In many cases, a pre-existing heart condition won’t stop you from wanting to travel and experience different cultures, activities, foods and landscapes.
While your heart condition might not factor too much into your travel plans (besides ensuring any medication you need is organised and packed, and you avoid activities your doctor has advised you to avoid) it can be important when it comes to whether or not you can be covered for a heart condition under your travel insurance policy.
Any heart condition, even those you may think are 'fixed' by a pacemaker or that are 'under control' with regular prescription medication, are still likely to be considered a pre-existing medical condition by your travel insurer.
However, this doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn’t purchase travel insurance, or that travel insurance won’t provide you with cover?
If you’re looking for travel insurance to protect you while you’re travelling but have a heart condition, you probably have a lot of questions.
Below we address some of the most frequently asked questions by travellers with heart problems, so that finding and understanding travel insurance is simple!
What do travel insurers consider a heart condition?
If you exhibit the symptoms of a heart condition, or have been diagnosed or treated for a heart condition at any time in your life, a travel insurer may consider you as having a ‘pre-existing medical condition’.
However, it really depends on the travel insurer.
When considering a travel insurer for your trip, you should always read their PDS to find out what they can and can’t cover, and whether or not they can provide cover for travellers with heart conditions.
Common heart conditions include:
- Coronary heart disease – the build-up of plaque inside the arteries.
- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg.
- Atrial fibrillation – a type of arrhythmia, where the heart does not beat in a regular rhythm.
- Cardiomyopathy – where the heart muscle becomes inflamed and enlarged.
- Angina – chest pain caused by lack of blood flow and oxygen to the heart.
- Prior operations – including valve replacement, stent procedures, and any other heart surgery.
Some important points to consider when travelling with a heart condition
The below is general advice only and is not intended to replace the advice from a medical practitioner or health care professional.
It’s important to be aware of your health and safety when travelling, especially if you have a pre-existing heart condition.
Before you travel, you may wish to consider some of the following:
The effects of high altitude
Travelling to countries at high altitude can result in heart complications. Lower oxygen levels can lead to breathlessness and an angina attack, for example.
Plane travel complications
Most popular travel destinations are a long flight away from Australia! Before you fly, visit your doctor to ensure you’re fit to travel by air. Some travellers with heart conditions are at higher risk of suffering from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) so research the exercises that can help prevent DVT in advance.
Bring extra medication and heart monitoring equipment
See your doctor before you travel to get advice about your prescription medications and going through airport security. They may advise you to inform a security guard if you have a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), so that you can opt for a pat-down or to be searched with a hand-held detector.
Also, be sure to pack information about your condition and enough medication for your trip, including an extra week or two just in case you are delayed in returning home.
Planning ahead is key
Consider your trip and the activities you want to do during your holiday. It’s important to be sure you don’t overexert yourself or engage in activities your doctor has advised against, or deviate from any diet you’re on to care for your heart health.
And remember to disclose any heart conditions when buying travel insurance, just in case!
Will travel insurers cover me if I have a heart condition?
Generally, you’ll find travel insurance companies will fall into one of three main categories when it comes to overseas medical cover for pre-existing heart problems:
1) Cover for pre-existing heart conditions.
Some travel insurers may offer cover for pre-existing heart conditions. If your heart condition is not automatically covered by your travel insurer, you may be able to add cover for your heart condition by completing a medical screening. If your travel insurer approves cover for your heart condition, you may need to pay an additional premium for your heart condition to be listed on your certificate of insurance as a covered condition.
2) No cover for your heart condition, but other overseas medical emergencies are still covered.
If you look at the insurer’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), they may not include cover for heart conditions at all, even at the cost of an additional premium. However, this may not exclude you from medical cover completely. You may still be offered cover for emergencies unrelated to your heart condition such as breaking a bone in a bad fall or traffic accident, getting a severe stomach bug, or picking up an unexpected illness.
3) Your heart condition may exclude you from overseas medical cover altogether.
In some cases, a travel insurer may not provide you with ANY medical cover because of a pre-existing heart condition, even if you have had corrective surgery or that heart condition is being managed by medication. One common example is if you are taking Warfarin or a similar blood-thinning medication after a heart surgery. Some travel insurers will not provide you with medical cover due to the perceived risk.
To find out if your travel insurer will provide you with overseas medical cover, you should read their PDS, which will outline the pre-existing medical conditions that can be covered either automatically or by paying an extra premium, the steps that you need to take to see whether your condition can be covered under your policy, and which medical conditions are excluded.
You can never predict what will happen when you travel, so it’s important to review the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) carefully to make sure you have the cover you require for your travels is in place for any unexpected complications or emergencies overseas.
Do I have to do a medical assessment every time?
Whenever you take out a travel insurance policy, you have a duty of disclosure to respond to any questions that the travel insurer asks honestly, accurately and completely, about your existing medical conditions, so you will most likely need to complete a new medical assessment with updated accurate and complete medical information each time you purchase a policy.
Every travel insurer is different, so contact your travel insurer or read their PDS to see what they need for you to do to include cover for your heart condition under the policy.
How much cover can I expect to get for a heart condition?
The level of cover you receive can vary between insurers. Overseas medical cover for heart conditions may be unlimited, or capped to a certain amount depending on the condition or other factors such as age.
Be sure to read the insurers Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to find out the amount of cover you’ll receive for a heart-related medical emergency.
What happens if I don’t declare a heart condition to my travel insurer?
If your pre-existing medical condition isn't automatically covered and you don’t declare it if the travel insurer requires you to, it is unlikely that you'll be covered for any claims arising from or related to that condition.
Some travel insurers may require you to declare any new medical conditions, or any changes to your existing medical conditions that occur after you purchase your policy and up until your trip departure date.
It won’t matter how ‘unexpected’ having a problem related to the pre-existing medical condition may seem when you purchase the policy.
Any pre-existing medical condition is an added risk taken on by the insurer, so if you haven’t declared a heart condition, the insurer may decide to refuse to provide financial cover if you need to see a doctor, go to hospital or be medically evacuated from your holiday destination due to a heart problem.
Overseas treatment and hospitalisation in any country can result in your holiday costing hundreds or thousands of dollars more than expected.
If you’re in a country such as the United States or Japan, healthcare can be extremely expensive. You don’t want to be slapped with a huge medical bill when you could have had a travel insurance in place to cover you, so it’s important to research your policy options before making a purchase, and declare any pre-existing medical conditions that you are required to declare in accordance with the travel insurance policy requirements.
What if I had a heart attack, heart valve replacement or stroke before, but I’ve recovered?
If you’ve had a heart attack or other complication with your heart before, you should still declare it to your travel insurer. It’s important to make sure you’ll have cover in place in case you experience any complications or if your pre-existing medical condition re-emerges while overseas.
Different travel insurers have different time periods for pre-existing medical conditions. Some require you to disclose medical conditions that you’ve had for 5 years up until your policy purchase date, while others may require you to disclose any medical condition you’ve had even longer.
At Fast Cover, travellers are required to declare medical conditions that they have had within the 3 years prior to their policy purchase date, and for any changes in health, including new medical conditions, from the date of policy purchase up until the date of departure.
If you’ve had a heart attack or other complication with your heart, on blood thinning medication following a stroke or heart attack, or had a valve replacement within the time period as set by your travel insurer you may need to declare it to your travel insurer in accordance with their policy requirements, even if you’ve recovered, or your condition is under control. It’s important to know if you will have some protection, just in case you experience any complications or if your pre-existing medical condition re-emerges while overseas.
How do you declare a pre-existing heart condition?
Travel insurers offer different methods for disclosing pre-existing medical conditions. They may require you to complete an online medical screening or over the phone.
Once you’ve completed the medical screening, your insurer will let you know if you can be covered by one of their policies, as well as how much this might cost.
You should also be made aware of any exclusions that apply to your policy and your level of excess which is the amount you’ll have to pay first before the insurance provides financial assistance.
Fast Cover offers medical screening for your existing medical conditions. Check out their Medical Conditions page for more information about medical screening for your medical conditions including definitions of what Fast Cover considers to be a medical condition that needs to be declared, as well as General Exclusions that may apply.
If I’m a senior, will travel insurance for heart conditions cost more?
The cost of travel insurance usually goes up the older you get. This is generally because senior travellers are at higher risk of becoming sick or injured.
Seniors may also have more pre-existing conditions than younger travellers which means purchasing travel insurance which provides cover for a pre-existing heart condition is likely to be more expensive for a senior.
When you purchase travel insurance for senior travellers, be sure to check if there are any age restrictions for particular activities such as skiing or snow sports, and if there’s an age restriction on the cover for your pre-existing medical conditions.
What sort of questions are in a medical assessment for a heart condition?
The type of questions asked will vary between travel insurers, and may include:
- What is the medical term of your heart condition?
- What treatment or prescription medications are you currently taking?
- Have you had any recent changes to your treatment or medication?
- When did you last see a medical practitioner?
- Have you undergone treatment in hospital?
- Are you waiting to have your condition or treatment reviewed?
These questions will allow the travel insurer to assess your existing medical condition, decide whether to offer cover for your existing medical condition or decline cover, and calculate the additional premium that you may have to pay for your heart condition to be covered.
All pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lung or chest infections can also affect your heart health and are important to disclose as well.
So, whether you have angina, are taking any prescription medications (including aspirin) following a heart attack or stroke, have had a heart valve replaced or any other heart condition, always remember to declare it to your travel insurer if they require you to do so in accordance with policy requirements..
Always remember to read through the insurer’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) carefully. This will mean you know what you are and aren’t covered for before purchasing a policy.
Please note any advice is general advice only and does not take into account the customer’s individual needs, objectives or financial situation. Please consider the PDS prior to purchasing a policy to decide whether this product is right for you. Policies are subject to eligibility criteria, terms, conditions, exclusions, sub-limits and limits.
