Travel insurance for arthritis.

Covering your arthritis with travel insurance

When you’ve got arthritis, it’s important that your holiday insurance covers this along with any other pre-existing health conditions you may have.

With our help, you can relax on holiday feeling protected, knowing that should the worst happens, we’ll always aim to put things right.

Why covering your arthritis with travel insurance matters

When Richard ⁽¹⁾ had to cancel a special celebration cruise, being insured with us meant he was covered for the cost of his holiday with our cancellation cover. Not surprisingly, he didn’t think he’d need our help again any time soon.

But a few months later he got in touch again to tell us about a new medical condition, just as he was about to book his rescheduled cruise.

He feared it might be too late to be covered.

Once again, Richard was in safe hands. We helped him update his policy at very short notice to include his new medical condition, and he was able to rebook his cruise just as he’d hoped.

Richard knows the value of making sure your travel insurance policy matches your health conditions. It means you can feel secure that if an unexpected problem arises, we’re on hand to help.

Is my arthritis covered by my Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC)?

If you’re planning a holiday to Europe, you’ll need to take a free GHIC (or an EHIC) as a condition of our travel insurance.

When the United Kingdom left the European Union, the GHIC replaced the EHIC as the means for accessing free or subsidised healthcare in selected European countries. Before you travel, make sure you check that your destination is covered by GHIC, just so you’re ready if you do need any emergency or necessary treatment for your arthritis during your trip.

Remember, your GHIC is not the same as having good health conditions travel insurance. For example, it won’t cover you if you need to cancel your holiday.

Your GHIC helps reduce your medical costs where subsidised healthcare is available. If you can use your GHIC and have to pay a subsidised fee for your treatment, we’ll remove the excess fee on medical emergency claims for you.

My family don’t have arthritis, but we’re travelling together. Should we all be on the same policy?

There’s a big benefit in buying your travel insurance together. Choosing a group travel insurance policy means you can travel secure in the knowledge that if you have to cancel your holiday due to one of you having a medical emergency – you’ll all be covered. That’s unlikely to be the case if you have all bought policies separately.

What types of questions will I be asked about my arthritis?

The questions will ask you about your arthritis will vary depending on the form of arthritis you have. The medical screening process is straightforward, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have. We’ll never rush you.

These are the sorts of questions we’ll ask you about your arthritis:

• What form of arthritis have you been diagnosed with?
• Have you had any of your joints replaced or resurfaced?
• Are you awaiting any joint replacement and/or resurfacing surgery?
• Has your joint replacement ever dislocated?
• How many unplanned hospital admissions have you had for this condition in the last 12 months?
• How many medicines do you take for this condition?
• Does this condition require you to use any mobility aids?

I’ve already bought cover for my arthritis – if my medical conditions change, should I update you?

Yes, we’ll need to add any new conditions to your policy, so it’s essential that you get in touch. Call our Customer Services team on 0800 888 6195 and they will be happy to help update your policy with your new health condition.

You will need to let us know about any new medical conditions or changes to your health before you travel on your policy. Forgetting to let us know of any changes to your health condition may affect the validity of your policy, should you need to claim further down the line.