Asthma Travel Insurance

Asthma travel insurance

As common as asthma is in the UK, it’s not something you should forget to tell your travel insurer about.

If you have EVER received a diagnosis of asthma or any other type of respiratory condition, it’s wise to buy a policy that includes cover for pre-existing medical conditions to avoid any shocks should you need to make a claim.

Standard holiday insurance tends to exclude cover for asthma and without adequate cover, you run the risk of being out of pocket should you develop any respiratory related complications before or during your trip.

Is asthma a pre-existing medical condition?

Asthma is a pre-existing medical condition – as it’s a condition that exists prior to you taking out a travel insurance policy.

With Medical Travel Compared, you can compare travel insurance for asthma from a variety of different leading insurance providers.

Pre-existing medical conditions, like asthma, can be declared when you apply for quotes. If you have asthma, it’s always advised that you take out a specialist policy that can cover you for any costly medical expenses or any other form of healthcare that you might need to foot the bill for while abroad as a result of your condition. This is the most sensible way to ensure you’re protected.

The cost of travel insurance for pre-existing medical conditions is dictated by a combination of your current health status and the expensiveness of healthcare in the country you intend to visit. You can find out more information when you head over to our pre-existing medical conditions page.

Do I need to declare asthma on travel insurance?

If you suffer with asthma – you’ll need to declare it in order to ensure you get the right level of specialist cover from one of the many asthma travel insurance providers available when you get a quote.

Travel insurance for asthmatics is accessible once you have declared it during the Medical History stage of the quote application process. As well as general asthma, you can also declare mild asthma and cardiac asthma as pre-existing medical conditions.

Once you declare the type of asthma most relevant to your medical history, you’ll need to answer a few questions in order for us to determine the nature of your specific condition. This will help us to provide a variety of quotes for cover most suited to your individual needs.

You may be asked how old you were when you were first diagnosed with asthma, how many medicines you’re prescribed, how many hospital admissions you’ve had, whether you’ve ever had a diagnosis of COPD, and questions regarding smoking.

What does travel insurance for asthma cover?

If anything were to trigger an asthma attack whilst on holiday, or should your inhalers become lost or stolen – providing you have taken out an asthma travel insurance policy, you should be able to access a 24-hour emergency medical assistance line from abroad and claim for unplanned medical treatment and the cost of replacement medication.

Should you be deemed unfit to fly or travel due to breathing difficulties before your departure date, you will also be entitled to claim for holiday cancellation. Insurance provider terms and conditions will vary – so make sure you check the cover limits of the policy you intend to purchase.

Does asthma affect travel insurance?

Declaring the fact that you suffer with asthma will affect your travel insurance premium. Again, this varies from case to case. For instance, severe asthma is more likely to have an effect on your specialist asthma travel insurance premium than mild asthma.

The higher the risk of you potentially incurring medical expenses as a result of your specific condition, the higher your premium is likely to be. The purpose of the questions that you will be asked in order for us to form a portrait of your medical history, is to assess that risk factor.

However, pre-existing medical conditions like asthma, are not the only thing that affect your premium. Other factor like destination, can also impact your premium – especially if healthcare costs are particularly high in that country.

Travelling with asthma

Travelling abroad with asthma shouldn’t make you worry about not enjoying your holiday. However, in order to ensure your holiday runs as smoothly as possible – it’s highly advised that you sensibly plan your trip in a way that enables you to manage the symptoms of your asthma.

For example, travelling abroad usually means entering different climates. The weather conditions of a certain destination can offset asthma, especially if there is high pollen count, or poor air quality.

Asthma can also be brought on in cold climates for some people, too. Therefore, you might want to research what the weather is going to be like at your destination of choice before you book.

You also might want to look into acquiring an asthma attack card, which can help people understand when you’re experiencing an attack, if for whatever reason, you are unable to communicate this to someone.

Planning your activities is also beneficial. If you know you’re going to be doing physical activities that involve swimming frequently, or even winter sports – then it’s probably best to make sure that you have your asthma medication close to hand.

Always bring spare medication – and if you need to take your inhalers aboard an aircraft as hand luggage, then do so.

Travel insurance for children with asthma

It’s common for children, particularly under the age of five, who have asthmatic symptoms not to be given a confirmed diagnosis of asthma. This is because young children’s’ airways can become irritated easily by viruses, making it hard for doctors to confirm asthma.

This can cause difficulty for parents when applying for asthma travel insurance as undiagnosed conditions cannot be covered. However, there is a way around this. Check the exact medical term stated on your child’s medical records.

It often tends to be ‘viral induced wheeze’ also known as ‘RSV Bronchiolitis’ or ‘Respiratory Syncytial Viral Bronchiolitis’ – if this is the case, simply disclose the medical term to obtain cover.

Travelling with an Asthmatic Child

As with adults, asthmatic children shouldn’t enjoy their holidays any less if they suffer with the condition.

Again, with careful planning and consideration, your child’s asthma can be kept under control for the duration of your trip. You need to make sure that you look after their various prescriptions and medication – taking them everywhere you go.

Bear in mind that the air pressure/quality on board an aircraft might have the potential to offset your child’s asthma. Encouraging them to drink water to avoid drying of their airways is one way in which you can help. Ventolin inhalers tend to be below the 100ml limit required for hand luggage – so it’s also recommended to bring this type of medication on the plane with you.

Asthma travel insurance made easy – compare quotes right here!

Comparing travel insurance that covers asthma and respiratory conditions is easy with Medical Travel Compared. Use our in-built medical screening system to declare your medical conditions just one time.

You will be asked some relevant questions and the answers you provide allow us to assess your current health situation. We will then search our panel and list suitable asthma holiday insurance options in price order for you to review. Often, if asthma is mild and well controlled the insurers on our panel will not charge you any extra to cover it!

If you require information and advice about air travel and asthma triggers, you may find this article about ‘Travelling with Asthma’ produced by the NHS helpful, or you can visit Asthma UK.