Travel is an investment in yourself, including your finances, so it’s important to protect it with a travel insurance policy. It may be tempting to forego this “optional” purchase, but we believe it should just be factored into any vacation budget to provide protection – and peace of mind. One frequent question we receive is around coverage for pre-existing health conditions (PEC). What if something flares up before your trip – are you protected? The answer is, “it depends.” This week, Denise clears up some misunderstandings with a Q&Abased on top questions we receive.
What is a pre-existing condition? A pre-existing condition is any illness, disease, injury, or other condition that happens prior to a plan’s effective date. Like medical insurance, things like high blood pressure or a sprained knee are pre-existing conditions. If you have a condition that could impact your ability to travel, it’s important to understand how PEC coverage works so you’re financially protected.
Do all travel insurance policies include pre-existing conditions? No. Policies vary widely on what they cover, and some don’t include medical coverage at all. When discussing travel insurance, we’ll review your needs and concerns and tailor a policy accordingly. Let’s say you’re planning a multi-generational trip in Hawaii. Since your entire trip is within the U.S. where your regular insurance would kick in, we typically wouldn’t worry about medical or PEC coverage in a travel plan. For international destinations, we certainly recommend a more comprehensive policy, which could include adding emergency evacuation coverage in addition to medical and PEC.
Can I buy insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions any time before my trip? No. All plans that include medical coverage require you to purchase the policy within a set timeframe of your first non-refundable trip payment, usually 14 to 21 days, to cover your pre-existing conditions. You also need to be medically able to travel at the time the policy is purchased. At time of deposit, you don’t need to insure the total non-refundable amount of your trip, just the deposit portion. Then as you incur more non-refundable costs, you increase the policy coverage remembering that you always must be inside the required number of days of your policy. Otherwise, you will forfeit PEC coverage.
Does any medical event that occurred in my life count as a PEC? Fortunately, no. If you miss the cutoff for including PEC in your policy, the look-back period is typically 90 to 180 days prior to the plan’s effective date. So, if your knee flares up but it hasn’t been an issue for 5 years, it should be covered under the policy’s regular medical coverage. Otherwise, any fallout from a recent condition would likely be your responsibility to pay for.
Does adding pre-existing coverage increase the policy’s price? If you’ve purchased a comprehensive policy that comes with medical coverage, there isn’t an extra cost associated with pre-existing conditions. It’s included for FREE as long as the policy was purchased within the timeline allowed to include PEC.
Does recurrence of a pre-existing condition let me cancel the trip? Let’s say you haven’t had a flare up for a year, but lo and behold, it happens on your vacation or immediately prior. Does this give you the green light to scrap the whole thing? The answer is that it depends. You may be able to receive minor medical treatment and continue traveling or it may be severe enough to warrant a full cancellation. We’ll help you navigate your options if this were to occur.
What if I cancel my trip prior to departure? Am I out the amount I paid for travel insurance? If you purchased travel protection from a cruise line or supplier, then most likely “yes”. If you or your travel advisor purchased insurance separately and you are NOT filing a cancellation claim on the policy but instead plan to travel in the future, then generally you have 770 days from the date of purchase to apply the policy to another trip. When planning this, however, you must select actual dates in the future. These can be adjusted once you have an actual itinerary. It’s best to ask your travel advisor for assistance if this scenario applies to you.
What if I am healthy as a horse and secure financially that I want to self-insure? Good for you! You are rolling the dice. So even if you are super-healthy and are loaded enough to lose your vacation investment and walk away, how are you set up with connections in foreign lands should YOU require medical assistance, political evacuation, lose your luggage, etc. Just because health care may be free in the country you are visiting, it’s not free to you. A hospital will ask you to front typically a minimum of $15K to be admitted for care. And international medical evacuation to get you home or elsewhere will be about $100K. Your medical insurance policy does not cover this. Are you aware that we can sell you a ZERO coverage policy? This means you have NO cancellation coverage or trip interruption coverage. What you DO have is medical and medical evacuation including trip delay, lost luggage, etc. And the cost of a zero coverage policy is nominal. Honestly, you’d be a fool not to take it at minimum.
Whatever your situation, it’s important to understand your policy’s fine print. We’ll help you weigh the tradeoffs of different policies to suit your specific circumstances.
My goal is to simplify travel-planning through an equal exchange process where I acquire your ideas and expectations for your trip relieving you of the worry, hassle, stress and time that accompanies Do-It-Yourself planning.