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Specific Travel Insurance Question

This forum is such a wealth of information that I thought someone might have experience or advice...To give a bit of background in a nutshell- I’m a very experienced traveler to Europe, I lived in Italy for several years and as a schoolteacher, I’m lucky enough to spend almost every summer in Europe as well as traveling there additionally once or twice a year (generally England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and this coming summer, hopefully Spain and Greece). I suffer from an anxiety disorder for which I take medication. This has never interfered with my travel in the past. However, due to a change in medication resulting in severe anxiety attacks, I had to return home from a 21 day tour of the British Isles last July after five days. I always purchase travel insurance but as I later realized, the stipulation was that the policy would only cover a mental health condition if I would’ve seen a doctor in the UK. At that point, I was in such a bad state that I needed to get home immediately. I did see a doctor the day of my return to New York and consulted with an attorney to see if there was a loophole of any kind, but unfortunately, with the cost of the emergency flight back, and the portion of the tour and the optional excursions, and nonrefundable hotel bookings, and additional flight and plane tickets to spend a few weeks in Italy after the tour, I was out about $7000. I don’t anticipate this happening again now that my medication has been regulated, but I have to confess to being a bit nervous. Does anyone know if there is any travel insurance that covers mental health conditions? For travel in English speaking countries, I know now should something like this come up again that I should seek emergency care there, but I would not feel comfortable doing so where there is a language barrier after having bad experiences with the medical system while living in Italy.. I would much rather hop a plane immediately and come home for treatment, which is why I am wondering about possible insurance coverages. Any ideas would be most helpful!

Posted by
11031 posts

Yours seems to be a situation where contacting a broker who deals with travel insurance would be the best way to get useful answers to your questions/concerns.

As you state you have a very specific, and technical, issue that needs expert professional help.

Posted by
16027 posts

This will likely be considered a “pre-existing condition” so you will want to be sure you comply with the requirements for coverage there. I agree with the above that it is best to consult an insurance provider with these questions. InsureMyTrip may be able to advise you if you call; I have read good reports of their customer service.

Posted by
2699 posts

I agree with seeking expert help. But, having read many policies in details, I can tell you that as far as I know your wanting to hop a plane to come home due to your illness rather than seeking care where you are would likely be a non-starter for an insurance claim. If you sought care and the provider said you needed to be repatriated home, that is another story. Assuming you were to get a policy that covered pre existing conditions and you needed urgent care you’d likely need to seek it where you are. That is where the insurance coverage would begin.

Posted by
13808 posts

Oh my word Kristen, what a time you had. I have no advice but just wanted to send you kind thoughts. I am glad your meds are better regulated now and that you are planning travel.

Well, I guess I have unsolicited advice! In your shoes, I might consider a short trial trip to somewhere close-ish (thinking Eastern US or Eastern Canada) to see how things play out and to help you get your confidence back.

Posted by
521 posts

Thanks for all the advice- sounds very reasonable.
Pam, thank you so much for your kind words. Actually, on the advice of my therapist, I ended up visiting London again at the end of the summer with my mom. The therapist felt like I needed to get right back on the horse, so to speak. She was right. By that time my medication had been adjusted and I had my mom for moral support and things went fine. Hopefully that will be the case from now on, but now I’m a bit timid and would feel better if there were some type of coverage just in case! 🙄

Posted by
14806 posts

I have had travel insurance with both Travel Guard and Allianz. Both answered questions I had prior to purchasing. They also spell out what is and isn't covered.

If they cover mental health issues, it sounds like yours would be a "Pre-existing condition." They have strict rules about covering these regarding when you purchase the trip and the insurance. It's almost best to get the insurance first and then book your trip. But talk to them or look over their websites.

By not seeing a doctor in Europe, how would the insurance company know you really had a problem or just wanted to come home early. They don't "just take your word for it."

Posted by
1394 posts

All of the advice above is pretty thoughtful, also, sadly the travel insurance model is also built on many claims being denied

Posted by
5697 posts

As a backup, could you arrange with your doctor to have a long-distance telephone conversation in case your anxiety kicks up again during travel?

Posted by
23177 posts

You probably need a "cancel for any reason" policy and those are rare and expensive. Even with a cancel for any reason requires carefully checking of fine print to make sure that a couple of reason are not excluded. This could be a hard nut to fill. The other thing is that you should consider booking refundable hotels and tickets. I know they are more expensive but look at it as buying insurance.

Posted by
3985 posts

When you are considering policies, you need to READ the details of the coverage with a fine toothed comb to make sure you are covered specifically for your situation. Even if you use a broker, that is no guarantee. It is on you to see such verification in writing as the insurance companies will do all they can NOT to pay up.

Best of luck to you!

Posted by
16027 posts

I don't think "cancel for any reason" will work once the trip has started, but youncan confirm that with the insurance broker,

If the broker cannot come up with a reasonably-priced policy, you might consider booking the trip in such a way as to reduce the financial impact of a mid-trip change of plans. You could book the flights as two one-way trips, using one of the carriers that offer one-way pricing at no extra cost. ( Condor, Norwegian, and Iceland Air all do this). Book the outbound as a regular ticket, and the return as a "fully flexible" ticket. It will cost extra, but not as much as canceling and re-booking a flight at the last minute.

Then book you lodging as far as possible with places that have a liberal cancellation policy.