This Widespread Condition Can Skyrocket Your Travel Insurance Premium by Over 1,000%!

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Those with health Issues will be distressingly familiar when customers face additional charges. travel insurance —and new findings highlight just how significantly more.

According to data from GoCompare, customers who declare pre-existing medical concerns typically pay more than double for annual holiday cover , averaging the premium from £40 to £90.

However, in the latest Which? study , specific conditions caused an increase in the price of a single trip policy up to 1,159% more

To look into the matter, the consumer advocate obtained insurance quotations from 12 prominent providers for three individuals: a 67-year-old with type 2 diabetes. diabetes , a 40-year-old with epilepsy , and someone who is 41 years 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.

For the traveler suffering from bipolar disorder and a personality disorder, five major insurance providers denied coverage, resulting in only seven feasible policy options remaining.

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.

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 traveler who has diabetes observed minimal fluctuations, with rates increasing an average of 6%, going up from £129 to £136. Nonetheless, Which? discovered considerable discrepancies among the various quotations provided. It turned out to be more economical for this individual to opt for mainstream insurance providers rather than specialized medical ones.

When the watchdog spoke with insurance experts from medical screening companies Protectif and Verisk, none highlighted specific conditions as unusually difficult to insure. However, they pointed out that the consistency of a condition—whether it remains stable over time following diagnosis or through continuous treatment—is frequently crucial.

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In February, a Which? poll involving 9,000 British individuals revealed that 82% of respondents with disclosed health conditions felt these had influenced the price of their premiums. Additionally, 25% reported that such impacts were significant. One participant mentioned finding 'affordable premiums' to be challenging, whereas another expressed that securing reasonable coverage was nearly unattainable.

Sam Richardson, the Deputy Editor at Which? Money, remarks: ' Travel insurance is crucial. When heading off on vacation, securing the ideal insurance policy at a reasonable cost can be tricky—particularly if you have an existing health issue.

‘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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