Travel Insurance

witsum

Active Member
Messages
44
Hi
Please could you tell me if I have to declare pre diabetes when looking for travel insurance.
Thanks
 

cugila

Master
Messages
10,272
Dislikes
People who are touchy.......feign indignation at the slightest thing. Hypocrites, bullies and cowards.
That is one you will have to look in the small print for.
You must declare any pre-existing conditions and also anything you may have undergone tests for or are awaiting results etc.
The simple answer may well be YES.

Better to be safe than sorry later. :D

Ken
 

steve100

Newbie
Messages
2
Depends on the insurance company - Diabetes UK is helpful and obviously sympathetic. But for my recent trekking in Nepal I insured with the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) who understood what they were insuring (walking to over 5000 metres in the snow several days away from a road) and who didn't ask for declaration of diabetes (I rang the health line to check!).
Steve
 

Dennis

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,506
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
People who join web forums to be agressive and cause trouble
witsum said:
Hi
Please could you tell me if I have to declare pre diabetes when looking for travel insurance.
Thanks
Hi witsum,

Ken is spot on. You always have to declare any pre-existing condition when you apply for insurance of any type, including travel insurance. However, although it is a "condition" it is not classed as a chronic condition, so your insurer may decide to ignore it.

BUT when you get a quote, check with the insurer that the quote does cover you for the pre-existing condition. Many travel insurers will happily take your details and give you a quote. You naturally assume that the quote must cover the conditions you have told them about, but increasingly these days it doesn't. You only get to find out when you make a claim and suddenly find out that the policy didn't cover you for anything pre-existing!
 

dad101255

Member
Messages
11
I have not been loaded due to Diabetes by a number of companies. The highest I had to pay was about £10. A small amount, I think, for the peace of mind of knowing that the company cannot use non declaration as an excuse to avoid paying out.
 

cugila

Master
Messages
10,272
Dislikes
People who are touchy.......feign indignation at the slightest thing. Hypocrites, bullies and cowards.
steve100 said:
Depends on the insurance company - Diabetes UK is helpful and obviously sympathetic. But for my recent trekking in Nepal I insured with the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) who understood what they were insuring (walking to over 5000 metres in the snow several days away from a road) and who didn't ask for declaration of diabetes (I rang the health line to check!).
Steve

Steve.
There is usually no problem with a Diabetic getting Travel Insurance with sometimes a loading of some sort. It isn't the condition that can cause problems. It is usually any Declaration you have to make.
I was intrigued by your comments and took a look at the BMC website. I tried looking for a quote and you have to answer some standard questions.
One of these questions took me to a Medical Declaration. this link:

https://www.thebmc.co.uk/modules/insura ... ation.aspx

shows a copy of that Declaration.

I presume you were able to satisfy the criteria set out on the Declaration ? Therefore you wouldn't have been declined or loaded. Unfortunately the questioner witsum may not be able to fulfill the criteria because of the specific reasons set out there. As you say it does depend on the Travel Insurer but the majority have similar if not more stringent rules. We do have to jump through hoops.

Hope you enjoyed your holiday - what a place to be. :D
 

Dennis

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,506
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
People who join web forums to be agressive and cause trouble
dad101255 said:
I have not been loaded due to Diabetes by a number of companies. The highest I had to pay was about £10. A small amount, I think, for the peace of mind of knowing that the company cannot use non declaration as an excuse to avoid paying out.
Hi dad101255,

The point is not whether the premium will be increased but whether the insurers will cover your diabetes. On being advised that a customer has diabetes, most insurers don't increase the premium. But what they are increasingly doing is covering everything EXCEPT your pre-existing condition. You need to check the small print on your policy to make sure that they will cover any medical claim that you might make as a result of your diabetes.
 

witsum

Active Member
Messages
44
Thanks for all yor replies but I haven't actually got full blown diabetes, I have IGT so classed as pre-diabetic so does this make a difference-I am not on medication at this time and have been told by my GP that until I have another GTT in October (and each October after) and unless that shows up any increase he will not be giving me treatment for diabetes.
 

Dennis

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,506
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Dislikes
People who join web forums to be agressive and cause trouble
Hi witsum,

As I said before, pre-diabetes is technically classed as a condition. Diabetes is classed as a chronic condition. It doesn't matter what kind of a condition it is, you still need to advise the insurers. When they give you a quote just make sure that they will meet any claim you might make in respect of that condition. Don't assume that because they have given you a quote that they are covering you for all the things you have told them.

Let me give you an example. Last year my annual travel policy came up for renewal. I had insured with the company (a household name) for many years as a diabetic. But the renewal details said (in tiny print), that they will no longer provide cover for any condition that already exists (i.e. my diabetes) despite them having covered it every year in the past. I tried several other insurers and each one asked about medical conditions, and I told them. In each case the insurer gave me a quote, but it was only when I specifically asked whether the diabetes was covered they all said no.