Travel Insurance. Do I declare health condition? Confused

meridian4

Hi,
I have booked a holiday (7 nights, Portugal) and I'm looking to get the correct travel insurance policy.
I have read all of Martin's advice on the subject of declaring 'Pre-existing conditions'. And there are a couple of sentances that has left me confused:
Remember that you must tell your insurer about your condition - even if you don't deem it particularly serious.

On another page he states the following. I have underlined what I am unsure of.
Always declare your medical conditions, or your claim may be rejected

The thought of having to declare medical conditions can be daunting but travelling without making your insurer aware of any issues can result in any claim you make being rejected. Make sure you give a full and frank run down of all the health issues you have that will be relevant to your policy.


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My point being:
My health conditions: Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, does not cause any need for urgent medical attention or hospitalisation, so I don't really deem them as health issues that will be relevant to the policy. But, if I don't declare them, would any other type of claim be refused due to not being honest?


Anyone know more on this or similar issue?


Thanks

jackieblack

Could be, some insurers want to know everything, others only certain specific conditions


When in doubt, declare everything - if it's anything that generates an additional premium you should be able to opt not to cover it

meridian4

Ah, I see, I can opt out of having a condition covered if it pushes up the premium. Never knew that.
Thanks for the reply.

hollie.weimeraner

meridian4 wrote: »

Ah, I see, I can opt out of having a condition covered if it pushes up the premium. Never knew that.
Thanks for the reply.

Also bear in mind if you make a claim they will look very closely at being able to link it to any declared condition you have opted out from in order to reject your claim.

Haylescom

I have an exclusion on mine, so my premium remains low but I can't claim if it's caused by my pre-existing condition (ulcerative colitis).
Some life insurance companies are the same; L&G will only give me critical illness with exclusions and would top load my life cover at 100% increased cost.

leylandsunaddict

Declare anything that falls into the category of the medical questions they ask. Or you can declare your CFS and Fibro and then decline the coverage if you prefer. Your policy would be endorsed either way to state what you've declared and covered, and what you've declared and opted out of.

If you did need medical treatment if the need for that treatment could be linked to either of your conditions, then you probably wouldn't be covered unless you'd declared and opted for cover.

lyntwyn

I am sure that you should/must declare every pre existing condition as insurance company would be perfectly entitled to decline a claim on the basis that the contract is invalid as you had not declared all as requested, regardless of whether the condition claimed for had any link to a pre existing condition. Most, probably all, insurance cos. contact claimants GP for a faxed copy of medical history, so there is nowhere to hide. Unfortunately there is usually a premium loading for each condition declared (unless you select to opt out), which can make cover expensive, as I know from personal experience. But there is no point in paying any premium unless you are covered!

Goldiegirl

Pre-existing conditions don't always increase the premium.

I've got Menieres Disease, which I declared for travel insurance purposes, and it made no difference to the premium at all.

I think it's wise to declare all conditions.

It's better to end up paying a small extra premium, rather than ending up with a bill for £1000s if the worst happened.

hollie.weimeraner

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Pre-existing conditions don't always increase the premium.

I've got Menieres Disease, which I declared for travel insurance purposes, and it made no difference to the premium at all.

My wife has diverticular disease which was disclosed and hasn't increased the policy premium either.