Pre-existing Medical Conditions

When you’re travelling, all you should have on your mind is embarking on exciting adventures. You should not have to worry about if your pre-existing medical condition is covered under your policy. Fortunately, World2Cover automatically covers a wide range of pre-existing medical conditions. Making sure you’re covered for your pre-existing medical condition can be a priority for you, so we’ve made it one of our priorities as well.

What is considered a pre-existing medical condition?

A pre-existing medical condition is:

1. Any physical condition, illness, disease, or complication, reasonably known to you, for which treatment, medication, surgery or advice (including investigation) has been received or prescribed by a medical practitioner, dental or health professional in the 12 months prior to Your purchase of this policy; and/or
2. Any chronic or ongoing (whether chronic or otherwise) medical or dental condition, illness or disease medically documented prior to your purchase of your policy; and/or
3. Any new physical condition, illness, mental illness disease or assessment that becomes reasonably known to you after your purchase of this policy and prior to your trip departure as shown as the Period of Insurance on your Certificate of Insurance; and/or
4. Any change to a current physical, condition, illness, mental illness, disease or assessment that becomes reasonably known to you after your purchase of the policy and prior to your trip departure as shown as the Period of Insurance on Your Certificate of Insurance; and/or
5. Any condition medically documented that involves/involved your heart, brain, circulatory system/blood vessels, your lung or respiratory conditions, and type of cancer, or any mental illness, reasonably know to you, for which treatment, medication, surgery or advice has been received or prescribed by a medical practitioner or health professional prior to your purchase of this policy and prior to your trip departure as shown as the period of insurance on your certificate of insurance.

Essentially, a pre-existing condition is any medical condition you have and know about before you go on your trip. Medical conditions are recognised as pre-existing if you had prior knowledge about the ailment. Coverage for pre-existing medical conditions applies to you, your travelling companion, a relative, or any other person named on your policy.

What is covered as a pre-existing medical condition?

Under World2Cover’s policy, some pre-existing medical conditions are automatically covered, a few cannot be covered, and others must be assessed.

We cover any pre-existing medical condition with no additional premium, provided they are not associated with any conditions you list as part of the pre-existing medical screening process and you have not been hospitalised (including day surgery or emergency department attendance) for that condition in the past 12 months.

Some of the pre-existing medical conditions we cover include allergies (limited to rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, eczema, food intolerance, and hay fever), cataracts, congenital blindness and deafness, diabetes*, glaucoma, hypertension*, migraines, and sleep apnoea. For a full list of covered conditions, please refer to our Product Disclosure Statement.

*Diabetes Mellitus (Type 1 and Type 2), Hypertension, Hypercholesterolaemia and Hyperlipidaemia are risk factors of cardiovascular disease. If you have a history of cardiovascular disease, and it is a pre-existing medical condition, cover for these conditions is also excluded.

Which pre-existing medical conditions are not covered?

Unfortunately, there are certain pre-existing conditions that we cannot cover under any circumstances. Take a look at the following list for more information on which conditions are not covered under any policy, please refer to our Product Disclosure Statement:

• travel booked or undertaken against the advice of any medical practitioner
• conditions (or related conditions) for which you are travelling to seek medical treatment or review
• conditions involving drug or alcohol dependency
• any condition or illness for which you are currently awaiting surgery, treatment, investigation or procedures
• any pre-existing medical condition of a relative, travelling companion, or any other person not listed on the Certificate of Insurance

Which pre-existing medical conditions need to be assessed?

While some conditions are automatically covered and some are not, there are times when pre-existing medical conditions must be assessed. If your pre-existing medical condition does not meet our automatically covered criteria, you will need to complete an online medical assessment.

Once your assessment is complete, if we agree to cover you for your conditions, you will be required to pay any additional premium. The additional premium requirement will be shown on your Certificate of Insurance. However, there is no cover available for any pre-existing medical conditions not declared. You must complete an online assessment if your condition is not automatically covered. The online assessment can be completed as part of our online travel insurance quote process.

Is pregnancy a pre-existing medical condition for travel insurance?

World2Cover provides limited cover for pregnancy. Cover is only provided for unexpected complications before the 26th week or childbirth before the 26th week that was accelerated by accidental injury. Single, non-complicated pregnancies are automatically covered. For other types of pregnancies, a medical assessment must be completed.

Additional Information

If you find the topic of pre-existing medical conditions to be confusing, please give us a call 02 9225 7599 for additional assistance. At World2Cover, we strive to be a reliable resource for you as you navigate the journey to your destination. Happy travelling!

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co Ltd (ABN 80 000 438 291 AFSL 246 548) is the issuer of World2Cover Travel Insurance. The 'World2Cover Travel Insurance - Combined Financial Services Guide and Product Disclosure Statement' (PDS) which includes the policy wording, is available here. Any financial advice set out above is general in nature only, and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, you should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regards to your objectives, financial situation and needs. You should consider the PDS in deciding whether to acquire, or to continue to hold the policies.