People who have recovered from cancer are being exploited by travel insurers who routinely charge them two or even three times the normal premium for a holiday, a study has found.

Macmillan Cancer Support said that many insurers refused to offer cover or charged exorbitant rates in the hope that customers would look elsewhere.

Its survey of more than 1,100 people, many of whom have been free of cancer for years, found that more than a third (39 per cent) had been offered premiums well over the normal rate, while 6 per cent were refused cover.

Eight per cent said that they had travelled without insurance because they could not find a company willing to cover them.

One in three people will have cancer at some point in their lives and the latest figures show that more than half are cured. The charity accused the insurance industry of failing to keep up with the scientific advances that mean people who have had cancer go on to live active, healthy lives.

“Cancer is changing, and it looks like the insurance industry needs to move with the times. It has to recognise that not everybody with cancer is going to die,” said Ayesha Owusu-Barnaby, head of public affairs at Macmillan.

“More people are living long and active lives after cancer and that’s why Macmillan is calling on the travel insurance industry to look again at the risk posed by people affected by cancer and improve the deals offered to them.”

Health cover is one of the biggest components of travel insurance, and companies in-variably ask about preexisting conditions to calculate the risks and the premium.

Former cancer patients reported that insurers appeared to take no account of how long ago they had had their treatment.

The charity says that hundreds of people contact it each month to complain about travel insurance, prompting it to carry out the survey.

As well as being refused cover, callers said that insurance sales staff also regularly asked insensitive questions about their health, demonstrating their ignorance about cancer.

One caller, who was seeking insurance for her husband, was allegedly asked: “How long has he got?” and “Is he going to die?” by sales staff.

“Some of the stories we’ve heard are shocking. Many patients tell us that they have been asked thoughtless questions about their cancer which leave them feeling discriminated against.

“This can be very distressing when you’re trying to buy insurance for a restful holiday or trip abroad to visit family,” Ms Owusu-Barnaby said.

However Nick Starling, a director at the Association of British Insurers, defended the decision of companies not to offer policies to people who have had cancer.

“Travel insurers provide competitively priced cover to as many travellers as possible,” he said.

“Specialist insurers, using expert medical advice, are providing travel insurance to many travellers with a history of cancer. The cost of this cover needs to reflect the risk, which insurers assess using the best available medical evidence.”

He said insurers were taking into account the most up-to-date medical evidence.

The Macmillan survey backs up research conducted last year by Cancerbackup, another charity. It found that almost 90 per cent of people who had been affected by cancer found it difficult or impossible to get cover, while 70 per cent found the experience of trying to buy insurance distressing.

Travel insurance sales staff were roundly criticised in the survey for being insensitive, ignorant and uninterested.

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