Pre-Existing Medical Conditions
Declaring conditions
Before purchasing one of our policies, you are required to answer a few questions about your medical history.
It is important that you answer these questions carefully and accurately.
If the answer to any of the questions is ‘yes’, you must declare the relevant conditions, treatment or medication to our underwriter’s medical screening team. This can be done either online or by telephone.
Some pre-existing medical conditions can be covered at no extra cost. However, some conditions may require an additional premium to be paid. Once you have completed the medical screening process, you will be told whether your condition can be covered and whether you need to pay an extra premium.
Please see below for further information regarding declaring pre-existing medical conditions. It’s important to note that claims will be denied if conditions haven’t been declared so if in doubt, please declare the condition, diagnosis or treatment you may have received.
If you have any of the pre-existing medical conditions listed below you are automatically covered on this insurance and you do not need to declare any of these conditions:
Acne, ADHD, Allergic reaction (Anaphylaxis) provided that you have not needed hospital treatment in the last 2 years, Allergic rhinitis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Arthritis (the affected person must be able to walk independently at home without using mobility aids), Asthma (controlled only by using a reliever and a preventer inhaler and with no history of hospital admissions or a past medical history of chest infection / pneumonia in the last 6 months), Blindness or partial sightedness, Carpel tunnel syndrome, Cataracts, Chicken pox (if completely resolved), Cholesterol Hyper/Hypo, Coeliac Disease, Colour Blindness, Common cold or flu, Cuts and abrasions (that are not self-inflicted and require no further treatment), Cystitis (providing there is no ongoing treatment), Deafness/ Impaired Hearing, Diabetes (Type 2 controlled by diet only with no history of admissions or related medical conditions) Diarrhoea and vomiting (if completely resolved) Downs Syndrome, Dyspepsia, Eczema, Enlarged prostate (benign only), Essential tremor, Glaucoma, Gout, Hemorrhoids, Hay fever, HRT, Hyperlipidemia, Indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Lichen Planus, Ligament or tendon injury (provided that you are not currently being treated), Macular degeneration, Melanosis, Menopause, Migraine (providing there are no ongoing investigations), Nasal polyps, Night Blindness, Parkinson’s Disease, Physically Disabled, PMT, Psoriasis, Raynaud’s Syndrome, Rhinitis, Rosacea, RSI, Sinusitis (providing there is no ongoing treatment), Skin or wound infections (that have completely resolved with no current treatment) Tinnitus, Underactive Thyroid (Hypothyroidism), Urticaria, Varicose veins in the legs, Vertigo.
Health declaration (applicable to non- automatically covered pre-existing conditions)
You must advise us to the best of your knowledge if any of the following apply to you.
- You are aware of any reason why the trip could be cancelled or curtailed or of any medical condition which could result in a claim.
- You have, during the 24 months before this insurance started, suffered from or received treatment, advice or medication for any chronic, ongoing or recurring illness or condition. (A chronic condition is one lasting three months or more).
- You are waiting for the results of tests or investigations, or awaiting a referral for an existing medical condition. Failure to contact us could leave you with no right to make a claim, and may mean that you travel with insufficient cover.
Note: your travel insurance will not pay for any medication or treatment which may be required to be continued during your trip to control any of these Automatically Accepted Pre-Existing Medical Conditions, for example the costs of Inhalers if you suffer from Asthma, or the cost of your regular check-ups you may need to have to monitor Diabetes. However, your travel insurance will cover the cost of any emergency medical treatment which may be required because of a change in your condition
Medical screening team
If you find that you are required to contact the medical screening team, you will be asked for the name of the policy against which you are looking to declare conditions, ie the “Go Walkabout – Walkabout Plus” policy or the “Go Walkabout – Economy 500” policy for instance.
You have the option of declaring the pre-existing condition either online using our underwriter’s medical declaration service, or over the phone via their medical screening team. For more information about each option, please select from below:
Online Medical Screening:
Please click here to undertake online medical screening.
Medical Screening by Telephone:
If you would prefer to complete the medical screening process by phone, you will need to give our medical screening line a call on 0330 660 0563. They are available Monday to Friday between 8am to 8pm, and on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm.
They will ask you for the type of policy against which you are looking to declare conditions, as well as your travel dates and details of any medical conditions, treatment you have received in the last 2 years and any regular medication that you have had prescribed.
Please note that if an additional premium is required to cover your pre-existing medical conditions, then this payment should be paid directly to the screening team who will confirm terms of cover to you by email.
Upon completion of the process (online or phone), and when any additional premium has been paid if necessary, you will be issued with a medical screening reference number which can be given to us over the phone or entered online at the final stage of setting up a policy online.
If your health or your ongoing medication changes between the date the policies were bought and the date of travel you must advise our underwriter’s declaration team on 0330 660 0563 as soon as possible. We will advise you what cover we are able to provide, after the date of diagnosis. We reserve the right to increase the premium, increase the excess, exclude the condition or withdraw the cover should the stability of the condition make it necessary.
If your answer to any of the medical questions changes to ‘yes’ at any point after the purchase of this policy, you must call to inform us of this change in health to ensure you are fully covered for your trip.
Please note: we will not cover denial of boarding by the airline so you should check that you will be able to travel with the carrier/airline in advance as regulations vary from one carrier/airline to another.
We hope that this information has been useful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you require any further assistance.
If you are having trouble finding cover for a medical condition and meet the following criteria, please refer to the Money Advice Service’s Medical Cover Firm Directory
- If you have been refused travel insurance because of a medical condition
- If you have had insurance cancelled because of a medical condition
- If you have been offered insurance but had a medical condition excluded
- If you have been offered insurance with a medical condition premium of £100 or more per person
- If you have been offered a policy in respect of which the medical condition premium is not known