Getting away from regular life is something that we all must do every now and then. That is why a trip abroad could provide you with the kind of break you need.
However, there are plenty of things you need to get sorted out before you head off, and these could provide you with a week of stress before you head off on holiday. One of these tasks involves arranging your travel insurance.
Your travel insurance will cover you in case you lose some of your personal items either by accident or if they get stolen. What’s more, you also need health insurance in case you fall ill abroad and need healthcare in a foreign country. These procedures can prove to be quite expensive, and insurance companies may try to cover themselves by charging more for travellers who have an underlying health condition. That is why you should always declare these illnesses on your insurance application. Failing to do so could void your policy or place you in legal trouble.
Anxiety
Whether or not you should declare anxiety on your travel insurance is a difficult decision. This mental health disorder is only reached public consciousness in recent years. This means that there are many people out there who have noticed that they have been displaying symptoms of anxiety and have not received an official diagnosis from a medical professional.
Most health and travel insurance companies are only strict on flyers declaring their underlying health conditions. As such, you only need to declare your anxiety on your travel insurance if you have received an official diagnosis- even if you are convinced that you have the condition.
Arthritis
Arthritis is an illness that causes inflammation in or around your joints. It is highly uncomfortable to live with, but it is highly unlikely to get to a life-threatening stage. Even so, it is wise to declare your arthritis diagnosis on your travel insurance forms.
Travel insurers aren’t worried about having to pay out in the event an arthritis patient gets ill abroad. Instead, this declaration is more necessary from a medication standpoint. Arthritis medication can be quite expensive if you experience a bad flare-up overseas. As such, your insurance policy will be able to cover this medication if you have declared your condition on the insurance forms.
IBS
An irritable bowel may not seem like the worst medical condition to experience, but it impacts a lot more people than you may have thought. It also comes with a wide variety of symptoms as well.
Most IBS sufferers will experience some mild cramps in their stomachs. However, irritable bowel syndrome can also cause even worse pain, constipation, and diarrhoea A heavy flare-up of either symptom may warrant the attention of a doctor-especially if it lasts for a few days. That is why it is important to declare your IBS diagnosis on your health insurance application. Doing so will ensure that you receive the medical treatment that you may need, even when you are on holiday.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is known as the silent killer for a reason. Blood pressure is the measure of how much your blood presses on your arteries as it travels through your body, and it is often paired with high cholesterol. Some common causes of high blood pressure include:
- Stress
- Poor diet containing too much salt
- Smoking
- Genetics
- Lack of exercise
Having high blood pressure isn’t an illness in itself, but it also has some knock-on effects for your health. For example, those who have high blood pressure are more likely to encounter a heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, or aneurysm. That is why your insurance may ask you to declare if you have high blood pressure, as you may become subject to one of these conditions while abroad. You can check up on your health by booking a thyroid test or blood test with Bioma. Alternatively, you can always keep an eye on your blood pressure with a machine at home. If it is too high, the doctor can prescribe you medication to lower it. Again, it is worth declaring this medication on your insurance forms.
Sciatica
In fairness, it is a good idea to declare any type of back problem on your insurance. Even though your pain is most likely muscular, back pain is still classed as a pre-existing condition. Sciatica only gets a special mention because it is something that you are born with.
Sciatica is a curvature of the spine that can affect your posture and cause bouts of pain. It is also a condition that can get worse with age. That is why you need to declare the health problem to your insurance provider. They will want to know whether there is a chance they might have to pay for a hospital visit overseas as a result of your sciatica pain.
Diverticulitis
All of the conditions mentioned so far are quite common and things that you have heard of before. However, diverticulitis is a bowel condition that all insurers will want you to declare, even though it is quite rare among the adult population.
Diverticulitis is a digestive disorder that causes bulges and deformities to occur along the large intestine. The main symptom of this disease is intermittent pain in the lower abdomen, and it can get worse during digestion. Some patients can relieve the pain through flatulence, but sometimes surgery is required if the pain does not pass. That is why it is vital to declare on your travel documents. Overseas surgery can be very expensive, and an insurer will not pay if you have not declared the issue. Even worse, an insurer that is forced to pay for the surgery you have not declared may turn around and sue you.
Acid Reflux
The digestive issue known as acid reflux is experienced by us all at some time or another. Most of you probably know it as heartburn, and it is caused by your stomach acid travelling back up your oesophagus after eating too much fat or salt. The result is a sharp pain in the stomach or chest.
While acid reflux is a fairly common occurrence, it can present itself in more serious forms in other patients. One such example is gastroesophageal reflux disease. This disease known to most as GORD is a rare form of acid reflux disorder where stomach acid climbs your pipes after every meal. As you would expect, most insurers will want you to declare it if you have been diagnosed with this condition. This is because one of the most effective cures for GORD is stomach surgery.
Summary
While declaring an existing condition on your travel insurance may cause your payments to go up, it is much better than the alternative. No matter how small your medical condition may seem, it is always worth checking if you should declare it on your health insurance when you travel. You don’t want to come back to a ton of legal documents or medical bills after a nice relaxing trip abroad. You have earned your holiday, so make sure it all goes well by doing the proper medical research.