redandrea

Hi, I'm new to this site so apologies if I am posting in the wrong place.
When getting travel insurance and you are asked if you wish to declare any pre-existing medical conditions - if you are not bothered about being covered for these conditions do you have to declare them still. For example I suffer with depression and chronic fatigue syndrome. I know 100% I will not need any treatment of any kind for these conditions whilst away because 1. They are well managed and 2. Being in the sun automatically makes me feel much better.
But suppose I needed treatment for some accident I had or suddenly develop a totally different illness whilst away and need treatment and need to claim. Would the policy be voided because I hadn't declared my existing illnesses even though the claim was nothing to do with those illnesses.

thanks for any replies.
Andrea

UKtravelbear

Yes you should still inform the insurance company of these conditions.

You can decline cover for your existing conditions but they need to be aware of them or yes it could void your policy if you did make a claim even if it was for something totally unrelated.

Often1

Moreover, you leave yourself open to a later determination that what you believe to be unrelated, was related.

MoreMilesPlease

You must declare any preexisting conditions. They ,may exempt coverage for those, but if you do not declare them then they can void the entire policy anytime. All policies say you must declare all conditions.

ricktoronto

It is SOP for travel medical insurance to deny claims for failure to declare pre-existing conditions. You could have (example) epilepsy controlled by medication for a decade.

Then you get shot in a bank robbery and while running for cover you are then run over by a bus. They will find out about the epilepsy and deny the claim for being shot and run over.

Their logic and to a degree, it's fair, is that a) the premium might be more if you declare everything, even if you might never make a claim for the epilepsy and thus, you're trying to pay less and b) they will find a way to blame your epilepsy for getting shot and run over, e.g. any reason to not pay, they will come up with. And you did not pay for the extra risk.

Just declare everything to the underwriter, every doctor visit and pill and checkup and test. You might get nothing, so try another insurer, you might get something that says if you have a seizure and you need a consult, tough darts on the epilepsy front in that case.

But typically you will get either a denial of coverage or insurance with a cost commensurate with their perception of the risk that covers all risks. Mainly because writing a policy which excludes one disease or condition makes figuring out what is covered a hassle because there is always the possibility it's the declared condition to blame. And you know that's the route they will take.

I think their saying you can choose to declare and if you don't it's not covered is a guarantee to get nothing in a pinch.

Note it is quite possible that you will be discriminated against with mental disorders due to perceived impossibility to figure out how to underwrite it. In some countries it might be discrimination to deny you flat out for only that reason, if they do.

lhrsfo

Let us know how you get on. I have to say that I've never seen anywhere the ability to declare things like that on the online forms.

TribalistMeathead

I have bought numerous travel insurance polices and never been asked to declare pre-existing insurance conditions. Including the policy we had to seek out that would have covered anything having to do with my wife's pregnancy even if she'd gotten pregnant after we bought the policy.

Scots_Al

TribalistMeathead

Ah, I could be thinking of something else entirely. I've also never bought an annual policy, just polices that cover the dates of specific trips.

Scots_Al

dddc

As everyone has said, a definite yes to declaring your conditions, and you will normally have the option of not paying for cover if you so wish. What I haven't seen mentioned is that there are specialist pre-existing medical condition companies, which is fine, but shop around as the premiums will vary dramatically. You can use a price comparison site, but be aware that they don't always cover every provider. You will need to key in your details each time and as someone with a dozen or so minor conditions between me the the other half, it is annoying but must be done!

cerps343

While we're on the topic of travel insurance, does anyone have recommendations for which provider to use? US citizen going to be in the UK for two weeks.

TribalistMeathead

I use TravelGuard because they're owned by AIG and my brother works for AIG, but they're reasonably priced and now offer a separate rider where you can cancel the nonrefundable portion of your trip for any reason and receive a 50% refund (though I think you probably have to buy that before you pay for your trip). I have never had to actually use my travel insurance, though, so I can't speak to how they are with claims, and if you have any special health concerns, you'll to compare plans.

I can also say that the rental car insurance offered through the Barclaycard Arrival+ is fantastic: They paid a claim I made that they shouldn't have had to pay per their own T&Cs.