WHAT IS A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION?
A pre-existing condition is a health condition that exists when you buy your travel insurance plan, prior to departure. It may be a chronic illness, such as high blood pressure, a cold or a recent surgery. If the Insurer considers this condition as an increased risk, your premium may be slightly higher than that of someone who is in perfect health. However with a medical questionnaire (offered to persons of 61 years of age and over) this condition may be covered if it is determined to be stable by your treating doctor and the Blue Cross medical director.
A pre-existing condition is any injury or illness that existed prior to the date your insurance enters into effect. A pre-existing condition includes any injury or illness that you: suffered from prior to the date your insurance enters into effect; received treatment for prior to the date your insurance enters into effect; were prescribed medication for prior to the date your insurance enters into effect.
Any medical condition you’ve been seeing a doctor for, or have been treated for, is considered a pre-existing condition. Of course, each company has a different definition of what a pre-existing condition is. The period of time you’ve had the condition before beginning the policy also varies, but 6 months prior to the policy start date is standard. Some policies also require a waiting period for a pre-existing condition before they will cover your care, typically 12 months after joining or upgrading to the policy. Some health problems are excluded in certain instances, such as in travel insurance, so you’ll want to read the fine print in your particular policy. For example, if you have asthma but haven’t had an attack for a year prior to the policy date, you don’t have to worry about it being considered a pre-existing condition. In some cases, diabetes may not be considered a problem either, as long as blood sugar levels are low and no drug treatment is needed. In any case, most insura
