I was really pleased to be asked to take part in the above BBC program which was shown yesterday. The episode I was asked to take part in was about medical conditions travel insurance. The program featured a case study of ours from the Daily Mail. It featuring one of our customers, Rita.
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As regular readers of our blog will know, back in April we launched our Who Cares Award to find the UK’s most extraordinary carer.
Over the years through our medical conditions travel insurance policies, we have helped thousands of people take relaxing breaks.
This gives them the much needed peace of mind that if something goes wrong, we will look after them. In creating the Who Cares Award, we have taken that one step further. We are recognising those that care, many dedicating their life to help others.
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Further to my original blog, the nominations for our “Who Cares Award” have now closed. I have been going through the nominations this morning. The nominees and their stories have amazed me. I will admit tears have been shed.
The idea behind the awards was to recognise the selfless work carers do and the sacrifices they make. It was also to hi-light the fact that anyone can become a carer. It is not a job you necessarily apply for. If a family member or loved one becomes ill or has an accident, they can no longer look after themselves. You automatically step in. Many carers give up work to care, and this can have a big impact on the family finances. Some carers work and care. All of them give up their normal lives and things that people take for granted, such as holidays or something as simple as an evening out.
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The majority of people won’t understand what I’m asking here. Until I was diagnosed with breast cancer, it would have been a question I’d have thought I would never need to consider. Carers Week is an important reminder that caring can become part of our lives unexpectedly. How wrong could I have been? When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I had a 5 month old baby. Having chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery left me unable to look after myself, let alone a 5 month old baby, for a period of 18 months.
My husband became my carer, not something you ever envisage happening in your 30’s!
When my husband was caring for me, we didn’t acknowledge he was my carer. He was just doing the things I couldn’t manage.
Looking back, if we had realised, we would of been able to get much more support instead of muddling thorough on our own.
This is why campaigns such as Carers Week are so important. Carers Week is a weeklong awareness campaign, aimed at improving the lives of carers and the people they care for.
There are 6.4 million carers in the UK. Every day at least 6000 people start caring.
Many of these people will be like my husband and not even consider themselves as carers. They are just doing what anyone would do in their position, looking after their loved ones.
Carers Week this year is 10th to 16th June. It will focus on how effectively the Government is supporting the growing numbers of carers and the impact of caring on daily life.
Furthermore, with an aging population and more people getting serious illnesses such as cancer and higher incidences of disability, the number of carers is only set to grow.
The Week will also help those already caring to make sure they are finding all the practical and emotional support they need. You can get involved in Carers Week by completing their on-line survey telling them about your experiences of caring.
Carers Week is also the week we are holding the Insurancewith “Who Cares Award” presentation lunch.
Because of my experience of being cared for, I have seen firsthand how people put their lives on hold to care for loved ones.
I wanted, through Insurancewith, to recognise what carers do. To that end, I have created the Award to find the UK’s most extraordinary carer.
If you know someone who deserves this award, please nominate them. They can be your carer or just someone you know who cares, young or old. They can care professionally or for a loved one.
You can nominate on-line at the Insurancewith web site. Alternatively, print the form off and send it to the address shown.
Raising awareness about caring is vital, particularly for accidental carers such as my husband.
If we had acknowledged he was a carer, we would have been able to access some much needed support.
As many of our cancer travel insurance customers will know, this month, March is both Prostate and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. And both these cancers do require the much needed awareness these months can bring.
