What medical conditions do you have to declare for Travel Insurance?

According to a study carried out by Dawid Gondek, the UCL researcher, more than one in three middle-aged British adults are suffering from at least two chronic health conditions. Chronic conditions include health problems such as; recurrent back problems, poor mental health and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, health conditions that develop in midlife often follow us into our golden years.

No matter you’re age, it’s important to declare all of your pre-existing medical conditions when buying travel insurance. However, it can be confusing to know exactly what medical conditions to declare. For instance, you have been in remission for several years. Likewise, if you haven’t experienced any symptoms for several years.

What is a pre-existing medical condition?

It’s important to know what pre-existing conditions are classed as for the purposes of Travel Insurance. When buying Travel Insurance, a pre-existing medical condition is any health condition you’ve experienced symptoms, a diagnosis or treatment for in the past few years.
For example; if you’ve been diagnosed with Epilepsy and it’s managed and controlled with medication, you’d still need to declare it as a medical condition when buying Travel Insurance even if you haven’t had a seizure in years.

Common conditions you need to declare include:

• High cholesterol
• Asthma
• Anxiety and depression
• Stroke
• Mobility impairment

Why is it important to declare all pre-existing medical conditions?

Travel Insurance providers need to know all of your pre-existing conditions as it enables them to calculate risk. Travelling can increase personal health and well-being risks; your risk may be higher if you have pre-existing medical conditions.

Clinical Nurse Specialist, Kay Greveson, explains: “A pre-existing medical condition can be affected by changes in temperature and climate and should always be declared, even if it is being controlled by medication.”

What happens if you don’t declare medical conditions for travel insurance?

In short – your Travel Insurance policy may become invalid. A standard policy does not usually cover pre-existing medical conditions. If you don’t declare your medical conditions – you could be left with extensive medical bills should the worse happen while you’re away.

The best way to protect yourself is to declare all pre-existing medical conditions.

What if you develop a new medical condition after taking out travel insurance?

If something changes concerning your health after taking out travel insurance – you’ll need to update your Travel Insurance provider. Providers often refer to this process as an ‘ongoing duty of disclosure’.

By updating your medical information, your provider will ensure that you continue to have the right level of cover.

How to get Specialist Medical Travel Insurance

At AllClear, we provide Specialist Medical Travel Insurance as we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to travel. So, far we’ve covered over 1300 conditions and over 3.5 million people.

Benefits of AllClear Cover

Author notes

Written by Lydia Crispin, MA Content Creator at AllClear
Edited by Letitia Smith, M.Sc. Content Manager at AllClear