Travel FAQ: What Is Medical Holiday Insurance And When Do I Need It
When shopping for holiday insurance, you may have heard of a type of insurance called ‘medical holiday insurance’. So what is this type of insurance, who might benefit from having it, when is it likely to be needed and why is it important in the first place?
Medical holiday insurance refers to a specialist type of holiday insurance which is designed for people who have pre-existing medical conditions. As is the case with standard travel policies, medical holiday insurance will provide the usual level of cover for situations including flight cancellations or lost luggage. However, most standard travel policies will not provide any cover for hospital bills or for specialist medical care or treatment costs, if you currently have, or have had, a range of particular illnesses or conditions. When insurers are prepared to offer this type of cover, the cost of providing this cover tends to be extremely high compared to quotations provided to people without previous or current health conditions. Where medical holiday insurance differs is that this cover is specifically designed to cover you if you do have a pre-existing medical condition. It is also designed to cover the costs of any specialist treatment, for your pre-existing medical condition, during your holiday. Medical holiday insurance will also cover the cost of any treatment for illness associated with your pre-existing medical condition.
There are many insurers online who specialise in medical holiday insurance. It is important you get a policy which includes your specific illness and therefore doing your research is essential to ensure stress free claims should you run into trouble. There are many comparison sites out there to help you in your hunt. It is important to do your research before travelling, remember to do your research and shop around online for medical travel insurance in order to get a quality possible at the right price.
So who might benefit from having medical holiday insurance? As mentioned, this type of insurance is specifically designed to provide holiday insurance for pre-existing medical conditions. This refers to a known medical condition which someone currently has, or has had in the past. In practice, this type of insurance will specifically cover people who have a range of common physical and psychiatric pre-existing conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, epilepsy, cancer, dementia, anxiety, depression, heart problems or heart disease and many others. However, as there are a variety of companies which offer medical holiday insurance, the specific pre-existing conditions which they will cover does vary. So it is recommended that you check that your insurer will cover your condition.When applying for medical holiday insurance, it is important for individuals to be honest with their insurers when declaring what pre-existing medical conditions they have. The reason for this is that should someone fail to declare a particular condition when applying for medical holiday insurance, if treatment is required before or during the holiday, then the insurer will not cover any costs.
The main benefit of having medical holiday insurance is that it is specifically designed to provide cover to people with pre-existing medical condition. This means that should you become unwell during your holiday because of a pre-existing medical condition, medical holiday insurance will pay for the cost of any specialist treatment which may be required. The insurance will also extend to the costs of treating any illness associated with the pre-existing medical condition.
