Travel insurance for a pre-existing medical condition can be an absolute lifesaver. After all, plenty of travelers have pre-existing conditions that they understandably want to have covered while they travel. That way, if something goes wrong, they’re not stuck paying for exorbitant medical bills out of their own pocket.
Luckily, even though not all travel insurance companies offer pre-existing condition travel insurance, there are still numerous companies that do.
Travel Insurance for Pre-Existing Conditions – Best Plans & Cost
You should keep in mind, however, that you are not automatically guaranteed pre-existing condition coverage when you purchase travel insurance. Instead, you’ll have to meet certain requirements, such as buying your plan within a certain number of days after your initial trip payment, in order to qualify for pre-existing condition coverage.
Still, whether you want travel medical insurance or comprehensive travel insurance with pre-existing conditions coverage, having some kind of coverage while you travel is worth it. That’s why I’ve curated a list of the top companies that offer travel insurance for pre-existing conditions so you can easily find and select a plan that will work for you. This article also includes the following information:
- What is a pre-existing medical condition?
- What medical conditions are covered by travel insurance?
- Preexisting medical conditions travel insurance comparison
- Best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
What is a pre-existing medical condition?
Of course, before you can purchase travel insurance for pre-existing conditions, you’ll need to know exactly how insurance companies define a pre-existing medical condition.
A pre-existing medical condition is any injury, illness, or medical condition that required medical attention, caused symptoms, or required prescribed medication (unless this medication controls the condition or symptoms, and the prescription has not changed) within the 60 to 180 days prior to the purchase of travel insurance.
What is a pre-existing medical condition?
These 60 to 180 days prior to purchase are known as a lookback period and indicate the number of days an insurance company is allowed to look back at your medical records to determine if your claim is related to a pre-existing medical condition. Ultimately, each pre-existing condition travel insurance company determines its own lookback period.
Crucially, an injury, illness, or medical condition does not have to be formally diagnosed by a medical professional for it to be considered a pre-existing medical condition.
What medical conditions are covered by travel insurance?
Fortunately, travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions covers a multitude of medical conditions, including diabetes. As long as you qualify for and receive a pre-existing medical condition waiver, you’ll be entitled to reimbursement for medical treatment you receive while abroad, even if it’s for a (covered) pre-existing condition.
What medical conditions are covered by travel insurance?
There are a few conditions, however, that aren’t generally covered by even the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions: Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, anxiety, depression, and normal pregnancy.
In any case, be sure to always check the fine print of your pre-existing condition travel insurance policy to determine which conditions are covered. That way, you won’t have to waste time and money on purchasing a plan that ultimately doesn’t cover your medical issues.
Pre-existing medical conditions travel insurance comparison
Getting travel insurance with a pre-existing condition doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. Ultimately, the price of your travel insurance for a pre-existing medical condition will depend on your age, nationality, destination, and the length and cost of your trip.
To help you get an idea of how much travel insurance for pre-existing conditions might cost, I’ve generated quotes from five pre-existing condition travel insurance companies so you can compare prices. I’ve used the example of a 30-year-old American from Pennsylvania who is traveling to Mexico for a week and whose trip costs $2,500 to obtain these quotes.
Price | $77 | $105 | $52.75 | $125.03 | $88 |
Emergency Medical | $150,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $150,000 | $30,000 |
Repatriation | $500,000 | $500,000 | $200,000 | $150,000 | $200,000 |
Trip Cancellation | 100% of $2,500* | 100% of $2,500* | 100% of $2,500* | 100% of $2,500* | 100% of $2,500* |
Baggage Loss | $1,500 | $1,000 | $750 | $750 | $500 |
COVID Coverage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Pre-existing condition lookback period | 60 days | 60 days | 90 days | 180 days | 180 days |
Number of days after initial trip payment to purchase plan | 20 days | 15 days | 7 days | 15 days | 15 days |
PRE-EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS TRAVEL INSURANCE COMPARISON |
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Best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
In short, these companies offer the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions:
- IMG, the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
- Travelex, a travel insurance that covers medical conditions with a short lookback period
- Trawick International, a cheap travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
- AIG Travel Guard, a solid pre-existing condition travel insurance
- Tin Leg, another travel insurance with preexisting conditions coverage
1. IMG, the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
If you want the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions, look no further than IMG. The iTravelInsured Travel SE plan provides a high amount of coverage in all medical- and travel-related categories while still being affordable. Even better, multiple other IMG plans offer pre-existing condition coverage, so you’ll have plenty of options.
On top of that, IMG offers a short lookback period of 60 days for pre-existing medical conditions, so only the past two months of medical history will be examined when assessing insurance claims. Best of all, customers have 20 days after their initial trip payment, the longest amount of time out of all the pre-existing condition travel insurance plans I compared, to purchase their travel insurance plan and qualify for a pre-existing medical condition travel insurance waiver.
To qualify for pre-existing condition coverage, they also need to be medically able to travel at the time they purchase their plan.
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2. Travelex, a travel insurance that covers medical conditions with a short lookback period
Yet another good travel insurance for pre-existing conditions is Travelex. Their Travel Select plan offers a solid amount of coverage in all categories other than medical expenses and has a short lookback period of 60 days.
For travelers to qualify for pre-existing condition coverage, they must purchase their insurance plan within 15 days of their initial trip payment, which is a fairly generous amount of time. Travelers must also select an amount of coverage that is equal to all of their trip costs at the time of purchase, add any other trip costs within 15 days of paying for them, be medically able to travel when they purchase their plan and ensure that their trip cost does not exceed the maximum limit for Trip Cost under Trip Cancellation.
While Travelex does offer reliable travel insurance with pre-existing condition coverage, you can actually get similar or better coverage in all categories for a lower price with IMG. Ultimately, if you’d prefer to have a higher amount of coverage and save money, IMG is a better choice.
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3. Trawick International, a cheap travel insurance for pre-existing conditions
Trawick International’s Safe Travels Explorer Plus plan is the perfect option for travelers who want cheap travel insurance for pre-existing conditions. It’s the most affordable plan out of all the pre-existing condition travel insurance plans I’ve compared, and provides good coverage in all categories, except for emergency medical expenses.
Trawick’s lookback period of 90 days is longer than IMG’s and Travelex’s, but overall, it’s still a relatively short lookback period. The real limitation of Trawick’s travel insurance that covers medical conditions, however, is that the plan must be purchased within 7 days of your initial trip deposit and within 7 days of all other subsequent travel payments in order to qualify for a pre-existing condition waiver, which doesn’t give you much time.
Additional pre-existing condition waiver qualification requirements include insuring all trip costs and being medically able to travel when you purchase the plan. Ultimately, Trawick’s plan provides sufficient coverage for those looking to get a good deal on pre-existing condition travel insurance, but if you want a higher amount of coverage and you’re willing to shell out just a bit more, opt for IMG.
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4. AIG Travel Guard, a solid pre-existing condition travel insurance
Take advantage of the AIG Travel Guard Essential plan’s pre-existing medical condition travel insurance coverage and enjoy solid coverage in all categories other than emergency medical expenses.
Although the plan has a long lookback period of 180 days, you’ll get 15 days from your initial trip payment to buy the plan and qualify for pre-existing condition coverage. You must also ensure all your trip costs and be medically able to travel when you purchase your plan if you want to qualify for a pre-existing condition waiver.
Unfortunately, if you want the best value for money, you’ll have to keep looking. The Essential plan is the most expensive of all the pre-existing condition travel insurance plans I’ve compared, and its low amount of medical expense coverage is especially disheartening considering how pricey the plan is. If you want a higher amount of medical expense coverage for a lower price to boot, go with IMG.
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5. Tin Leg, another travel insurance with preexisting conditions coverage
If you’re planning a trip filled with tons of adventurous activities, Tin Leg’s Standard plan has got you covered, since this pre-existing condition visitor insurance includes coverage for sports and activities. In terms of other coverage, the plan offers a low amount of emergency medical expense coverage, particularly for its price, but good coverage otherwise.
Unfortunately, Tin Leg has a very long lookback period of 180 days, or 6 months, which means quite a bit of your medical history will be assessed if you file a claim. On the other hand, you do have 15 days from your initial trip payment to buy a plan, which is a fair amount of time.
Other than buying your plan within 15 days of your initial trip payment, to qualify for pre-existing condition travel insurance coverage, you must cover all trip costs within 15 days of purchasing your Tin Leg plan, your overall trip cost must not exceed the cost limit for Trip Cancellation, and you must be medically able to travel when you purchase the plan.
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Which travel insurance is best for medical conditions?
As you’ll have seen, there’s no need to let a pre-existing medical condition prevent you from traveling the world. The numerous options for travel insurance that covers medical conditions mean that, whatever plan you choose, you can rest assured that any medical bills you incur abroad will be covered.
In terms of the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions, IMG is the best choice if you want a high amount of coverage and good value for money. On the other hand, if you’d prefer to get cheap travel insurance that still offers solid coverage, Trawick is your best bet.
Hopefully, this article has answered all of your questions about travel insurance for a pre-existing medical condition, but if you have any more, feel free to leave a comment below.
