Travel insurance and pre-existing conditions

What is a pre-existing condition?

A pre-existing condition is an illness, injury or other medical condition that, in a set period before your coverage takes effect (the look-back period), showed symptoms, was tested or treated, had a test or treatment recommended, or was treated with prescription medication.

• The look-back period is 60 to 180 days, depending on the plan.
• On most plans, continuing to take an unchanged prescription does not by itself make a condition pre-existing. It is still pre-existing if you had symptoms, a test, an examination or treatment for it in that period.
• Losses caused by a pre-existing condition are excluded unless you qualify for the plan's waiver.

How far back do the plans look for pre-existing conditions?

The look-back period is counted back from the day your coverage takes effect.

• Travel Insured Deluxe: 90 days. Platinum: 60 days. New York plan: 60 days.
• Trawick Pathway Plus and Premier: 180 days (90 days in the New York versions).
• WorldTrips Atlas Journey (all plans): 90 days.

How do I get pre-existing conditions covered?

Buy the plan within its time-sensitive period after your first trip payment, and be medically able to travel on the day you buy. If you meet the conditions, the plan waives its pre-existing condition exclusion.

• Travel Insured Deluxe: within 14 days. Platinum: within 21 days.
• Trawick Pathway Plus: within 14 days. Pathway Premier: on or before your final trip payment due date.
• WorldTrips Atlas Journey: within 21 days.
• New York versions (Travel Insured and Trawick): within 21 days (Trawick Premier: by the final payment due date), and you must also insure all prepaid, non-refundable trip costs.

My condition is stable and controlled by medication. Is it pre-existing?

Possibly not. Most of our plans say that taking a prescription does not by itself make a condition pre-existing, if the condition is controlled only by that medication and the prescription did not change during the look-back period.

• The condition is still pre-existing if you also had symptoms, tests, examinations or treatment for it, or these were recommended, during the look-back period.
• A change in dose or a new medication counts as a change. Travel Insured Deluxe and Platinum and WorldTrips do not count a switch between brand and generic, or an adjustment to insulin or blood thinner dosage.
• Trawick's California version has no stable-medication exception.

The insurance company decides this from your medical records at claim time. Buying within the time-sensitive period, so the waiver applies, avoids the question.

My parent isn't traveling but has a medical condition. Am I covered if they get worse and I have to cancel?

Sickness or death of a non-traveling family member is a listed reason to cancel. Whether their existing condition is treated as pre-existing depends on how each plan words its definition, and the plans differ.

• The surest protection is to buy within the plan's time-sensitive period so the pre-existing condition waiver applies.
• Travel Insured Deluxe and Platinum and WorldTrips Atlas Journey state that death resulting from a pre-existing condition is not excluded.
• Trawick's family member definition refers to relatives who reside in the United States, Canada or Mexico.

Please ask a licensed agent about your situation before you buy: info@travallamains.com.

Do I have to answer medical questions or take an exam?

No. We do not ask medical questions and there is no exam to buy a plan.

If you later file a claim related to a medical condition, the insurance company may ask for medical records to check the plan's pre-existing condition rules.

Does the pre-existing condition waiver cost extra?

No. The waiver is not a separate purchase. It applies when you meet the plan's conditions, mainly buying within the time-sensitive period and being medically able to travel when you buy.

What does medically able to travel mean?

The plans do not define the phrase. Each requires that you are medically able to travel when you pay for the plan. Travel Insured's wording is "medically able and not disabled from travel ... based on assessment of a Physician".

If you are already unable to travel, or under treatment that restricts travel, on the day you buy, the waiver does not apply, and Trawick and WorldTrips plans state you are not eligible to purchase. The insurance company applies this at claim time.

I'm older and have a heart condition. Can I still be insured?

Yes, you can be quoted: there are no medical questions to buy, and the plan documents we reviewed state no maximum age. What matters is the pre-existing condition waiver.

• Buy within the time-sensitive period (14 or 21 days from your first trip payment).
• If that has passed, Trawick Pathway Premier still waives the exclusion when the plan is paid for on or before your final trip payment due date.
• You must be medically able to travel on the day you buy.

I missed the waiver window. Is anything medical still covered?

Yes. The exclusion only removes losses caused by a pre-existing condition; a new, unrelated illness or injury is still eligible under the plan's normal terms.

• Medical evacuation is not subject to the pre-existing condition exclusion on Travel Insured, WorldTrips and Trawick's Florida plans.
• On Travel Insured Deluxe and Platinum, the exclusion applies to trip cancellation and interruption, not to the emergency medical benefit.

Which plan is best for pre-existing conditions?

If you are past the 14 or 21 day window, Trawick Pathway Premier is our pick: it still waives the pre-existing condition exclusion when the plan is paid for on or before your final trip payment due date.

• In New York you must also insure all prepaid trip costs.
• Trawick looks back 180 days (90 in New York), longer than the other plans, so the waiver matters more.
• You must be medically able to travel when you buy.

If you are still inside the 14 or 21 day window, the other plans' waivers are available too.