Why do I need travel insurance for my medical conditions?
A condition you live with day to day shouldn’t get in the way of a great holiday.
Declaring your pre-existing condition when you take out your travel insurance policy will make sure you’re covered for any claims related to it. Treatment for unexpected illnesses when you’re abroad can be huge – in the USA, the average cost of holiday medical treatment is £9,941.*
But specialist travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions can give you reassurance for the worst case scenario, so you can kick back and relax. After all, that’s what holidays are about!
So, whether it’s a new diagnosis or a long-term condition, you can escape the everyday with peace of mind.
What is a pre-existing medical condition for travel insurance?
A pre-existing medical condition for travel insurance is one where, over the past two years, you’ve had:
✔ Symptoms
✔ Treatment and/or medication
✔ Investigations and/or surgery
✔ Medical appointments
If you’ve had a cardiovascular or circulatory condition at any time, it’s really important that you tell us about it.
You can cover most pre-existing conditions with us, plus there’s no upper age limit.
Basic | |
---|---|
Medical emergencies and repatriation | Up to £5m |
Cancellation | Up to £500 |
Cutting your holiday short | Up to £500 |
Baggage | Up to £300 |
Travel delay | Up to £300 |
Money and passport | Up to £300 |
COVID-19 | |
Excess | £129 |
Comprehensive | |
---|---|
Medical emergencies and repatriation | Unlimited |
Cancellation | Up to £5k |
Cutting your holiday short | Up to £5k |
Baggage | Up to £2.5k |
Travel delay | Up to £1.5k |
Money and passport | Up to £500 |
COVID-19 | |
Excess | £99 |
Signature | |
---|---|
Medical emergencies and repatriation | Unlimited |
Cancellation | Up to £10k |
Cutting your holiday short | Up to £10k |
Baggage | Up to £5k |
Travel delay | Up to £1.5k |
Money and passport | Up to £500 |
COVID-19 | |
Excess | £0 |
Basic | Comprehensive | Signature | |
---|---|---|---|
Medical emergencies and repatriation | Up to £5m | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Cancellation | Up to £500 | Up to £5k | Up to £10k |
Cutting your holiday short | Up to £500 | Up to £5k | Up to £10k |
Baggage | Up to £300 | Up to £2.5k | Up to £5k |
Travel delay | Up to £300 | Up to £1.5k | Up to £1.5k |
Money and passport | Up to £300 | Up to £500 | Up to £500 |
COVID-19 | |||
Excess | £129 | £99 | £0 |
These are just a few of the things our policy covers. For the ins and the outs, take a look at our policy wording.
Get QuoteWhat’s not covered?
Travel insurance with medical cover is there to offer a helping hand if something unexpected happens. But that doesn’t always mean everything is covered.
It’s important to read through your policy before you set off on your trip. It’ll hep you understand what you’re covered for, and what you’re not.
You can discover more in our guide to what travel insurance covers too.
Your Staysure policy won’t cover these types of claims:
We're specialists in travel insurance for pre-existing conditions. Here are some of the conditions we can usually cover:
Allergies – if you suffer from allergies is really important that you let us know
Asthma – whether you have mild or severe asthma, get a quick quote for tailored cover
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – if you have a lung condition like COPD, we may be able to cover you for medical emergencies abroad
Cancer – your cancer diagnosis shouldn’t stop you from seeing the world
Breast cancer – whether you’ve just been diagnosed or you’re in remission, find out if we can cover your breast cancer
Prostate cancer – finding good cover when you have prostate cancer can be tricky, but we‘re here to give you a helping hand
Diabetes – type 1 or 2 diabetes shouldn’t stop you from going on holiday!
Epilepsy – epilepsy can affect people in different ways, so your cover can always be personalised to you
Multiple sclerosis – let us know if your multiple sclerosis is progressive, remitting, relapsing or benign when you take out cover
Parkinson’s – tell us about your Parkinson’s disease, and know we’ll be by your side when you need us most
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)- if you’ve ever had DVT it’s important to let us know so we can add it to your policy
Strokes– if you’ve previously had a stroke or suffered from a transient ischemic attack, holiday insurance can give you the confidence to keep travelling
Crohn’s disease – having Crohn’s disease shouldn’t stop you from getting away from it all!
Diverticulitis – whether you’re living with symptoms of diverticulitis or you’ve had surgery, travel with confidence on your next trip
Gastric reflux – if you’re living with GORD, gastric reflux or excess stomach acid, make sure you’re properly covered
Gallstones and gallbladder conditions – gallstones and gallbladder conditions shouldn’t get in the way of a great holiday
Cataracts – if you’re living with cataracts, or awaiting removal or surgery, we may be able to cover you
Glaucoma – having travel insurance for glaucoma means you can enjoy your holiday with peace of mind
Angina – we may be able to cover you if you’ve had a coronary angioplasty or a heart stent fitted for angina
Atrial Fibrillation– tell us about your history of atrial fibrillation and travel the world knowing we’re there when you need us
Cardiomyopathy – get the go-ahead from your doctor that you’re fit to travel and relax with cardiomyopathy travel insurance that’s tailored to you
Heart attack – if you’ve previously had a heart attack, as long as a doctor has given you the go-ahead to travel, we should be able to cover you
Heart bypass – if you’ve ever had a heart bypass, you’ll need to add it to your travel insurance
Heart conditions – don’t let your heart condition get in the way of a great trip
High blood pressure- get tailored travel insurance for your next holiday if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol
Arthritis – make sure that you can travel to your favourite places, knowing that you’re covered if you need medical attention for your arthritis
Back and neck problems– from a slipped disc to sciatica, if you’ve got a previous history of back or neck issues it’s important that you tell us
Hernia – having a hernia shouldn’t get in the way of a great holiday
Joint replacements – if you’ve previously had a joint replacement, let us know about your surgery
Osteoporosis – being diagnosed with osteopenia or osteoporosis shouldn’t get in the way of your next holiday
Mental health – if you have a history of anxiety, depression or other mental health issues, it’s important that you let us know
HIV – include AIDS or HIV on your travel insurance, and travel with a policy that meets your needs
Kidney conditions – whether you’re living with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), kidney stones, nephritis or renal failure, we know what’s what when it comes to travel insurance for kidney patients
Fibromyalgia – if you’re living with fibromyalgia, it’s important to choose specialist medical travel insurance
Thyroid issues – living with hyperthyroidism is considered a pre-existing medical condition, so you need to declare it on your travel insurance
What if you can’t cover my condition?
This list isn’t definitive, so if you’ve been unwell with, or had treatment for, any other illness, it’s important you let us know.
And if you’re in the process of getting a diagnosis, undergoing treatment or awaiting surgery, we might still be able to offer you a level of cover. Call our friendly team to find out more.
If you’ve spoken to us and we can’t cover your condition, take a look at the Money Helper Travel Insurance Directory. It lists other medical insurance providers who might be able to help.
Tailor your policy to meet your needs. If you're sailing the seven seas on an ocean cruise, or you'd rather not pay any excess, we have an add-on for just that! All add-ons are available on Single Trip and Annual policies.
Off on a cruise holiday? Cruise Plus Cover protects you against things like not being able to dock at a scheduled port due to bad weather, and cabin confinement. It’s available on Comprehensive and Signature policies. Find out more about our different levels of Cruise cover.
If you’re going to be taking expensive tech away with you, like a laptop, smartwatch or smartphone, Gadget Cover can protect an unlimited number of your devices for up to £2,000. This cover includes protection against accidental loss or theft, damage from accidents or malicious intent, liquid damage, and unauthorised call, text or data usage. It’s available on Comprehensive policies as an add-on, but included on Signature policies as standard. Learn more about Gadget Cover.
Cover for cancelling or cutting your holiday short if the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) advises against all, or all but essential travel to your destination because of an unforeseen incident such as an earthquake, fire, flood or hurricane. Find out more about our Travel Disruption cover. It can be added to any policy.
Golf insurance covers your golf equipment hire and non-refundable golfing fees. You’ll have hole-in-one cover too – meaning we’ll pay you £300 if you score a hole-in-one during your trip, as long as you’re a member of a recognised golf club affiliated to a national golfing union, you have your scorecard signed by your playing partner and you’re playing at a golf affiliated golf course too. It’s available on Comprehensive and Signature policies when playing non-professionally only.
This add-on can help if you have a medical emergency while taking part in winter sports activities. Available on Comprehensive and Signature policies, it can also help cover the costs should you lose or damage your own winter sports equipment as well as cover the costs of unused ski passes, piste closures and avalanches.
Winter sports cover is already included as standard when you choose a Comprehensive or Signature Annual policy and covers you for two trips, up to a total of 28 days. Find out more about Winter Sports cover.
How does medical travel insurance work?
Quick and easy medical screening
Medical screening for travel insurance is a quick and easy process that takes the hassle out of getting holiday insurance with medical conditions.
We’ll ask you a simple set of questions about your medical history that helps us to understand how your condition(s) affect you.
Learn more about our medical screening process here.
What our expert says…
"It's really important that you tell us about any changes to your health after you've bought your policy. If you forget, you might not be covered if you have a medical emergency and you need to claim. Adding a new medical condition to your holiday insurance policy may cost a bit extra, but it means you're covered should the unexpected happen."
- Vikki Measures, travel insurance expert
Read Vikki's guide to what you need to declare on your travel insurance
Already a customer? You can make changes to your policy, online and in your own time with My Staysure.
We know you don’t want to wait in a call queue. So if you need to make changes, like updating traveller details, changing your medical details or renewing a policy, visit your My Staysure account.
You, or someone with you, should call our 24-hour medical emergency helpline as soon as possible. You’ll find this number on your policy documents. We can help you find the most appropriate place for you to have treatment. Our multilingual team can also act as a translator if your medical team doesn’t speak your language.
Medical emergencies abroad can be extremely expensive. For instance, according to gov.uk a stomach bug or infection treated in a hospital in the USA, with return flights home, can easily return a medical bill of £100,000.
That’s why you get up to £5 million of cover for medical emergencies and repatriation with our Basic travel insurance for pre-existing conditions, and up to unlimited cover with our Comprehensive and Signature policies.
Specialist travel insurance is another way to describe holiday insurance for medical conditions. It’s a specialist type of insurance that’s often not covered by a standard travel insurance policy.
It’s a term that can also be used to describe other types of ‘non-standard’ policy too, like winter sports, cruise insurance, and travel insurance for over 70s.
Pregnancy isn’t a pre-existing medical condition. You don’t need to let us know about it when you take out your policy, unless you have a pre-existing condition relating to your pregnancy. For more information, take a look at our pregnancy travel insurance page.
If you are travelling to Europe and you have a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) or an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you should still take out medical travel insurance.
The GHIC/EHIC schemes can give you access to free or discounted emergency medical treatment within the EU, but they’re not the same as proper travel insurance. You could still pay for a large portion of your care with a GHIC or EHIC, plus they won’t cover you if you get taken to a hospital for private treatment.
Only travel insurance can cover you in these instances, giving you the peace of mind you want on your holiday. Find out more in GHIC is the new EHIC: what you need to know.
We're here to make your claim journey as stress-free as possible
*Data courtesy of .gov.uk
** Winner of the British Travel Awards 2016-2022
*** Applies to Single Trip policies only