Is everyone declaring COVID as a pre-existing condition on travel insurance

[SayYouDontMind]

Just helping my teenage son get annual travel insurance cover. He’ll declare the fact that he has had glandular fever, gastroenteritis, tonsillitis in the past few years as they all involved GP appointments followed by prescription drugs/treatment. I’m wondering about COVID though. He, along with millions of us, tested positive for COVID (once in his case). It was very mild and didn’t involve hospital treatment or a GP appointment but it is technically a respiratory illness. Do we put it down as a pre-existing condition?

I’d hate, in the hopefully unlikely event of a claim, for the insurers to turn round and invalidate the claim because we hadn’t mentioned his positive test result (and the NHS will have a record of it because it was a test in the first year when we were getting it done at a drive-through testing centre)

I’d be interested to hear what everyone else has done.

I tend to declare everything, just so that not mentioning something can't invalidate claims. Even if seems unimportant. I might put something like: Covid-19 (Jan 2022).
Otherwise contact them and see what they say about disclosing Covid?

A pre-existing condition to my mind is one that is ongoing. For instance you were diagnosed with diabetes in 2015 and you have diabetes at the time of taking out the insurance.
A corona virus (incl Covid 19) is an infection which you recover from NOT a condition.

Posted too soon. Unless you have been diagnosed with Long Covid, it would be like declaring the time you had flu at Christmas 3 years ago!

AnuSTart · Today 09:55
A pre-existing condition to my mind is one that is ongoing. For instance you were diagnosed with diabetes in 2015 and you have diabetes at the time of taking out the insurance.
A corona virus (incl Covid 19) is an infection which you recover from NOT a condition.”

This. Wouldn’t occur to me to declare it.

My pre existing is asthma. That's it.

They don't need to know about viruses or colds or chest infections.

Exactly. I'd consider covid as an illness someone had, not a condition someone has. Unless of course it had resulted in an ongoing issue.

My DH has special insurance. I had a spell in hospital with Covid . Insurance asked whether anyone had been in hospital . Obediently put yes, and it then wouldn't let us input that as a reason/ wouldn't quote . When we changed it to gastro enteritis, it accepted it with no added cost.

Bizarre , really.

Wouldn’t even occur to me to mention anything like covid. A pre existing condition is something that is long term and chronic - I’ve got lupus, asthma and Addisons for example and those are definitely something I’d need to declare.

Declare per the wording of the declaration, it might say ' medical treatment or consultations in the last 12 months' or even 24 months. All prescriptions, appointments and referrals to hospitals will count. There's often a question about covid and I believe the follow on question can be whether you were in hospital or have long covid. If in doubt, declare.

I wouldn't declare it anymore than I would declare a cold or D&V. It's not a pre-existing condition that may flare up and need medical treatment on holiday which is what they're ultimately assessing.

No as I don’t have long covid.

What? Pre existing conditions. Are conditions that exist prior to the cover taking place. Not viruses or routine bacterial infections.

Things like:

Diabetes
Asthma
MS
Cancer

Not minor illnesses.

No, but I also wouldn’t declare tonsillitis, gastroenteritis, coughs, colds, flu, or any other virus like that. A pre existing condition is generally considered to be one that you still suffer from, like asthma.

Never tested positive so not something I have to worry about.

No, it's a fleeting ailment, like a cold. Nobody declares their minor illnesses that are all done and dusted.

It isn't a respiratory condition like asthma, it was a symptom of a viral illness. No need to declare that. It would be like declaring you had a cold and a cough in 2017 which would be madness.

It is for chronic conditions or ongoing treatment

As (almost) everyone has said, pre-existing conditions surely refers to ongoing pathologies that you have at the moment of travel and will continue to have. Diabetes, cancer, etc. (That's the way I've always interpreted it and I'm ancient)
Something which started before you booked, you'll still have on your holiday, and you'll have when you come back.

None of the things he's adding count as pre existing conditions

Why would he mention glandular fever, tonsillitis etc? You only need to declare existing conditions not all the minor illnesses you've had in the past.
No I wouldn't mention COVID either.

I phoned up about this and my travel insurers wanted anything you'd seen a doctor about in the last 2 years.
So for me that included Covid as I was off for so long I needed numerous fit notes and as part of the process the doctor took blood tests.

For those fortunate enough to have recovered quickly it would be different. Like everything medical it depends on the situation and people shouldn't be coming here and giving blanket answers because there aren't any (other than check what counts as pre-existing under the terms of your actual policy).

I would no more declare covid or tonsillitis than I would having had a cold.

I've just renewed our joint annual travel insurance manually so had to go through all the questions again. I did not declare that we had Covid last year as neither of us consulted a GP and it was only like a bad cold/mild flu. I wouldn't previously have declared a minor illness such as a cold so don't see any difference with Covid. If, however, we'd needed GP treatment then I would have declared it as that is one of the questions (treatment sought in last 2 years).

This is interesting as I was looking at travel insurance recently, never declared anything before but I found that anxiety is an option. Do people normally declare this?

I’ve never declared anything. A pre-existing condition is a condition you have at the time of making the application.