Holiday Insurance

Although many people don’t bother taking out insurance for their holidays, you don’t realise just how valuable it is until you actually need it.  The majority of travel companies require that insurance is held by the traveller as part of the terms and conditions of the holiday package, but the policies they offer are often much more expensive than you can find for yourself and all it takes is a little effort on your part.

It’s simple really.  Carry out an on line search and you will soon discover how many options are open to you.  There are policies for groups, singles, couples, families as well as for particular kinds of sporting or activity holidays.  You can also decide whether or not to go for a single trip or multi trip insurance deal.  If you travel regularly a multi trip policy represents great value for money.    Unless you are an elderly traveller or you suffer with a chronic illness, you are not likely to have to undergo any kind of medical examination to secure holiday insurance.

As well as covering you for health issues, a good insurance policy will also take into account missing or damaged luggage, and expenses incurred due to flight delays and cancellations.  All in all, holiday insurance is a must for most people.

How to get travel insurance with a Pre-Existing medial condition

If you were unfortunate enough to be told out of the blue that you were suffering from a serious medical condition requiring surgery just six months prior to going on a planned and confirmed holiday, what do you think would happen when you cancel your trip?  There are two ways this can go.

If you took out travel insurance at the time the trip was booked, the costs connected with cancellation may be recoverable less any excess payment due.  If on the other hand, you had decided to wait until nearer the departure date to sort out your insurance, these costs would not be covered and you would find yourself out of pocket.   People who try to get the very most out of their annual insurance policy by starting it on the date they are going on holiday instead of at the time of booking, often come unstuck when, due to ill health, their holiday has to be cancelled.

There is also the issue of declaring any health conditions when you buy your travel insurance.  Say for example, you have been undergoing tests for breathing problems during the last twelve months but you did not mention it when you bought your travel insurance.  There you are, somewhere in the Red Sea on your scuba diving break and suddenly you have a coughing fit and find yourself with blood all down the front of your wetsuit.  As a result of emergency medical attention being received, lung cancer is suspected and later diagnosed and confirmed.  If you think you would be covered for cancelling your trip and any medical care received – you can probably think again.

Although it’s difficult to find travel insurance when you have a pre-existing medical condition, it´s not impossible so don´t despair.  Whilst some insurance companies exclude every claim involving pre-existing medical conditions, some go to the other extreme of covering for this and don’t even charge you an additional premium for the service.  Travel insurance companies may run you through an online or telephone medical screening procedure to find out how big a risk your pre-existing medical condition is and to help them decide if they are prepared to insure you or not.  If approval is granted you may be able to choose between paying an additional premium to cover your medical condition, or not paying the extra, but agreeing not to make a claim relating to your illness.

When trying to find travel insurance conditions like asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes often create problems and this is even more the case when additional health problems such as high cholesterol are also an issue.  For this reason, all questions must be answered as honestly as possible – remember not to think of anything as insignificant because when it comes to making your claim, neglecting to have told the travel insurance company something relevant about your health will result in all sorts of problems arising.

There are, of course, exclusions as there are with any kind of insurance. Pre-existing conditions such as cancer, heart disease and strokes, HIV and AIDS related illnesses and kidney problems where dialysis treatment may be necessary are just some of the ongoing medical conditions which are likely to be excluded from the policy.  The majority of insurance policies will also exclude committing or attempting to commit suicide.

For the most part, insurance policies are worded quite similarly and the terms and conditions should always be read and thoroughly understood.  Be aware of any clauses relating to travelling against the recommendation of your doctor, or taking up medical treatment abroad unless it’s already been declared and pre-approved as one of the reasons for your trip.  The same applies to people on waiting lists for surgery or other treatment, and for those who are awaiting medical results to come through.  There are, however, some insurance companies who will cover people suffering with terminal illnesses as part of the service they provide.

The questions you are likely to be asked throughout the screening process are about your history as a hospital inpatient and any condition you may have which requires ongoing medication.  They may also ask you if you have been referred to a specialist of any kind within the previous twelve months and if you have ever been diagnosed with of suffered from cancer or any other malignant disease, heart and lung conditions (with the exception of well controlled asthma), high blood pressure, or any form of psychiatric condition.

If you make a claim directly or indirectly linked to any of the above mentioned illnesses, it will normally be excluded unless it was declared and accepted by the underwriters and any additionally imposed premiums were paid up at the time of taking the insurance out.  Different factors affect whether or not an insurance company will take you and your medical condition on so always shop around and see who comes up with the best cover for your needs.

Failing to disclose a medical condition to the travel insurance company is dicey.  You may get away with it if you are in good health for the duration of your holiday and don’t need to make a claim.  However, should it be necessary for you to claim on your travel insurance, its worth remembering that insurance companies can and do find out about pre-existing conditions which results in enormous medical bill claims being denied.  Is it really worth taking the risk?  Probably not, so make sure you are upfront about your medical conditions at the time of taking out your travel insurance and you will be able to go off on holiday and enjoy yourself to the full.