Everyone loves the excitement of going on holiday. Travelling allows you to leave your worries at home, forget about everything, and mostly just enjoy the experience. However, if you have a pre-existing medical condition, the relaxing experience of travelling may be more stressful if you’re not prepared.
For this reason, travelling with a pre-existing medical condition makes getting travel insurance that little bit more important. Although it might make your insurance application more complicated and your insurance cover more expensive, it ensures that you’re covered for any incidents related to your condition so that it doesn’t affect your holiday more than it needs to.
A pre-existing medical condition is – as the name would suggest – a condition that has existed prior to your insurance purchase, which:
If you have a pre-existing medical condition or you believe you might have a condition that could affect your trip, we recommend you take out travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions. Otherwise, you may find that any costs related to your condition won’t be covered.
We recommend getting a medical check-up before your trip so that you can disclose any important information to your travel insurer. Failure to disclose information on any condition could invalidate future claims related to that condition.
Travellers who experience issues associated with a pre-existing medical condition are more common than you may think. According to our survey in the Australian Travel Insurance market, out of the 942 travellers who had pre-existing medical conditions more than 1 in 3 (34%) of respondents experienced changes or delays due to their pre-existing medical condition.1
This statistic varied significantly for 18-29 year old age groups for whom over half (52%) experienced issues on their holidays due to their condition.1 Despite this, almost 1 in 3 (31%) thought that declaring their pre-existing medical condition would make little to no difference in their policy.1
Knowing what you’re covered for in cases of the unexpected can help you feel more at ease when travelling. Go through the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) from insurers to find out exactly what you may be covered for.
There are various levels of travel insurance cover available in Australia ranging from very basic products that only cover limited medical expenses to comprehensive policies that cover a wide range of other benefits.
Depending on your level of coverage, there may be conditions or limits that outline what you can and can’t claim with your specific policy.
With travel insurance, you’ll usually have limited and conditional cover for:
By adding cover for pre-existing medical conditions, you’ll receive cover for expenses relating to overseas emergency medical and hospital services for accidents and illnesses that may arise as a result of your pre-existing medical condition.
It’s always best to disclose any conditions you have to your insurer so that you can be given the most relevant advice and recommendations.
Most travel insurance policies are built around coverage that automatically covers a limited number of pre-existing medical conditions. Most other conditions are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
These are accepted on the terms that the condition has been stable and hasn’t needed medical attention or hospital treatment for the last 12 months (or 24 months with some providers), and there is no planned surgery or treatment for it in the immediate future.
Some extreme pre-existing medical conditions may incur higher travel insurance premiums, more insurance conditions, and may need a medical assessment before cover is granted. These include:
There are certain situations in which your condition may not be covered at all. Though this may vary depending on the insurer, generally travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions usually isn’t available at all for:
Pregnancy may be covered through travel insurance but only under certain circumstances. For example, you may be covered up to a certain number of weeks (usually around 24 weeks) for a single uncomplicated pregnancy or multiple pregnancies.
That’s to say, you likely won’t be covered for childbirth since you’ll have been pregnant for longer than the specified period and are travelling at your own risk.
Although pregnancy costs from unexpected medical complications will be covered, most policies will come with specific terms and conditions.
If you are claiming within the allowed period, you should generally be covered for:
You should check your policy or provider, but unfortunately you may not be covered if:
Keep in mind that your premiums will increase and the specific inclusions may vary depending on the provider or policy. It’s imperative you provide this information to your insurance provider as soon as possible before taking cover.
Most travel insurance providers won’t provide cover for certain chronic conditions. People with these conditions may still take out travel insurance. However, any claims arising from or connected to these medical issues may be invalid.
These conditions include:
Keep in mind that different insurers may have different exclusions, so always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) of any policy you’re considering for further information.
Normally, you can’t apply for travel insurance cover for a medical condition while you’re overseas or after you’ve departed. However, if you’ve forgotten to take out travel insurance before departing for your trip, there are certain insurance providers that may be able to help you out – although, this might come at a higher price.
General travel insurance can usually be bought at the last minute before your flight, but it will generally take between 24-48 working hours to initiate.
It’s highly recommended you take out travel insurance in the early planning stages of your trip, to make sure you have covered all the bases – especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition which may affect your travel insurance policy.
There are lots of insurers who’ll provide travel insurance for seniors with pre-existing medical conditions. However, most insurers have age limits between 65 and 80. That being said, there are insurers out there who’ll insure seniors up to the age of 100.
Normally, there aren’t any exclusions specific to seniors, but you may want to check the pre-existing medical condition exclusion list. Common age-related conditions such as dementia may not be covered.
Having travel insurance may give you peace of mind so that you can enjoy your holiday without stressing about the little things. Our free travel insurance comparison tool makes it easy to find the policies and insurers most relevant to you!
What are you waiting for? Compare travel insurance today!
