Death that highlights insurance small print

In January 2009, my father-in-law was diagnosed with leukaemia but told it was treatable. He seemed to be ­making good progress, so I booked a family holiday­ in April for the October half-term. We paid more than £2,000 but, sadly, my father-in-law passed away in early October. We cancelled the trip and tried to claim a refund on our Europ Assistance insurance but the claim has failed. FF, Petts Wood, Kent You tried to claim the refund under the "cancellation and curtailment" clause which is pretty standard. Europ Assistance said: "Whilst we sympathise, the policy was purchased some time after diagnosis of a medical condition." It does appear you were made aware of the limitations of the policy. But most of us have a family member who has some kind of medical condition, is on medication or on a hospital waiting list. If you try to cancel as a result of a problem with that person, your claim will inevitably be rejected. Make sure you always read the small print . Steve Playle is team leader at Surrey Trading Standards Service. We welcome letters but regret we cannot answer individually. Email: [email protected] Please include a daytime phone number