Do you need pre-existing condtion coverage?

There are three very important things to understand regarding pre-existing condition coverage:

Travel insurance automatically excludes coverage for all pre-existing medical conditions
A pre-existing condition is any injury, illness, disease or medical condition that occurs prior to the effective date (during the look-back period) and for which you had symptoms and sought medical treatment or care.
Coverage for pre-existing conditions is in the form of a waiver to the exclusion mentioned in #1. Travelers with pre-existing medical conditions can purchase this waiver with their travel insurance policy if they are now medically stable and able to travel when they purchase the travel insurance.

How do you know you need this coverage waiver?

If you have experienced symptoms and sought medical care of any kind, including a change in prescription, during the travel plan’s look-back period (typically 60-180 days prior), then you should purchase the waiver.

Why? Because if you don’t, you will have no effective medical coverage on your trip.

In addition, you won’t have trip cancellation coverage if you have to cancel your trip because of a recurrence in your pre-existing condition; nor will you have trip interruption coverage if you have to abandon your trip and return home as a result of a pre-existing condition (either your own, or that of a traveling companion or family member).

In short, if you have been ill or injured and you don’t purchase the waiver, you will, in effect, nullify most of your travel insurance coverage.

What do you do if you experience a recurrence?

If you, or someone traveling with you, experiences a medical condition before starting your trip or on your trip, it’s crucial that you contact your travel assistance services team as soon as possible.

If the medical condition is the result of a pre-existing condition, the representative will advise you of the procedure to follow before you cancel the trip or decide to abandon it and return home.

Travel insurance companies, just like other types of insurance, require that you follow certain procedures if you are to successfully file a claim on your policy. This includes the requirement that an ill or injured traveler see a medical professional – even if the condition is well known to the traveler – to determine the cause of the illness or injury.

This is especially true of travelers with pre-existing conditions. Even if you know how to treat your medical condition, you have to be seen by a doctor so the travel insurance company has the documentation they need to effectively process your claim later.

4 Conditions for Pre-existing Condition Waivers

There are special conditions for the pre-ex waiver to apply.

You must insure the full amount of your trip
You must be medically stable when you purchase your plan
You must purchase your plan soon after your initial trip deposit
You must cover the full trip duration

See Pre-Existing Condition Coverage in the complete Travel Insurance Guide for more information about how this coverage works, including plan specifics and the recommended time line for purchase by each company.