Travel insurance on HRT??

[museumum]

Does everybody on HRT declare perimenopause on their travel insurance? have you had problems?

I can't add it to my Admiral insurance - they won't insure me - and refer me to specialists for people with medical conditions (!?!)). The policy is for a year for the whole family so I'm considering just risking it till it's up for renewal.
I have no symptoms and tbh went onto oestrogen patches quite readily without serious issues (I already had a mirena).

I'm worried obviously that I'll break my leg skiing and they'll use this not to pay up, or not to pay up for a cancelled flight or something unrelated....
But how likely is that? Has everybody else declared perimenopause as a medical condition and moved to a specialist insurer? I'm 48 so statistically it would be surprising if i wasn't in perimenopause.

Thanks.

i've took out insurance with holiday extras. didn't add hrt as it didn't occur to me until i read this thread. rang them to add it, no extra charge.

Are you in insurance @twopennyworth ? You're coming over as if you are but I guess this is just an opinion you have.

Needing a drug for something that is not a medical condition doesn't make it into a medical condition. Hot flushes etc are not classed as being 'unwell'.
You're trying to medicalise the menopause by saying women who use HRT are 'ill' and that's blatantly a false statement. And just because most women don't use HRT doesn't make those who do have a medical condition. They have the same symptoms but choose to control them. That doesn't make it a disease. If something that is experienced by 80% of women has a scale of severity, it doesn't mean that someone with 1 hot flush a day doesn't have a 'disease' and someone who has 100 a day (and chooses to use HRT) has a disease.

The key issue is what questions are asked.
Not all insurance forms ask the questions about a) menopause and b) using HRT. I've never had any questions where it was required to declare it.

If they do ask it's a cynical attempt to possibly charge women more and also a data gathering exercise, which they will share.

I was wondering this about the contraceptive pill. I’ve never declared, but doesn’t it increase the risk of dvt on long haul flights and so they might refuse to pay if you hadn’t declared?

You're doing exactly what you've accused @twopennyworth of - conflating your strong opinion with expertise.

Scroll up - you'll see a bunch of examples where menopause and its treatment has appeared in a dropdown list on insurance company websites. And examples (including the OP!) where choosing it has changed the cost or even the ability to take out a policy.

So yes, in the context of insurance, for many insurers at least, it counts as a medical condition and you posting over and over again to say otherwise won't change that, or help posters who are trying to get insurance.

I'll bet there are millions and millions of women who never thought to declare it as they didn't feel 'ill' whether with or without hrt. Has it only recently been added to the drop down list? It's too late for me now all that is in the distant past.

I suppose I'd declare taking statins now although that's more of a preventative than because I have a current medical problem.

I did say that everyone has to answer the questions on the forms.

My opinion is based on what the medical profession has said time after time lately - that menopause is not an illness and is 'at risk of being medicalised'. There was a long article in the Lancet about this recently. This article was in the press and it's online if anyone wants to read it.

If insurance companies want to call it a pre-existing 'illness' that's up to them but I don't see how they can and I wonder if the medical profession needs to challenge them. What are the health risks of menopause when taking out holiday insurance? Are they making a judgement that women a higher risk if they are in peri?

Women are post-menopause for life, so how are we supposed to respond that?!

My own insurance has never asked those questions and if they did I'd find another company.

They seem to be looking for any excuse to increase premiums. I wonder if they ask men if they buy Viagra? That's relevant as ED is often linked to CVD.

I've added my medicated high blood pressure to my travel insurance, possibly caused by the perimenopause, but I've never declared 'perimenopause' or my hrt. Peri is a natural part of getting older for most ladies and hrt a replacement for our awol hormones.

By the way, it does annoy me that my choice of travel insurance is limited due to declaring my medicated high BP, and premiums higher maybe, when I bet tons of people have high BP and aren't medicated or don't know they have high BP, get it cheaper!

I’ve recently gotten annual travel insurance through AllClear as I have lots of medical conditions and prescribed medications. They specialise in insuring people with chronic medical conditions.

Not one question was contraception or menopause related- even though they can see I am a female of a certain age.

I answered all the questions they asked truthfully- and there were alot covering every medical condition imaginable.

They said if there is anything else, it isn’t declarable as a medical condition.

I think I will ring our insurer and check about HRT. Just to be on the safe side.

i did mine recently and the questions were very general. It was a ‘do you have any issues which you have visited a doctor about, had tests for, or are receiving medication for?’ Then you have to type the first three letters in and it comes up with possible ailments for you to select, then the price goes up accordingly!

I tested a few-peri, high blood sugar, low iron, menopause, HRT, ant-depressants, high cholesterol are all in there. I’m guessing if you don’t declare anything you’ve seen a doctor about/has been flagged on a result, or are taking meds for, if you ever have to make a claim, they could declare the insurance invalid. I would imagine they’d say you shouldn’t have said no to that question.

Peri is a natural part of getting older for most ladies and hrt a replacement for our awol hormones.

I completely agree with this! Our bodies run out of a hormone, which we need to be replaced to function properly again-I don’t think that should constitute a medical condition.

But most people do NOT need it replaced in order to "function properly". Hence why it is a medical condition if you do.

I am on letrozole. This completely prevents any oestrogen forming in my body anywhere. I function perfectly well without oestrogen. (however, I do declare the letrozole on insurance policies, of course) if I had a condition which required taking a prescription for oestrogen instead of a prescription to suppress oestrogen, then that would equally be a medical condition.

Hence why it is a medical condition if you do.

The article in the Lancet from doctors insists that menopause is not a medical condition, with or without HRT.

It doesn’t really matter what the Lancet say, if the insurer asks if you’re on any prescribed medication then you need to answer to ensure the insurance remains valid.

My own view is that if you’re taking a prescribed medication for peri/meno then that does constitute a medical condition. Most women are not having a medicalised menopause.

You have to answer the questions you are asked honestly.

So if you are asked about any doctor's visits or medication you would have to declare the HRT. Your insurance will be invalid if you don't, even if it is true that taking HRT does not increase your risk to the insurer. That is for the insurer to decide.

Just as with any medical tests or medication they will decide whether to cover with no additional premium, cover if you pay an additional premium for that specific risk, decline to cover that pre-existing condition but accept you for all other circumstances, or decline to cover you at all.
They may require further information or tests to determine which approach they will take for any particular issue disclosed on your application form.

I agree 100% that questions needed to answered truthfully if they are asked. (I've never seen anything about menopause or HRT on forms I've used.)

I can't help but wonder if it suits the insurance companies to list it as a question now that more women are using HRT, making it easier for them to increase the costs.

Do they ask if women have a Mirena coil for heavy periods?

well, that is a medical treatment for a medical problem, so if asked about medical treatments for medical problems, then that would come up in the answer

I just did a quote with Insure and Go ( to see how much my gallstone wait will set me back....) . Selected menopause from drop down and it said 'no further questions'.

These days nearly everyone self medicates so no. However, I'd declare allergies which could lead to severe reactions if a GP had been consulted.

Iron deficiency anaemia also had a negligible impact on quote.

I added it to my existing policy. I also had ‘no further questions’ but it still whacked up the premium.

Outrageous !

You do not need to inform us that you have been prescribed or are taking HRT to assist in the management of menopause or perimenopause. For Coverwise travel insurance purposes, menopause and perimenopause are not considered pre-existing medical conditions as they are natural, biological processes.

I did travel insurance this weekend and Insure N Go seems to have removed menopause from their matches on their drop down menu so perhaps some pressure groups have been busy.

I don't think we should have to declare it as its part of being a woman. I didn't declare that my DD was going through puberty after all when we went to Turkey in 2012 or she started periods in 2013 before going to Tunisia.

However, I have declared it for this year for our abroad holiday because I wouldn't want the insurance company to have any excuse not to pay out. I already have to use a pre- existing conditions insurance because I now am medicated for blood pressure. Probably caused by the damn menopause!! I did read that one ladies insurance didn't pay out because she didn't declare menopause. Someone where on Internet recently.

I went with Tesco insurance. Put Perimenopause down. No questions asked.

It's worth mentioning that the British Menopause Society says that peri menopause (or post menopause) are not medical conditions. They go to great lengths to say that this stage of life should not be 'medicalised' (it's not an illness.) You do not need to declare peri (which for many women is irregular periods and other symptoms) as an 'existing condition'. None of the insurance companies I've used have asked for a list of medications, only pre-existing medical conditions (and there was the option to opt-out of being covered for those.)

Hope this helps anyone who's unsure.