If you or your DC have a neuro-divergence diagnosis do you declare it on your life/travel insurance?

[plezzantly]

And if you do, does it put up the cost?

Yes I'm honest with it. I believe it does make it more expensive but never looked into how much

Always declare everything on your travel insurance as if you don't you may as well not bother taking it out as it won't be valid.

I did and it made no difference to price.

They asked some additional questions that focused on behaviour in certain scenarios.

Wow i cant believe this is even a question. Some neurodivergent people are better in a crisis, would that lower the price? No. It’s just needless data gathering and hoop jumping so they can make money selling info on us in addition to what they will charge you for the cover. Which they will then try their best to weasel out of paying. Sometimes i think i would have rather lived 200 years ago!

Yes of course. I think £50 more but can’t remember.

So you could be institutionalised and probably abused?

I have never considered this to be medical information that needs declaring. Tbh haven't been abroad since getting the diagnosis, so that's also the reason I haven't declared it.

I expect it will be purely data-driven. The actuaries will look at the data to see if customers with similar conditions cost more in claims. If they do, they will put up the price. But if they have fewer claims than average it may help to keep the price down.

Thing is, as someone with ADHD, I am more likely to lose something, have it stolen (because I'm not paying attention), or take risks. It's annoying, but I do have to declare it - same as I would have to if I had a health condition.

I'm great in a crisis, though! Weirdly calm and laser focused - it's just more likely on holiday that I'll leave my phone on view, or step off a kerb without looking 😬

Of course! If you had an accident that could be attributed to ND and hadn’t told them you’d have no insurance.

I always have but my Ds is on adhd medication , so no reason not to

No, but I’m not on any ADHD medication and haven’t seen my GP for anything ND-related in the last 2 years. Which seems to be the question they ask on travel insurance.

I would declare if I was on medication, like I do for my other medicated conditions.

I did for my son this year, first year since he was diagnosed with autism. I don't think it affected the price. But if something had happened and then we lost our cover due to not having declared it, I would have kicked myself!

Interesting. DD (17) is "freshly" diagnosed with ASD and ADHD.

For me these are not medical conditions, she doesn't take any medication and has no medical appointments apart from seeing a therapist - privately, not medically prescribed/referred to by a medical practitioner.

Therefore I didn't think it needs to be disclosed.

I did yes, it asked some questions around whether we have ever needed to cancel due to it, it didn't make any difference to the premiums.

If you have an NHS diagnosis they can check through your records and if you haven't declared any conditions it can invalidate your insurance. Even if you claim for a broken arm the insurance company could refuse to pay out if they say you haven't declared a diagnosed condition. My DC are autistic and it didn't seem to put the price up.

That still happens today unfortunately

@Weefreetiffany yes it does but not so commonly.

It doesn’t really matter what you think - it’s what the insurance companies think. If you’re asked about diagnoses, investigations, medications and so on then failing to declare then will result in your insurance being voided.

I am more than happy to disclose it.

I was just wondering why as it doesn't mean DD would be in danger of falling ill.

Yes. My DS1 has autism and is prone to meltdowns. Less so as he gets older. We also travel by plane to Australia about once a year. He is afraid of flying. If the plane has to divert due to him having a meltdown then I want to be covered. I am absolutely scrupulous about declaring everything. Granted he has never had a meltdown worthy of anything being diverted (although once we could not get ON a plane due to this- but it was only to France so not a critical incident) but I want to know that there are no loopholes the insurance people could exploit. He also has anaphylactic allergies and |I declare those in full as well.

I don't know how much extra it costs but my annual multi country and multi trip insurance for me (several chronic conditions - all declared); DH (high BP only) DS1 (autism, adhd and anaphylactic allergies) and DS2 (no medical conditions at all) costs circa £500 a year. It is worth it IMO. (I variously insure through Virgin or the Post office etc )

My dd on adhd medication and since it's a class A drug she has always declared it, especially incase she lost the tablets and needed a new prescription

I declare everything on my medical records including autism diagnosis. You also need to say if you're waiting for something to be investigated. If you don't, they won't pay out.

I declare everything. Any excuse not to pay they will use.

My friend claimed for a monkey bite (had to have rabies injections) and they refused to pay out as she'd not declared being on anti d pills 2 years earlier. (No longer taking them)