Do you declare EVERYTHING for travel insurance?

[Squeekey]

Just that really.

I would always declare my daughter's health condition as it's serious, will affect whether we get coverage etc, but do you really declare everything everyone in the family has seen a Dr for in the last 2 years?

Last time I phoned up about insurance (phone needed because of daughter), they spent about 20 minutes asking innane questions about my husband's 5 minute trip to a Dr 9 months ago for foot pain.

I'm perfectly happy to accept that I won't get coverage for anything we don't declare, but in reality what do people do? I keep, I think I had a phone appointment with the GP last year for antibiotics for a chest infection - according to the insurance rules I need to declare it.

I'm considering that I might benefit from antidepressants for the first time to get me through a very very stressful few months and I can feel my mid plummeting, but I can't face having it over analyzed for donkeys years by insurers.

What do people do?

Different policies have different definitions of what constitutes a "pre-existing medical condition". I've seen some that don't require every single GP visit to be declared.

I'm quite glad I can't afford a holiday as I definitely wouldn't get insurance!

Yes we declare everything it might cost 40, 60 a hundred pound more in insurance that we have never used but if we did need to, that’s what insurance is, a gamble basically

That bit about not having a covid vaccination is very interesting. I am offered it but haven't taken it for the last two years. I'd no idea that might rule out treatment for covid related illness, so I'll definitely read the T&Cs properly next time

I'm also in the middle of buying travel insurance, and unsure about whether I have anything to declare.

No GP appointments for the past 2 years except for the routine hpv test, which was normal. Does that have to be declared? Does something like perimenopause have to be declared even though you've not seen the doctor about it? What about when you buy medicated cream online?

No dont mention anything not on your medical records, it will just complicate things

Think health first and travel insurance second.

If you haven't seen your GP maybe book an appointment to discuss your stress. If youre in the uk you should also be able to self-refer for talking therapies. Google talking therapies and your city/county.

I take antidepressants and just have to give basic info and tick a few yes/no boxes when sorting travel insurance. It barely changes my premium

Scotland stuffed then as we don't have them. We have an annual policy and my husband has a benign skin lesion which we needed cream for. Had to add this on. No change in premium but basically declare everything then you add on all GP visits after buying too. It's a racket to be honest

I had to claim on my travel insurance for a health issue in 2023. It was a massive pain, trying to get all of the medical notes they wanted (2 years), but stopping my GP from sending more than that. They then spent ages sitting on the information and it took over a year for them to refund me what I'd had to pay the hospital. I found the whole thing really stressful and that was for a £3k claim in Europe. I don't think I'd ever go to America now, as I understand the risks of not declaring everything perfectly and medical costs are so high there.

I had post menopausal bleeding that I had to declare as it was within the 2 years of visiting the GP. Honestly it was such a faff as all they had on their website was dysfunctional uterine bleeding. The only additional questions they asked was has it led to anaemia? Nothing to ask if I'd had biopsies or scans. DUB is a diagnosis when everything else is excluded. PMB is potential cancer. Crazy.

Yes everything, if you consult a dr or other health practitioner you must declare. Our insurance doesn't charge anything extra for our growing list of health complaints, the normal aging stuff, but they must be told

My son was diagnosed with his medical condition while abroad and they contacted the GP for records before they would repatriate us to prove it wasn’t a pre-existing condition we hadn’t declared. So yes, declare everything as they’ll wriggle out of any claim if they can!

I know of a man that had an aneurysm abroad. His hospital bill was over £100,000 and the travel insurance refused to pay it because he had been prescribed some cream for a rash 2 years before that he hadn’t declared. His mum was going to have to remortgage her house!! I believe the NHS covered the cost in the end but it was incredibly stressful and completely ridiculous. I always ensure to document everything now

But each company varies, we don't have to declare short illnesses or conditions which are solved with a single dose of antibiotics, I reported strep throat 20 months prior and they weren't bothered at all and you don't have to declare acid reflux with mine because it's so common post 40 years old it's factored in already!

@Squeekey , I think it's ironic that so much angst and effort goes into keeping our NHS records private and secure, and yet we're obliged to tell every Tom, Dick & Harriet in a call centre about all our most intimate health issues - and not only our own, but for the whole family..My kids are over 18 now and entitled to some privacy, but our policy covers them for as long as they're in full time education, assuming they're happy to continue sharing their details.

Yes, that's another issue, mine are over 18 now too and it feels a bit invasive having to ask them if they've been to the GP about anything. We sometimes do private physio for sports injuries and have to remember to declare those too although they might not appear on our NHS apps.

I've just done our annual travel insurance with Insure and Go. I declared DH's high blood pressure and cholesterol but didn't mention that I had a fall and hurt my arm before Xmas which resulted in an A&E visit. Thankfully it was a minor injury, only needed a sling and is nearly healed, but reading this thread I wonder if I ought to declare it.

I just realised, should I have been declaring that I'm on the pill?

Honestly, it feels like it's more hassle than it's worth!

One option is to get specialist insurance where you declare conditions but ask for them to be excluded. My DH has well-controlled Type 2 diabetes and my DD was hospitalised for anorexia (happy now in strong recovery). We were quoted £7K for insurance - significantly more than the cost of the holiday. As it would be literally cheaper just to fly home of either of them was ill, we asked for those two cobfyto be excluded and ended up paying about £300 iirc correctly.

I must admit it wouldn’t cross my mind to declare accidents which haven’t resulted in a long term issue. You are normally asked for conditions and illnesses?

This is an eye opener

I had a trip to A&E over something minor and self discharged in the end because of the wait. Do I declare that? And a routine blood test flagged cholesterol a little high but NHS happy to look again in 12 months. Is that "a condition"?

Definitely For the cholesterol.

the hospital visit probably not.

This. Medication can absolutely help alleviate symptoms of anxiety or depression. Don’t live with them if you don’t have to.

As a relatively extreme case, I was sectioned a couple of years ago with an episode of hyoomania and subsequently diagnosed with bipolar. I did have to go to a specialist insurance (surestart I think) and insurance was more expensive but it was a 2 min conversation and getting the insurance was straight forward.

I did used to feel similar to you. I can remember over 30 years ago going to see a counsellor and telling her I wouldn’t stay if she wrote to my GP as she wanted to because it would go on my record. I used to think I over complained about how I was feeling but it turns out I was under complaining!

It’s a major PITA and a way for insurers to get out of paying up further down the line

I need to call up and disclose a bloody hand swelling of DH that he went to the GP for, GP couldn’t help, but it went away on its own. I bet that increases my premiums. And the fact that DS had some unexplained nosebleeds that also went away. Not to mention several times that I’ve gone to discuss menopause symptoms