Life doesn’t always pause for travel plans. Our Ultimate plan offers travel insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, so you may be protected if your health impacts your trip ... from unexpected medical needs to delays or cancellations.
How our travel insurance forpre-existing conditions can help you
If you want the best travel insurance for pre-existing conditions …
It all starts with our Ultimate plan. If you meet the eligibility requirements (read on), it’s the only plan that gives you access to the pre-existing condition exclusion waiver.
If you have already made a trip payment …
It’s a good idea to purchase coverage early. To be eligible for pre-existing condition coverage, buy Ultimate within 21 days of your first trip payment and insure any added trip costs within 21 days of paying for them.
If you aren’t medically able to travel when you buy …
You won’t be eligible for the pre-existing condition exclusion waiver. However, you’ll still have coverage for other unexpected events that aren’t related to your condition.
If you need help finding care while traveling …
Whether you signed the waiver or not, we’re here for you. Our assistance provider can help you locate nearby medical facilities or connect with English-speaking doctors (anytime, anywhere).
Here’s what you get with our coverage for pre-existing conditions
Wondering how to get travel insurance with a pre-existing condition through Travelex?
It all starts with our Ultimate plan and checking three simple boxes:
1). Buy your plan within 21 days of your first trip payment
2). Add any new trip costs within 21 days of paying for them
3). Be medically able to travel when you buy
Meet those requirements, and you’ve got the golden ticket — our pre-existing condition exclusion waiver. That means we can offer coverage if your condition unexpectedly interferes with your trip.
Take a look at the benefit limits below:
Before you buy: Want even more medical pre-existing condition travel insurance? Our additional medical upgrade increases your emergency medical coverage from $250,000 to $500,000 on our Ultimate plan and from $50,000 to $300,000 on our Travel Med Go plan. You can add it when you get a quote online.
| Comprehensive coverage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Our coverage | Our plan limits | ||
| Ultimate | Advantage | Essential | |
| Waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion | Included if plan is purchased within 21 days of first trip payment and full trip cost is insured | Not included | Not included |
| Pre-existing medical condition look-back period | 90 days (does not apply to NH residents) | 120 days (does not apply to NH residents) | 180 days (does not apply to NH residents) |
| On-trip coverage only | |
|---|---|
| Our coverage | Our plan limits |
| Travel Med Go | |
| Pre-existing medical condition look-back period | 180 days (does not apply to NH residents) |
| Flight coverage only | ||
|---|---|---|
| Our coverage | Our plan limits | |
| Flight Insure Plus | Flight Insure | |
| Pre-existing medical condition look-back period | 180 days (does not apply to NH residents) | Not applicable |
| Comprehensive coverage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate | Advantage | Essential |
| Waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion | ||
| Included if plan is purchased within 21 days of first trip payment and full trip cost is insured | Not included | Not included |
| Pre-existing medical condition look-back period | ||
| 90 days (does not apply to NH residents) | 120 days (does not apply to NH residents) | 180 days (does not apply to NH residents) |
| On-trip coverage only |
|---|
| Travel Med Go |
| Pre-existing medical condition look-back period |
| 180 days (does not apply to NH residents) |
| Flight coverage only | |
|---|---|
| Flight Insure Plus | Flight Insure |
| Pre-existing medical condition look-back period | |
| 180 days (does not apply to NH residents) | Not applicable |
Why vacation with our travel insurance for pre-existing conditions?
You can match your coverage to your trip and move forward with a team that understands the ups, downs, and surprises of travel.
Personalize your policy
Our Ultimate plan includes pre-existing condition travel insurance when you meet eligibility requirements. You can also personalize your coverage with up to nine optional upgrades to fit the way you travel.
25+ years’ experience
For more than two decades, we’ve helped travelers navigate the unexpected, including health-related trip disruptions. From medical emergencies to delays, our team knows how to get you the right support fast.
24/7 travel support
If your condition flares up while traveling, we’re just a call away. Our assistance provider can help you find nearby medical care, coordinate treatment, and guide you through your coverage (day or night).
Get to know our coverage a little bit more
We’ve already helped answer the question, “Does travel insurance cover pre-existing conditions?” With our Ultimate plan, it can. Now, let’s explore the other ways you can personalize your coverage.
Unpack our benefits
Travel insurance that covers pre-existing conditions? That’s just one of the ways we can help you. You’ll also find protection for trip cancellations, travel delays, lost baggage, and more.
Discover our upgrades
Beyond our core coverage, you can tailor your plan with up to nine optional upgrades, so your protection fits the way you travel. Choose from our pet care, adventure activities, cancel for any reason upgrades, and more!
Pack our Travel On app
Keep your policy in your pocket — and more. Travel safer with our app’s tap-to-call 24/7 assistance, destination information, and real-time safety alerts.
Tips for handlingpre-existing condition mishaps abroad
What if your pre-existing condition flares up while you’re abroad?
This guide walks you through five simple steps to find safe, reliable medical care overseas, from contacting our 24/7 assistance provider to locating an English-speaking doctor.
What happens if you lose or run out of the medication you rely on?
This guide explains how to replace prescriptions abroad, how pharmacies differ by country, and steps to take if your meds aren’t available.
What if your pre-existing condition sends you to the hospital mid-trip?
Discover what to do in a medical emergency abroad, including how to reach us, what documentation to gather, and how we can make the process smoother.
Want to know more about our coverage for pre-existing conditions?
The definition can depend on the insurer, but with our Ultimate plan, it means this: A sickness, disease, or other condition that you have within the 90 days* before purchasing your policy. The pre-existing condition can apply to you or a person you’re traveling with.
During this 90-day period, you must have received or been recommended treatment, diagnostic testing, or examination for the illness or taken prescription medicine for it.
For example, if you’ve been diagnosed with asthma and have seen your doctor for tests and/or filled your inhaler prescription within the 90 days before you bought your policy, it’d be considered a pre-existing medical condition.
What other conditions do we consider pre-existing? There are many, but to name a few, unmanaged diabetes is a pre-existing condition for travel insurance, as well as other changing conditions, such as unstable angina and active inflammatory bowel disease. Pre-existing conditions also include complications developed later in life, like heart conditions or high blood pressure.
We don’t consider a pre-existing condition to be an illness that remains treated and controlled by medication within 90 days before your policy effective date.
For example, if you’ve had asthma since you were young, and you and your doctor have the condition under control with no changes, it isn’t considered a pre-existing medical condition.
Our plans don’t cover mental, nervous, or psychological disorders like anxiety and depression except under the emergency medical and dental expense benefit. This means if you have a mental, nervous, or psychological disorder and you’re looking for travel insurance with pre-existing conditions coverage, we can help if you need emergency medical support while you’re traveling. However, our plans can’t provide this coverage under other benefits like trip cancellation and trip interruption.
Is pregnancy a pre-existing condition for travel insurance policies? No, and we don’t cover childbirth or normal pregnancy (except on our Ultimate plan). However, you can be eligible for coverage of certain complications of pregnancy that are separate from but affected or caused by pregnancy (like epilepsy or hypertension).
Have more questions about what counts as a pre-existing condition with our travel insurance and what we don’t cover? Reach out to our award-winning customer service team for help.
Generally, COVID-19 isn’t considered a pre-existing condition unless you’re experiencing long-term effects or ongoing symptoms (sometimes referred to as long COVID) and have received treatment, testing, or medication for it within the 90 days before buying your policy.
If that applies to you, it may be treated as a pre-existing condition. However, if you’re eligible for the pre-existing condition exclusion waiver under our Ultimate plan, coverage could still apply if your condition affects your trip.
Cancer is considered a pre-existing condition if you’ve received treatment, testing, or medication for it within the 90 days before you purchased your policy.
You can buy our travel insurance if you have a sickness, disease, or other condition. We believe everyone deserves to travel. And if you’re able to travel, an existing condition shouldn’t hold you back from seeing more of the world.
If you buy our Ultimate plan and you’re eligible for our waiver of the pre-existing condition exclusion, you’ll have coverage for travel issues caused by your pre-existing condition (like emergency medical expenses, travel delay, and trip cancellation).
If you buy any of our other plans (Essential, Advantage, Travel Med Go, Flight Insure, or Flight Insure Plus) and you have an existing medical condition, we can still provide you with coverage for scenarios listed in the policy that aren’t related to your condition. For example, if your baggage is delayed or misdirected for 12 hours or more (if included in the plan), we can help.
We can provide you with travel insurance that covers your pre-existing conditions if you meet all the following:
- You buy our Ultimate plan within 21 days of your first trip payment. (It’s our only plan with pre-existing conditions coverage available).
- You insure additional trip costs within 21 days of paying for them.
- You’re medically able to travel when you buy our Ultimate plan.
If you meet all these conditions, pre-existing conditions are eligible for coverage.
Want to speak to us before you buy? Our award-winning customer service team is here to help.
*Subject to state policy variation.
If you miss the 21-day purchase window for the pre-existing condition exclusion waiver, you can still buy travel insurance — but any claims related to a pre-existing condition won’t be eligible for coverage.
You’ll still have protection for other covered events, like trip cancellations or interruptions unrelated to your condition, baggage loss, and travel delays.
*Cancel for any fortuitous reason for NY residents.
