Question concerning pre-existing (on-going)condition

[worry wart]

Is there anyone who can answer a question for me concerning pre-existing conditions that are still on-going? My son has a seizure disorder and has had it all his life. He will never be controlled 100% even with medicine and can have seizures at any given time. He is on medication and sometimes makes changes in meds just to try a new medicine that comes out on the market. He recently added a new one to try so if I was to book a cruise within the next month would he be able to be covered under pre-existing since he made a medicine change recently and still has seizures? I don't know if I am understanding the policy guidelines correctly so if anyone else has an ongoing condition and have been able to get insurance to cover them I'd be interested to know.

[cruiseco]

Is there anyone who can answer a question for me concerning pre-existing conditions that are still on-going? My son has a seizure disorder and has had it all his life. He will never be controlled 100% even with medicine and can have seizures at any given time. He is on medication and sometimes makes changes in meds just to try a new medicine that comes out on the market. He recently added a new one to try so if I was to book a cruise within the next month would he be able to be covered under pre-existing since he made a medicine change recently and still has seizures? I don't know if I am understanding the policy guidelines correctly so if anyone else has an ongoing condition and have been able to get insurance to cover them I'd be interested to know.

 

In a situation as unstable as your son's it's critical that you choose a plan that will cover pre-existing medical situations even if his treatment and/or meds are being constantly changed. Most will as long as you purchase the policy within a set time after making the first payment on the trip. This time frame can vary from 7 to 21 days depending on the plan.

 

Be sure to note that some of these plans have other requirements besides buying the policy in a certain time frame so be sure to read the FULL requirements on this. For example, this is from one Travelex policy:

 

"The Pre-Existing Conditions exclusion is waived for You if You enroll in the Plan at the time You pay the deposit required for the Covered Trip (or within twenty-one (21) days of the initial deposit) and You purchase the coverage under the Plan for the full cost of the Covered Trip."

 

So with this plan you have to buy it within 21 days of making the first payment on the trip PLUS you have to insure the full amount of any trip arrangements that are pre-paid, and non-refundable. If you have any questions about what needs to be insured and what doesn't be sure to call the insurer to find out for sure. You don't want a claim denied because you forgot to insure a one night post-cruise hotel reservation.

 

Also, there's one thing not stated in the above definition -- at the time you purchase the policy your son must be, in the opinion of his doctor, able to travel. As long as that not a problem and you do what's needed to get the waiver of the pre-ex exclusion you're good to go.

[worry wart]

Thank you so much for the information. That helped a lot and made things clearer. Also thanks for reminding me to be sure to include the full trip if necessary according to the policy. I guess that would include excursion expenses as well? We live in FL so don't have to worry about hotels, airline expenses. Still not sure how regular medical insurance works as far as covering out of country emergency medical expenses. Can't find anything in the exclusion section that says they don't but will have to call and see how it really works.

[cruiseco]

Thank you so much for the information. That helped a lot and made things clearer. Also thanks for reminding me to be sure to include the full trip if necessary according to the policy. I guess that would include excursion expenses as well? We live in FL so don't have to worry about hotels, airline expenses. Still not sure how regular medical insurance works as far as covering out of country emergency medical expenses. Can't find anything in the exclusion section that says they don't but will have to call and see how it really works.

 

re: insuring the cost of excursions.

 

First determine if the plan you're looking at requires you to insure all of your pre-paid, non-refundable trip arrangements in order to be eligible for the pre-existing medical condition waiver. Some do, some don't.

 

If they do require this, first find out if the excursion is refundable or not. If it is refundable if you have to cancel the trip then you don't have to insure that cost -- you won't be losing any money in the event of a cancellation so there's nothing to insure. Of course, if you're not paying for the excursion in advance they you don't have to worry about it anyway.

 

As far as how your regular medical insurance works for treatment received outside the country, they're all different so, yes, you'll have to call them to find out. During the cruise the ship's doctor will not accept any insurance for direct payment so be prepared to pay upfront then be reimbursed when you get home. As far as shore-side doctors/hospitals go they MAY directly bill your insurance company but usually not.