Travelling is often an incredibly stressful activity in itself, particularly in the aftermarth of Covid 19 and Brexit. Whilst the Global Health Insurance Card does cover you in some instances when abroad, it is not a replacement for insurance.
This stress is only heightened even more when you have a pre existing medical condition like diabetes. Thankfully, living with diabetes has been immesurably improved in recent years and despite being a pre existing condition, it should not impact your ability to travel and obtain travel insurance policies.
When traveling with diabetes, it is incredibly important to get travel insurance which has the right level of cover for your needs.
Whilst some insurers will cover medical costs generally, you may struggle to easily find travel insurance cover for the treatment of a pre existing condition like diabetes.
Additionally, travel insurance for people with diabetes has challenges for many insurers as your insulin medication as well as your blood glucose monitor may sometimes be excluded.
With almost four million people diagnosed as diabetic in the UK alone, it is important that you find the right provider of insurance so you have peace of mind when on your holiday. Most people with diabetes have type 2 but it is still possible to get diabetic travel insurance for type 1 and other rarer forms of diabetes.
That’s why it pays to find a specialist travel insurer who is experienced with covering pre existing conditions like Emerald Life.
Emerald has a specific travel insurance product which caters for people with serious medical conditions like diabetes and we are incredibly proud to be able to offer insurance for diabetics that views this condition as not an impediment to enjoying a holiday.
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Will diabetes mean I can’t get travel insurance?
Obtaining travel insurance for people with diabetes can often be impossible and/or expensive: many standard travel insurance companies are simply are not interested in providing a travel insurance quote for diabetics.
Some insurers will allow customers to buy travel insurance but only if there is a medical screening process beforehand and sometimes, annual multi trip policies are not offered to diabetics at all.
Here at Emerald, we are delighted to offer both single trip and multi trip policies to those with diabetes as we firmly believe that you should not be excluded from cover because of your pre existing medical conditions.
Single trip travel insurance
Our single trip travel insurance can cover all types of medical conditions including diabetes weather type 1 or type 2. It has no age limits and can cover a single holiday or trip of up to 94 days.
This type of policy is suitable for all types of holidays, including short breaks, cruises, visiting family abroad and longer stays of up to 3 months.
Annual travel insurance
Our annual travel insurance can also cover both type 1 and type 2 diabetes with no age limits attached to it. It can cover an unlimited number of trips in one year but do keep in mind that each trip must be a maximum of 31 days.
Our annual travel insurance is suitable for travellers who travel regularly and who want the peace of mind that they have travel insurance cover in place which lasts the whole year.
What is Medical Cover?
Without a doubt the most important aspect of any travel insurance policy is medical cover. Cover is provided so that in the case you are ill or injured abroad, your insurer can pay for your medical bills or treatment.
This could even extend to repatriation should you have to be transported home for further treatment. Oftentimes, medical emergency whilst abroad can be a significant cost in terms of potential claims, so it is important travel insurance companies are made aware of your pre existing conditions in order to price your insurance fairly.
Often, certain pre existing medical conditions do not require declaration at all, but in the case of diabetes you will have to declare the condition itself if you have seen a doctor or any other medical professional, taken medication or received treatment in the last two years.
This process is called screening and is simple and straightforward at Emerald – you can complete this online or by phone in just a couple of minutes.
How do I get a quote?
Our fast online quote form will ask for your destination. From that we understand what medical costs may be in that country. For that reason, European travel insurance tends to be much cheaper than USA travel insurance where medical treatment costs are much higher.
Once your medical status has been identified (here is where you need to declare a pre existing medical condition like diabetes), along with the variables of destination and duration – you will have your quote in minutes.
Annual diabetes travel insurance is ideal for regular travellers and can be cheaper than buying multiple single trip travel insurance policies.
What is included in a Diabetic Travel Insurance policy?
Emergency medical cover
The most important part of any travel insurance, is emergency medical expenses cover. Typically ranging from £5 million to £10 million – the higher in our case – this covers your costs if you become ill or injured abroad and require medical treatment.
Medical expenses often include repatriation cover so that if your condition means you have to return to the UK urgently then there is cover for transporting you along with any necessary medical equipment and staff. Unsurprisingly, these costs can be staggering.
What is a pre existing medical condition?
Generally, any condition which you have discussed with a doctor, specialist, or other medical professional within the last two years, or have been medicated or received treatment for during the same period, is something you will have to declare when obtaining a quote for a travel insurance policy. Being diabetic would usually fall within this scope.
What about my medication?
Luckily, your diabetic travel insurance cover will ensure that should anything happen to your medication while your are abroad you will be able to get the help you need as quickly as possible, particularly in the case that your medication is lost or stolen and you need help quickly.
It is not compolsory to take out diabetes travel insurance but, it is a great option for peace of mind. This is especially true when you take into account that the cancellation and emergency medical assistance available on a policy would cover unplanned complications such as losing your medicine or having to stay in hospital while abroad. It is incredibly important though that you check the information in the small print of the policy before purchase to ensure that it fits your specific requirements.
What is travel insurance cancellation cover?
Imagine the nightmare that you are ill or injured just before you were meant to go on holiday. All those plans and prepayments hang in the balance. Some of the costs that may be covered by cancellation cover are:
- your portion of prepaid transport charges
- loss of accommodation
- foreign car hire
- pre-paid
- excursions booked before you go on your trip (up to a maximum of £250)
- that you have paid or have agreed to pay, that you cannot recover from any other source
If you have to cancel your trip because you, a travelling companion or close relative is ill, injured or dies before the trip starts or your passport, or the passport of any person you were intending to travel with, is stolen during the seven days before your booked date of departure – rest assured you’re covered.
Please note that if you have to cancel because of the death or illness of a close relative, there should not have been any specific concern about that relative before you booked your travels.
What is personal possessions cover?
Good diabetic travel insurance can also provide a lot of help with your personal possessions. In the unfortunate event that your baggage is delayed for at least 12 hours, whilst in the custody of your carrier on your outward journey, you can claim for the cost of buying replacement necessities. There’s also cover for if your valuables are stolen or damaged, including laptops.
What is an excess?
It can be tempting when buying diabetic travel insurance to just look at the final price, but it is important that you make sure of any excesses you have to pay.
An excess is the contribution you pay towards any claims. While a £100 personal contribution towards a £5000 hospital bill might not seem much, a £100 contribution for a lost passport or luggage worth £150 may not be even worth claiming for.
That is because some cheap policies will have very high excesses which means any claims could be very expensive despite having the insurance.
Sometimes excesses are so high it might not even be worth claiming. Therefore, make sure you buy a policy that balances a good price with a reasonable excess.
Most travel insurance policies will also include different excesses for different types of claim and you can find these in your policy documentation, but generally the medical excess is the most significant.
Will diabetes affect my travel insurance?
Diabetes is a condition that you will most likely have to disclose to your insurer. This may result in an increase in premium, but that’s much better than having a policy you can’t claim on.
Which medical conditions affect travel insurance?
Generally, any condition which you have discussed with a doctor, specialist, or other medical professional within the last two years, or have been medicated or received treatment for during the same period, is something you will have to declare when obtaining a quote for a travel insurance policy.
What is the best travel insurance for pre existing medical conditions?
You should always shop around to compare different quotes on insurance. At Emerald Life we have a product specifically aimed at providing better value for medical conditions but cannot say what is best for you personally as every customer has different needs.
