Travel insurance and depression

arcadia1980

I'm going abroad tomorrow and was just trying to get travel insurance for it on go compare but it came back saying they couldn't give me quotes because I'd listed depression. As I'm in a rush to get it and didnt realise it would complicate it, if I didn't list my depression would that make them refuse to pay out for something completely unrelated, like if I broke my leg? or would it just mean they wouldn't pay out for anything mental health releated? I say this as I'm in a good place at the moment and so it won't be an issue on holiday. not sure what to do.

Any help much appreciated

elsien

You need to tell them about it if it asks, you can't just not put it on the form as you run the risk of cover being withdrawn but you can probably get cheaper cover if you exclude the depression side of things or pay more for the cover for everything.  You may be better off phoning a company directly and discussing with someone directly rather than trying to do it online via  a comparison site.
If in doubt phone and ask. Most of them have a number you can call for a quote.

elsien

ETA - this is not a recommendation but just as an example.

Travel Insurance for Mental Health & Illness | Staysure™

arcadia1980

elsien said:

You need to tell them about it if it asks, you can't just not put it on the form as you run the risk of cover being withdrawn but you can probably get cheaper cover if you exclude the depression side of things or pay more for the cover for everything.  You may be better off phoning a company directly and discussing with someone directly rather than trying to do it online via  a comparison site.
If in doubt phone and ask. Most of them have a number you can call for a quote.

Thank you for your help. I was happy to risk no being insured for a depression issue but if they would use my depression to stop a payout for say a broken leg, then I can't risk it. I won't be getting a good price if i can't use a comparison site (just tried money super market and the same thing happened). 

It's a weird world we live in, this person suffers depression and anxiety lets make things more difficult for them

elsien

You will can get a better price if you phone up and ask for the depression to be excluded from the cover / I’ve done that before now. Try the insurers directly. Comparison sites aren’t always cheaper, 
You need insurance if you’re going abroad - what if you end up in hospital with Covid? False economy even if it’s dearer than you would like. 

Sandtree

Non disclosure rules changed with the introduction of CIDRA so yes, if they show that you intentionally gave wrong information then they can void the policy even if its unrelated to the basis of claim.

You need to shop around, cannot say I've had to deal with depression but with other mental health issues many insurers have been unwilling to cover the condition but have been happy to cover a trip with the mental health condition excluded 

TELLIT01

The OP has already travelled, or not, so this isn't any direct help to them now BUT leaving the purchase of travel insurance until immediately prior to the date of travel is a bad idea.  The insurance doesn't just provide cover for the period of the holiday but for any event leading up to that date which prevents travel.

f4phixeruk

Ive had quotes on Go Compare, Compare the market etc, and I've listed depression as a ongoing problem. Cant understand why the OP didnt get it.

rigolith

Sadly things like depression become life-long black marks against you when it comes to insurance. You might want to write to your MP about it, there should be a time limit or ideally just make it illegal to consider it at all because it discourages people from seeking treatment.

Sandtree

rigolith said:

Sadly things like depression become life-long black marks against you when it comes to insurance. You might want to write to your MP about it, there should be a time limit or ideally just make it illegal to consider it at all because it discourages people from seeking treatment.

In theory the same could be said of cancer and a large number of other conditions. 

You could legislate that pre-existing conditions cannot be considered (any other type of cap again encourages non-treatment etc) but then what you are saying is that everyone's insurance should triple in price so that the minority dont have to pay increased premiums and/or cannot get cover.

rigolith

Sandtree said:

rigolith said:

Sadly things like depression become life-long black marks against you when it comes to insurance. You might want to write to your MP about it, there should be a time limit or ideally just make it illegal to consider it at all because it discourages people from seeking treatment.

In theory the same could be said of cancer and a large number of other conditions. 

You could legislate that pre-existing conditions cannot be considered (any other type of cap again encourages non-treatment etc) but then what you are saying is that everyone's insurance should triple in price so that the minority dont have to pay increased premiums and/or cannot get cover.

I doubt it would triple prices, but maybe that would be worth it. With the pandemic and austerity there are a lot of people with mental health problems now, so a lot of people are probably already paying more.

The same argument could apply to the NHS, everyone pays the same NI contribution regardless of their medical history or what dangerous activities they participate in. Perhaps politicians might consider funding travel insurance for health that way (not for cancelled booking etc, just health costs).

There are things which you can't really avoid treatment for, and there are things like depression where it's often hard enough to seek treatment in the first place.