Travel Insurance with Medical Conditions

If your health changes after you've taken out your policy, please let us know before you take your next trip as this could impact all future claims.

Depending on the change, there might be an extra cost – but don't worry, our friendly team is here to help! Just give us a call, and we'll talk you through your options.

How you have to declare medical conditions can vary on the type of questions you are being asked. For some questions, we only require you to let us know if you have suffered from them in the last 12 months. Other questions are within the last 5 years or ever in your lifetime.

You can see all of our medical declaration questions on our travel insurance with medical conditions page.

We do not carry out a full medical history check, but our claims team will or may check your full medical history if required. It's really important to let us know about any pre-existing conditions or changes to your health when you take out or update your policy.

If you need medical assistance whilst abroad or need to make a claim related to your health, our assistance team can contact your GP to request your medical history. If anything goes undeclared, it could affect your cover or even lead to a claim being declined – and no one wants that!

So, to keep things hassle-free, just make sure all your details are up to date.

1) Enter your details at the top of the page in the yellow booking form.

2) Press 'Search'.

3) Fill out the page with your details, then when you get to the medical questions make sure you answer them correctly or if you decide to call us, let our agent know.

4) Follow the on-screen instructions to buy your travel insurance policy. Depending on your medical condition, you may be asked to call our team so that they can ask a couple more questions over the phone.

Yes, it's still possible to get annual insurance if you have pre-existing medical conditions. You'll be asked a series of questions relating to your health so that we can accurately record your conditions.

Buying travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions can tend to be more expensive, as you're considered to be more likely to make a claim. Here are a few tips that could keep the cost down.

Choose a higher excess - Opting to pay a higher excess can lower the price of your policy. Just make sure you are able to pay the excess amount in the event of a claim.

Consider an annual policy - Got lots of trips planned this year? If you're going away multiple times throughout the year, it can work out cheaper to take out an annual policy. This will cover you for every trip you take over the year.

Choose the right level of cover - When choosing your policy, consider whether the cover levels are suitable for you. For example, you may not want to take out a policy that gives you £5,000 cancellation cover if you only paid a couple of hundred for your trip.

You don't need to declare that you are pregnant, as this isn't considered a health condition. However, you should let us know all known complications relating to your pregnancy, like High blood pressure and/or gestational diabetes.

A fit-to-fly certificate is a document typically issued by a GP or specialist, confirming that you are medically fit to travel by air. It lets airlines and other authorities know that you do not have a condition that could worsen during the flight or pose a risk to other passengers.

You may need a fit-to-fly certificate for the following reasons:

• If you have a pre-existing condition or chronic illness that could potentially worsen during air travel.
• If you are recovering from surgery, or if you have recently been ill or hospitalised.
• If you've recently recovered from an infectious disease, airlines may require proof you are no longer contagious.
• If you are over 28 weeks pregnant

We recommend that you check with your airline provider as requirements may vary depending on the airline you are travelling with.

How to obtain a fit-to-fly

You can request a fit-to-fly via your GP or healthcare provider . You may need to pay a fee for this service.

The UK has reciprocal healthcare agreements with some non-EU countries. This means that if you need medical treatment in that country, you would be treated as if you were a resident.

For more information on reciperocal healthcare agreements and a list of countries this applies to, visit the UK's goverment site.

Holiday Extras offers travel insurance that provides COVID-19 cover on our Bronze, Silver and Gold policies as standard for specific events. As such, you are insured for the following:

Curtailment:

• Death of a relative or member of the insured's household as a result of COVID-19.
• Hospitalisation of a relative or member of insured's household requiring treatment with mechanical ventilation as a result of COVID-19.

Medical & Repatriation Expenses:

• Cover for medical costs for any treatment and associated expenses required abroad as a result of contracting COVID-19 following a medically approved test (up to £15m), as long as they have not travelled against the advice of the FCDO*.

Cancellation:

• Cover for cancellation as a result of being contacted by NHS Test & Trace due to coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and needing to self isolate, preventing the insured from making the outward journey.
• Cancellation as a result of experiencing an adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine within 14 days of departure resulting in the insured being unfit to travel as confirmed by a medical practitioner.
• The insured being unable to complete their COVID-19 vaccination course before the scheduled departure date as a result of unforeseen illness.