Navigating travel insurance with a non-physical condition

Key takeaways

• Many UK travel insurers treat mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions as pre‑existing medical conditions, meaning they must be declared or policies and claims may be invalidated.

• Pre‑existing conditions aren’t limited to physical illnesses and can include undiagnosed conditions, past treatment, and prescribed medication, all of which insurers use to assess risk and suitability.

• Declaring conditions and medication properly, and checking destination rules, helps ensure you’re covered if something goes wrong while travelling.

UK travellers may not realise that many insurers treat mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions as pre‑existing medical conditions for the purposes of travel insurance.

This means they must declare these conditions when taking out travel insurance, or policies could be invalidated and claims rejected.

With around 15% of the UK population being neurodivergent,¹ customers should check their policies carefully to avoid being left without insurance support if something goes wrong abroad.

Alicia Hempsted
Insurance Expert

Honesty is the best policy

A lot of people don’t realise that pre-existing conditions extend beyond physical illnesses or injuries.

It’s important that everything is declared accurately when you purchase your insurance, as otherwise it may leave you out of pocket down the line. This includes situations where pre-existing conditions have not been fully disclosed, even unintentionally.

Insurers usually require you to disclose any conditions for which you have received treatment, medical advice, or undergone tests or assessments in the past two to five years, even if you have yet to receive a proper diagnosis.

That includes injuries, illnesses, neurodevelopmental diagnoses, and chronic conditions like diabetes or asthma. Although some serious conditions, like cancer or a stroke, always need to be disclosed, regardless of when you received your diagnosis.

When in doubt, speak to your insurer.

Why do insurers need to know about your condition?

While the need to declare physical health conditions may feel more obvious, people who have been diagnosed with a mental health or neurodevelopmental condition may face additional considerations when travelling.

These translate into risks that insurers need to factor when selling travel insurance to help them evaluate premium prices, claims, and exclusions.

If you don't tell your insurer about these conditions, they won't be able to perform an accurate risk assessment, which means they may reject claims on the grounds of non-disclosure, or your policy might be invalidated entirely.

Not telling your insurer about all of your diagnoses also means that they can't accurately consider whether the policy is suitable for you.

If it's not, in some cases, insurers can make adjustments to your policy for your specific needs. In other cases, you may not be able to get standard travel insurance cover and will need to go to a specialist provider.

On the other hand, disclosing all of your medical conditions - physical and non-physical - can help to ensure you're covered by your policy if you need to make a claim linked to your condition - whether you need emergency medical treatment, repatriation, or if you need to cancel plans altogether.

Bringing medication when travelling

For travellers with neurodivergent conditions, medication is another factor to consider when arranging travel insurance and preparing to go abroad.

Prescriptions linked to conditions such as ADHD can be subject to different rules depending on the destination, particularly for stimulant medications. It's important that what’s declared on your policy reflects what you’re travelling with.

Alicia Hempsted
Insurance Expert

Don't forget to declare your medications

Medication is often where people can run into issues without realising. Prescribed medications you're taking should always be declared when you take out your policy. That also includes weight-loss medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro and hormone replacement therapy.

While travel insurance typically covers lost or stolen prescriptions medications while you're travelling, it won't cover replacements if you don't declare them when you take out your policy.

Making sure you’re carrying it correctly and have the right documentation can also help avoid problems while travelling or if you need to make a claim.

What to check before you travel

To help avoid complications, consider these dos and don'ts

Do:

• Keep medications in their original boxes to reduce confusion at security. 

• Store medication in carry-on luggage.

• Check local rules and regulations at your destination before travelling.

• Ensure any relevant conditions and prescriptions are declared on your policy.

Do not:

• Transport medication for people besides yourself.

• Send medication ahead by post.

• Bring more than three months’ supply of medication, as longer courses may require specialist licenses. 

• Travel without appropriate documentation, such as a doctor’s note if required.

<sup>Sources
1. NHS Scotland</sup>