Those with health issues will be all too familiar with being charged extra for travel insurance — and new research reveals just how much extra.
According to data from GoCompare, customers who declare pre-existing medical concerns typically pay more than double for annual holiday cover, taking the average premium from £40 to £90.
However, in the latest Which? study, certain conditions increased the price of a single trip policy by as much as 1,159%.
To investigate the issue, the consumer champion sought insurance quotes from 12 well-known providers for three real people: a 67-year-old with type 2 diabetes, a 40-year-old with epilepsy, and a 41-year-old with bipolar and personality disorder, who’d had an unplanned hospital admission during the last five years.
In each case, Which? selected the cheapest European annual policy available with £5m medical cover, £2,000 cancellation cover, and £1,500 cover for baggage with gadget protection, comparing prices before and after their health conditions were declared.
In the case of the traveller with bipolar and personality disorder, five mainstream insurers actually refused cover, leaving just seven viable policies.
In the most extreme example, premiums with one insurer jumped by an eye-watering 1,159% after declaring their conditions, from £38.48 to £484.52. But across the board, the price rises remain pretty shocking: 715% on average, up from £58 to £426.
There is a small silver lining though. Even after declaring bipolar and personality disorder, there was a massive £531 difference between the most and least expensive policies, showing there’s still savings to be made by shopping around. And given the cheapest option (£184) came from a specialist insurer, it’s worth going beyond the comparison sites if you have more complex medical conditions.
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After the second case study’s epilepsy was declared, their premiums were hiked by an average of 23%, from £67 to £77. Quotes ranged from just £52 at the lowest end, up to more than double that, at £110.
The traveller with diabetes saw the smallest changes, with quotes rising 6% on average – from £129 to £136. However, Which? found there were significant variations in the quotes offered, and it was cheaper for them to go with mainstream insurers over medical specialists.
When the watchdog spoke to insurance specialists at medical screening firms Protectif and Verisk, neither identified particular conditions as being particularly ‘tricky’ to insure, but they did note that the stability of a condition (from time after diagnosis to ongoing treatment) is often key.
Back in February, a Which? survey of 9,000 Brits found 82% of those who’d declared a medical condition felt this had affected the cost of their premium while 25% believed it had had a major impact. Alongside one respondent who said that ‘reasonable premiums are difficult to find’, another claimed obtaining affordable insurance was ‘almost impossible’.
Sam Richardson, Deputy Editor of Which? Money, comments: ‘Travel insurance is an essential when going on holiday, but finding the best policy at the right price isn’t always straightforward – especially if you have a pre-existing condition.
‘Our research found significant disparities in price depending on the insurer, so it’s vital that consumers shop around and compare as many policies as possible before making a decision. While comparison sites are a great starting point, these won’t always include specialist providers – so it’s essential to obtain these quotes separately before making a purchase.
‘Though it may be tempting to omit a condition in order to get the price down, it’s never worth the risk. Failing to declare something in advance could see your policy invalidated and in the worst cases, leave you with a bill in the thousands of pounds.’
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