Everyone Asks: Will anyone ever insure me?

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This was published 10 years ago

Everyone Asks: Will anyone ever insure me?

By Michael Gebicki

How do I get travel insurance for a pre-existing medical condition?

According to the way that travel insurers view the world, a pre-existing medical condition can be anything from acne to pregnancy to congestive heart failure, and some of these conditions are not covered by an off-the-shelf travel insurance policy.

If you have an ongoing health condition, if you regularly take a prescribed medication or see a specialist or if you’ve had surgery, you need to make sure that you are covered by your travel insurance policy.

The answer to this question will often be found in the insurer’s product disclosure statement, available from their website.

For some conditions, an insurer will require a medical assessment before they will issue travel insurance, and the evidence suggests that when it comes to pre-existing medical conditions, there is no clear cut winner among travel insurers.

Some will offer a policy to one applicant while refusing another with a similar condition. As well as the nature of your condition, your age and destination are factors that determine whether an insurer will cover you, the level of cover and at what cost. If you have a condition that requires a medical assessment, you have nothing to lose by applying simultaneously to several different insurers.

NIB, SureSave, Cover-More and Worldcare are some of the insurers that have been recommended by readers with pre-existing medical conditions, and SureSave offers online medical condition assessments.

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