Existing Medical Conditions
Medical Travel Insurance
If you’re planning an overseas vacation you might want to seriously consider taking out a travel insurance policy. All international travel insurance policies offer medical and medical evacuation when critically ill or injured.
There are over 40 medical conditions for which nib provide free coverage. If you check the EMC list and see that your medical condition isn’t listed under the ‘Automatically Covered for Free’ section, or if you see that your condition is listed under the ‘High-Risk’ section; you’ll can apply for an online ‘Medical Screening’ when you find a quote. This way you’ll be able to fill the details out of your existing medical condition on the nib website, depending on the medical condition this can be instant.
There are only a few countries with reciprocal health agreements with Australia. If you’re travelling overseas to a foreign country without travel insurance, or if you have a existing medical condition that you’ve not mentioned to your insurer, you could find yourself in financial difficulty if you need medical assistance. If the existing medical condition you have becomes exacerbated during your trip and you haven’t applied for specific cover for it, you might find yourself out of pocket and claim being declined. That’s why its best to be transparent about any existing medical conditions you have that aren’t ‘Automatically Covered for Free’. The only policies that you can apply for a medical screening are the Comprehensive, Australia Travel and the Annual Multi Trip Worldwide.
Get wise and receive better medical care through your travel insurance provider. If you have a car accident while travelling, you will more than likely require medical attention. Not all countries follow the same system, so you might be directed to a free hospital or clinic if you don’t have sufficient funds. These places are infamous for doing poor work. While there are some countries with reciprocal health care, many travellers believe the Australian Government will pick up the bill which isn’t the case. There are only a few countries with reciprocal health agreements with Australia! In this case, your medical travel insurance covers medical and hospitalisation for certain aspects but may still not cover medical evacuation such ambulances or being flown home in a medical escort plane.
Choose your own trip length. You can buy travel insurance to cover a particular period, or the whole trip.
- If you purchase a policy after departing Australia there is 72 hour waiting period of all claims.
Medical evacuation
There are situations where local hospitals are not outfitted to deal with certain serious medical conditions. This could be anything, from not having a surgeon with the right skill-set on hand to missing a particular anti-venom. If this is the situation, the hospital may need to transport you to a more readily equipped location. This doesn’t necessarily mean having to go back to Australia, it could just mean moving from a rural area to a city. Whatever the cause or situation, this kind of transportation can be costly and is another reason to apply for medical travel insurance coverage.
nib may pay expenses which nib believe are reasonable and necessary to bring you back to your home in Australia, or to another destination of our choice.
The decision to evacuate or repatriate you is nib's and nib will not pay for any evacuation or repatriation expenses unless it is medically justified and you have received nib's consent.
Extras
Are you suffering from an Existing Medical Condition and uncertain whether you will be eligible for medical cover when travelling?
nib offers automatic coverage for over 40 medical conditions. nib defines an existing medical condition within 12 months prior to buying the policy where it fits the criteria, or anything ongoing/chronic/terminal (see high-risk conditions below). If it doesn’t fit that definition, nib don’t consider it to be an existing medical condition. If it fits that definition, nib would then look at the auto-covered list and criteria to confirm whether it’s auto-covered, if not you apply for cover for that condition if you want.
To view medical conditions which are automatically covered for free, and High-Risk Medical conditions click on the below link:
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nib defines an existing medical condition within 12 months prior to buying the policy where it fits the criteria, or anything ongoing/chronic/terminal (see high-risk conditions below). If it doesn’t fit that definition, nib don’t consider it to be an existing medical condition. If it fits that definition, nib would then look at the auto-covered list and criteria to confirm whether it’s auto-covered, if not you apply for cover for that condition if you want.
If your Existing Medical condition falls under the category of a High-Risk Medical Condition listed on the EMC page then you can choose to disclose this condition and the details of your health to nib to have the medical condition covered in the event you are hospitalised, or your trip is affected due to repercussions of your condition whilst travelling. If you don't wish to get cover for the specific condition this will not void your policy, you just won't have cover for that specific condition or anything relating to it. Anything other medical condition that isn't associated with a preexisting medical condition would be covered.
If your High-Risk Medical condition is not disclosed, then you will not be eligible for coverage related to that specific medical condition. If you are uncertain of whether you should disclose your condition or not, follow the link provided above to the EMC page or call us for further information.
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Lodge a Existing Medical Conditions
If you have a existing medical condition; please click the ‘Medical’ button in the Features and More Information in the quoting panel for instruction to complete the EMC process.
Cover is subject to the policy terms, conditions and limits set out in the Product Disclosure Statement. Always read the Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision about any travel insurance policy.
Contact Travel Insurance Saver
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