At this time of year, many people are in vacation mode, and some purchase travel insurance. But if you don’t have pre-existing medical conditions, should you insure your trip with medical coverage?
According to KaiserHealthNews.org, “Most comprehensive travel insurance policies cover pre-existing conditions if you buy coverage within 14 to 21 days of making your first trip payment, says Lynne Peters, insurance product manager at insuremytrip.com, a website that offers plans from 25 companies.”
But if you’re traveling sooner than that, you can still get coverage if you haven’t needed medical attention recently for a chronic issue such as diabetes or back trouble.
Most underwriters offer relatively short “lookback” periods, which means that if you file a claim, your medical records will be reviewed for pre-existing conditions usually from 60 to 180 days before the policy became effective.
During that window, if you didn’t get medical treatment or testing, if you had no changes in your medication or recommendations from a physician related to a pre-existing condition, your claim should not be denied because it was deemed to be pre-existing.
As always, read any policy you’re considering thoroughly to ensure you understand its limitations and so that you don’t pay for coverage you don’t need. In addition, see our blogs on travel risks.