Will your travel insurance pay for a medical condition you already have?

Does your travel policy cover a condition you already have?

No, as a starting position. Salama, GIG Gulf, AIG, Liva, Allianz Partners, Orient, Daman and the Mastercard card all exclude pre-existing conditions as a starting position.^12345678 They differ on what counts as pre-existing and on whether anything can be agreed.

How far back does your insurer look?

From no fixed period to five years.

• No fixed period. Salama and Daman count any disease you had before the policy, diagnosed or not.¹⁸ Allianz Partners counts what you knew or ought to have known before cover started.⁵
• 6 months. Orient excludes claims linked to a condition if, when you insured or booked, you were on regular prescribed medication, had seen a doctor or specialist in the past 6 months, or were being referred, treated or awaiting treatment or results.⁶
• 12 months. Liva, GIG Gulf and Mastercard, each with its own trigger.⁴²⁷ Salama and Daman also exclude events on a trip started without prior medical authorisation after treatment or medical supervision in the previous 12 months.¹⁸
• 2 and 5 years. AIG, for care, treatment or advice in the 2 years before cover starts, and for a hospital stay or surgery in the 5 years before.³

The date the period counts back from also differs. Liva counts back from policy issue on a single trip and from booking on annual multi-trip cover. Mastercard counts back from the trip. AIG counts back from the start of the policy.⁴⁷³

Can a condition count if it was never diagnosed?

Yes. Salama, Daman and Allianz Partners say no diagnosis is needed.¹⁸⁵ Liva includes any ongoing or recurring condition, investigated or not.⁴ Under these definitions the date of diagnosis is not the test.

Are illnesses linked to your condition excluded too?

Yes, in some policies. Orient excludes claims indirectly related to a condition, and gives a chest infection with asthma and a heart attack with high blood pressure as examples.⁶ Salama, AIG and Daman exclude heart and blood vessel illness if you received advice or treatment for high blood pressure in the 2 years before the trip.¹³⁸

Can a relative’s health stop your cancellation claim?

Yes. Several policies apply their rules to people who are not travelling. Orient tests what you knew about a companion, host, close relative or business associate when the policy was issued.⁶ AIG excludes conditions known before the insurance started in relatives and companions.³ Allianz Partners applies its definition to family members and travelling companions.⁵ GIG Gulf does not insure a trip if anyone your plans depend on has a terminal prognosis or is on a waiting list, unless it agrees in writing.² See trip cancellation cover.

How do you declare a condition?

None of the policies sets out a form or medical screening. Four mention agreed terms. Salama and Daman refer to private or special conditions and a surcharge. Orient refers to agreement in writing. GIG Gulf refers to prior written agreement for its health conditions, and its duty of disclosure says to declare anything you are unsure about.¹⁸⁶²

Not disclosing has stated effects. Liva reduces what it pays if non-disclosure changed the terms it would have offered, and may treat the policy as void for fraud.⁴ Daman may rescind the policy back to its start date for knowingly false information about a pre-existing condition.⁸

Apart from the surcharge lines at Salama and Daman, the policies mention no pre-existing condition add-on. Ask your insurer whether it sells one, and get any agreement in writing before you travel.

The small print

• Two exclusions in one list. Salama’s exclusion 1(h) allows a pre-existing condition to be included by special conditions and a surcharge, and its exclusion 1(x) excludes all pre-existing, congenital and chronic conditions. Daman’s exclusions h) and y) do the same. Neither document says which prevails.¹⁸ Ask the insurer.
• Orient’s definition. Orient’s definition of a pre-existing condition sets no period for a condition investigated or treated before issue, and 12 months for surgery. General Exclusion 1 excludes a relevant known fact unless agreed in writing.⁶
• GIG Gulf’s definition. It opens with any condition that existed before the trip. The 12 months appears in one listed example, a condition referred to a practitioner or causing in-patient treatment.²
• Daman’s not fit for travel list. Daman lists conditions it treats as not fit for travel in a separate clause.⁸
• Schengen consulates. In an EU survey of consular practice, 7 of 14 consular authorities named exclusions or limits that significantly reduce cover as a main reason to reject a policy, with more than one answer allowed. The survey is not specific to the UAE, and the UAE consulate pages do not say whether exclusions such as age limits are accepted.⁹