International Medical Only

Pre-existing medical conditions

Pre-existing medical conditions are not automatically covered under your International Medical Only travel insurance policy. However, if you complete a medical assessment, we may be able to offer you cover for your pre-existing medical conditions.

We want to help you understand what a pre-existing medical condition is and what you need to do if you have any so that you know what you are covered for under your travel insurance policy.

5 common questions

1. What is a pre-existing medical condition?

We consider a pre-existing medical condition to be any illness, injury or health symptom to which all the following apply: 

• You know about it, or a reasonable person should have known about it prior to the date your insurance starts.
• In the 3 years before the date your insurance starts, any of the following applied:
  • You sought or received medical help
  • Someone recommended you seek or receive medical help
  • A reasonable person would have sought or received medical help
  • You were waiting for medical help

In this definition, ‘medical help’ means any of the following:

• Advice from a health professional
• Tests, investigations, or specialist consultations
• Care, treatment, or medical attention, including surgery
• Medication or a script for medication

An illness, injury or health symptom doesn’t need a confirmed medical diagnosis to count as a pre-existing medical condition. 

If you are completing the online application for other people, make sure you know their medical history.

2. How do I know if I have a pre-existing medical condition?

If you are unsure about the name or details of your pre-existing medical condition, please check this with your doctor and get a copy of your medical records. If you have questions around what you should or shouldn’t declare on your travel insurance policy, please contact us.

It is important to remember that it is your responsibility to declare any pre-existing medical conditions you wish to seek cover for.

3. How do I apply for cover?

During the policy application process, you will be asked a few questions about whether you have any pre-existing medical conditions. To apply for cover for your pre-existing medical condition or changes to your health you must both:

• complete the medical assessment when you apply for cover
• tell us about all your pre-existing medical conditions or changes to your health when you complete the medical assessment.

We need to know the name of the health condition or health symptom of your pre-existing medical condition or changes to your health when you apply. If you’re unsure, check with your doctor first. If you don’t tell us about all your pre-existing medical conditions or changes to your health, it could affect your cover when you submit a claim.

4. What happens if I don’t tell you about my pre-existing medical condition?

If you choose to apply for cover for one pre-existing medical condition or changes to your health, you must tell us about all your pre-existing medical conditions or changes to your health when you apply for cover and complete the medical assessment.

If you don’t tell us about any pre-existing medical conditions or changes to your health, we won’t cover anything related to those conditions.

5. What if my health changes, or I’m unsure about my pre-existing medical condition?

Making sure you have the right cover for your health is important to us. If you have any questions, please get in touch.