Travel Insurance with Pre Existing Medical Conditions
Travel Insurance does not automatically cover persons who have pre existing medical conditions and there is some confusion as to what constitutes a pre existing medical condition.
This post will hopefully explain the definitions and cover available for anyone who is purchasing travel insurance and wants some clarification regarding their medical history.
A standard travel insurance policy will exclude certain pre existing medical conditions known to you regarding your health, your relative, your travelling companions or anyone whose ill health may cause you to cancel or cut short your trip.
There travel insurance policies that cover pre existing medical conditions, and you should contact the medical screening phone numebr to discuss your health situation. As this constitutes an extra cover on top of the travel insurance policy provided, there is often an extra payment to be made to the medical screening company.
The best guidlines that can be given, is if a medical condition is on going and within the last 2 years, this should be declared and noted on the travel insurance certificate. If you or someone you know had a medical condition 5 years ago and is no longer receiving treatment for this condition, you do not need to declare this.
There are certain situations where cover would simply be excluded from any travel insurance policy. These include:
- Receiving, or is on a waiting list for in-patient hospital or clinical treatment.
- Travelling against the advice of a medical practitioner or for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment abroad.
- Received a terminal prognosis.
If you purchase a travel insurance policy and then are diagnosed with a medical condition, this should be noted on the certificate but would not affect the medical cover as you were not aware of this when purchasing the policy.
If at all unsure, it is always a good idea to contact the medical screening company to discuss your circumstances, as you don’t want to have a large medical bill to pay if it could have been avoided before you travelled.