Pre-existing Medical Conditions
Travel Insurers assess all applications for pre-existing medical conditions on
a case by case basis. There is no book with set replies etc. In reaching a
decision whether to provide cover for medical conditions they take into
account, Age of the traveller, destination, time away and the status of the
condition .
What is a pre-existing medical condition?
Pre-existing
Medical Condition means:
l
An ongoing medical or dental condition of which you are
aware, or related complication you have, or the symptoms of which you are
aware;
l
A medical or dental condition that is currently being, or
has been investigated, or treated by a health professional (including dentist
or chiropractor) within the last 60 days;
l
Any condition for which you take prescribed medicine;
l
Any condition for which you have had surgery;
l
Any condition for which you see a medical specialist; or
l
Pregnancy.
Not All
Policies cover Pre-existing Medical Conditions
Some
completely exclude this , such as Backpacker, Budget, Cancellation and Non
Resident/Visitor to Australia policies.
In order
to make things easier, the insurers have listed conditions which they will
automatically cover, those which they will NOT cover under any circumstances
and those that you are required to complete an appraisal form. (refer to the
medical/Aged assessment PDF )
Some
insurers require completion of pre-existing forms for any relative who is NOT
travelling with you but who has a condition and you wish to be covered in case
something happens to them and you are required to disrupt your journey.
Clients
over 81 are now required to complete the pre-existing/Age application form
regardless of whether they wish to have a condition covered
If you
have a pre-existing medical condition and you wish to have it covered, we
require that you complete the basic application form AS WELL AS the
pre-existing medical form and once both are completed fax them to us. We
send them for assessment and once we receive the insurers advice, we email you
there decision and await your instructions before we do anything else.
To save
unnecessary extra visits to the doctor, we would suggest that you select an
insurer from both the under writers and apply to both underwriters. This will
give you a choice once you see what each has to offer.
From
receipt of the completed application form, the underwriters can take from
24-72 hours to decide.
They may
opt to :
·
decline coverage
totally (ie require us not to sell you ANY policy)
·
decline the
pre-existing condition but cover the rest
·
cover one or some
of the pre-existing conditions but decline the others
·
charge an
additional premium
·
charge an
additional premium and impose a non removable excess
·
charge an
additional premium and make changes to various conditions and terms.
If you do
not agree with the decision, you have the right to appeal the decision.
All
insurers now have forms for 81 and over and Under 81. Some have forms for Non
travelling persons you wished to cover.
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