Thousands risk being out of pocket if needing to seek medical attention abroad due to non-disclosure
New research1 from Gigasure, shows that a quarter (24%) of holiday makers intentionally avoid disclosing pre-existing medical conditions when purchasing their travel insurance to save money. Many fear that disclosing conditions will significantly increase the cost of the policy.
The findings come as Financial Ombudsman Service data shows a 19% rise in travel insurance customers who have had their insurance claims rejected because pre-existing medical conditions had not been properly disclosed.
Gigasure says non-disclosure of medical conditions when purchasing travel insurance is a growing problem and a large proportion of travellers don’t realise that there are lots of common, yet often undisclosed, conditions that won’t materially impact the price of the insurance policy. Failure to disclose these, whether intentional or not, can mean the difference between being fully covered while on holiday, or facing expensive medical and repatriation bills.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) reports its members paid out £472 million across 500,000+ travel insurance claims last year. Medical expenses were the most common, making up 34% of claims and totalling £262 million, with an average payout of £1,528.
Gigasure’s research explores why travellers fail to disclose pre-existing medical conditions when purchasing travel insurance. The top five reasons included:
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Wanting to save money on the policy (24%)
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Not thinking it was relevant (19%)
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Not sure what they needed to declare (18%)
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Being worried that disclosing medical information could lead to being denied cover (17%)
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Willing to take a risk and deal with the issues later (13%)
Conditions that are being managed, for example high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and asthma should not incur a substantially higher cost as the risk of this affecting your ability to travel, or cause issues while on holiday is relatively low.
The most commonly screened medical conditions2, i.e., those most declared by travellers, include:
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High blood pressure
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Cholesterol levels
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Diabetes
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Arrhythmia
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Ischaemic heart disease (coronary artery disease)
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Hypothyroidism
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Back and/or neck problems
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Coronary angioplasty
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Osteoarthritis
Ernesto Suarez, travel insurance expert, and CEO of Gigasure, says: “Unlike home or car insurance, travel insurance isn't mandatory - you don't need to buy it, so what's the point of buying it but not declaring your medical conditions and then it being invalid? That’s no use to anyone.
“Whether intentional or otherwise, not disclosing medical conditions when purchasing travel insurance can mean the difference between being able to claim fully on the policy, and not. This can potentially leave the individual with hefty medical bills should they need to seek treatment while away, when the true cost of declaring the conditions at the time of purchasing could be just a few pounds.
“Each travel insurance provider has its own set of and rules and criteria around its policies and it’s important that holidaymakers ensure they answer all questions correctly when going through the purchasing process. Answering the questions incorrectly could mean that if you need to seek medical treatment abroad, you could be left thousands of pounds out of pocket if the insurance company finds that you didn’t share the right information with them.”
