me off if i cancelled this trip because of whether he maybe ill or not. So its a 50-50 chance.
As i said earlier in my post, i have until May 5th to decide, does anyone know whether if things do look grim, whether i can change my holiday to a later date?

Thanks Michelle.

Hi Michelle
I`m Sorry to hear about your Dad at the momment you must be very sad and worried.

I was booked to go to Florida the year of the terrorist attacks and was really worried at the time about the safety of going. We decided not to risk it but had already paid in advance, when we went in to the travel agent they told us that because it wasnt a danger at that time to fly to Florida that we couldnt have a refund but could transfer the holiday to another destination/or time that we wanted to go and just pay admin fees which where £35 each.

We did have to go within one year though but in your case maybe it might be an option?
Goodluck x

sorry michelle,i wrote my last post in a rush as my sister was waiting for me to go out..just wanted to say i hope your dad keeps well and my thoughts are with you, julie

Michelle,

So sorry to read your post, we were all in a similar situation last year. My brother had his holiday booked when Mum was admitted to our local hospice. She was only in there for her treatment to be regulated, and it was her strong wish that my brother continued with his holiday plans. Her condition changed rapidly, and even though he was only a 4 hours flight away, he would not have made it to the hospice in time. My advice if any is to listen to your Dads wishes, they are so important, my Mum did not want him cancelling his holiday under any circumstances.
My brother was lucky that I was still there, but there was little he could do all those miles away, and I went ahead and made all the arrangements for his return.

Could you if need be change your dates, with only a admin charge, that may be worth consideration.

Kaz.

Aw Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad.

my dad i know for sure would tell me off if i cancelled this trip because of whether he maybe ill or not

I'm sure he would. When my hubby's mum was terminally ill with lung cancer she was quite, quite adament that we should not stop our lives and if we had plans to stick to them. Of course it's fine them saying that but it doesn't stop the guilt does it?

If you have until the 5th of May to decide don't make any firm decisions now, why not see how he is nearer the time? In the meantime I think a call to Funway might be in order - you can explain the situation and see what they say. You're only losing a deposit at the moment if you need to cancel, but if they will transfer to a later date then you may not lose a thing. Trouble is, you may be in the same situation later.

You've asked for some opinions, here's mine - It's a hard hard time when a loved one is ill like this. No matter what, you are never really prepared. In the end, I personally would go with my heart. You'll never have the time back with your dad and you can go on holiday anytime.

Take care, there are plenty of people on HT who care
Dawn
xx

Thank you so much for your replies x

One of the things thats making me feel extra guilty is...my nan who was my rock for many years passed away 3 days before going to Egypt the first time, I never went to the funeral, but i did go to the chapel of rest to pay my respects. I was glad i did, but i did feel guilty. I was actually on holiday when my Grandma died and never got to her funeral. So if my Dad passes on i will want to be at the funeral.

i wouldnt have this scenario if Chrispen Spears via Funway holidays told me the truth in the first place. My husband said, how do we know for sure that paying £1500 for this special insurance that in the event of cancellation or death they will pay out?

Its a shame that no one appears to have had specialist medical insurance to know the good ones from the bad.

I did watch 'watchdog" the other night and they brought up that travel agents insurance has a lot of clauses, and is worthless in some respects.

I will see how the land lies re my dad until May....he is getting worse with his pain etc, but i am not going to line their pockets until i know something for sure.

Thank you xx

Hi again,

I agree with you about the cost of special insurance, my late Mum wanted to make a trip last April and they wanted to charge her a extra £1,000.00 because she was terminally ill, she decided against our advise to risk it without the extra insurance. I would not personally suggest that anyone does this. She went with just standard insurance which would have done nothing for her, all was ok, and she returned without any problems. Why, why do they load the insurance so much, I do understand that if treatment is required its expensive, but there must be a more realistic figure. This was only a trip to Europe, and if needed we could have driven to her destination to get her back if needed.

Your Dad sounds a very strong character, and hope that his condition remains stable, but you must be aware that things can change suddenly.

We made all our arrangements around my brothers return to the Uk, and Mum would not have wanted him to cancel his holiday.

Kaz

This is an email i wrote to Chrispen Speers insurance, this is the insurance company that Funway holidays use. At present they are trying to get me the holiday insurance refunded to me, this is what he told me to write, then send it to his self to show the Director of Funway.

.....................................................................................................

Hello xxxx

Further to the telephone conversation of todays date - 15th February 2007.

i booked a holiday through funway holidays last August 2006. My holiday is booked for 30th June - 28th july 2007

I didnt take out the insurance (with funway holidays) straight away in view of my father not travelling with us having prostate cancer.

i was advised to ring tel: - 0870 739 3839 a medical screening company on behalf of funway.

I rang them last August 2006: i was given an ID reference of xxxxxx
Her name was xxxxx

i rang again this morning of to days date and spoke to xxxxxx and he confirmed ID and that i was covered in the event of my father being taken poorly or the event of death prior to my holiday or during.

I rang yourself up at Chrispen Speers and then realised i had been given the wrong information from Funway namely the medical company i needed to speak to.
So basically i was sold funway insurance under false pretenses.

My holiday reference is xxxxxx

I am quite happy to stay with Funway insurance to cover the four of us for usual things that might occur within our holiday, but understand that i have not got adequate insurance cover in the event of my dad's condition getting worse.

If the insurance has to be cancelled because it was sold to me under false pretenses i would like a full refund of the insurance for my party, because i was given false information.

Good for you Michelle. Excellent Letter. Stand your ground.

Michelle

I don't know if this will help you, but my recent experiences may assist.

I had to have heart bypass surgery last December and already had a Carbbean fly cruise booked for February as part of a party of 6 relations. I looked into travel insurance that covers pre-existing medical conditions (in addition to the heart problems, I have diabetes and arthritis). As you can imagine, with that lot many companies don't even start a discussion with you.

Through the British Heart Foundation, I found a list of insurance companies that are willing to cover medical conditions. I contacted Citybond Suretravel who gave me a basic quote of £120 for a year's worldwide cover. They then referred me to their medical screening department called Healthcheck 24/7, who after going through all of my medical history quoted me a top up premium of £372. So my annual travel insurance cost me near on £500, but this will reduce annually the longer I survive. As you can see, I came through the op successfully and had a very enjoyable cruise with no health scares.

Both companies can be found with a Google search.

As I said, this may not relate exactly to your situation, but because these companies are used to dealing with medical problems in relation to travel insurance, they may be more understanding and sympathetic and come up with a sensible proposal.

I hope you can resolve your problems and have an enjoyable holiday.

John

I am still waiting for the refund of the existing insurance i had with Chrispen Spears the under writers for Funway holidays!

In the meantime i have contacted a broker in my local town. They do insurance (standard) with Fortis insurers. I have read the terms etc and i cannot see anywhere it states they wont cover us, IF my dad should get really worse, or the inevitable happens.Also if you have to cancel the trip due to cancer etc. It was more if any of our family had a terminal illness.

Thanks Johnjd...
I am also going to look into the information you gave me, it seems though that as soon as you mention the "C' word.....they run a mile

Michelle x

Hi to everyone that read my post earlier on, i wanted to share with you a decision that was extremely difficult.

I had to make the decision last night and this morning to cancel my dream holiday to California for a month.

I was due to pay the full amount of nearly five thousand on May 5th to Funway holidays for the month long trip.

Funway returned my insurance money a few weeks ago after i told them my dad had cancer (He was not part of the party going)... i was concerned should he get worse that they wouldnt pay out should i cancel it, and i would lose it all.

My daughters friend had already paid a thousand to me for the holiday
We paid just just over £4000.

At present we havent got any insurance, i did find a place in my town that would cover us, but it stated on the first line, is there any reason why you should cancel your holiday etc (get out clause), i just rang them up, and no they wouldnt give us a refund had i took it out(which i didnt)

Funway i rang this morning and told them i wanted to cancel, i never gave them a reason and i am to lose £100 pp, which is better than a few grand.

my dad i haven't seen for 6 weeks, he cannot talk, and is bed ridden due to the bones being very weak, he isn't eating much and drinking's poor as well. He is refusing to see anyone even his carer.

I wanted to be here when he goes, it was a tough decision, but i know its the right one, even though my daughter and friend were really upset.

Sometimes i hate being an adult.

I told the girls its postponed for now.

Thanks everyone

Michelle x

Michelle, thanks for the update. I'm sure it was an incredibly hard decision to make.
I'll be thinking of you.
Dawn xx

Michelle, sorry to hear of your dad's ill-health and the subsequent insurance problems. My own dad passed away a few years ago with similar conditions and we encountered a very similar scenario.
The issue you had as I'm sure you're aware, is not about not being covered for the situation, but being missold the insurance. Now that you've taken the decision to cancel you can pursue that angle if you want. It's not unreasonable though, for insurance companies to increase the premium to take account of an increased risk of a claim in connection with a non-travelling family member, provided they clearly state what is and isn't covered. Hope things work out well for you and you eventually get that trip of a lifetime.
Regards

michelle sorry to hear your news but i think that you have made the right decision.take care and best wishes to your dad , julie x

Hi Michelle

We are all thinking of you and your dad. I had to cancel my dad off our holiday yesterday due to prostate cancer. His levels had risen and he had to have several tests and scans to see if it had gone into his bones. They dont think it has but he has to return in two months for further tests.

He has decided that he cannot cope any longer with airports and the heat in the summer school holidays. I dont think i could get him insured anyway. But he still wanted my mum to come with me my husband and our two girls.

I had booked Xanadu turkey through an independant co-op Travel advisor. They had me e-mail my request to cancel one room and put my mum in with my daughters. Now i was expecting the total price to be more than simply removing my dads balance of the payment. But to my surprise it has been quoted as less than this. They have been very quick to sort this out for me, which is great as i dont think i could take any stress at the moment. Still at least he girls are now happy that nan is comming even if grandad is not.