How Long Is The Travel Insurance Pre-Existing Medical Condition Lookback Period & How Does It Work?

Both the Travel Guard series and the Travel Insured Lite series trip cancellation / trip interruption plans’ Pre-Existing Condition Lookback Period is a period of 60 – 180 days prior to the travel insurance policy’s effective date

What date is a travel insurance policy’s effective date? And why does it matter?

If you insure at least a $1 trip cost, all our plans’ effective dates will be 12:01 am of the day after your purchase date. However, & this is really important: a $0 trip cost makes the policy effective date the later of 12:01 am of your departure date or 12:01 am of the day after your purchase date.

What can occur during the Lookback Period to cause a condition to be defined as a Pre-Existing Condition?
If the person with the condition has any symptoms, appointment or visit or consultation with a medical professional, test, diagnosis, medication adjustment or change, then a pre-existing condition exists.

Why does it matter if any medical condition is defined as a pre-existing medical condition?
It matters because all travel insurance plans exclude coverage for pre-existing medical conditions.

If the condition is defined as a pre-existing medical condition and you don’t waive the pre-existing medical condition exclusion, then you will have no coverage for trip cancellation, trip interruption nor any medical treatment for that medical condition.

This brings you back to the Lookback Period:

The Lookback Period defines whether or not a pre-existing medical condition exists. The Lookback Period doesn’t affect you when there aren’t any pre-existing medical conditions.

The Lookback Period is important to you if:

• Today is more than 14 days after the date you made your initial trip deposit for the Travel Guard Silver plans or 15 days for the TripAssure Asset plan and
• You, a family member or a traveling companion has a pre-existing medical condition and
• You’re concerned the pre-existing medical condition may cancel / interrupt your trip or cause you to seek treatment while you’re on your trip.

Let’s say you have high cholesterol. You’re fine now. Your condition is completely controlled with no diagnosis, care, consultations with any medical professional, treatments nor any changes in medication in the past up to 180 days. Therefore if you get travel insurance, your condition will not be defined as a pre-existing medical condition.

No matter when you get a travel, trip or cruise insurance plan, a medical condition may be a valid reason for trip cancellation or interruption. The person with the pre-existing medical condition has to be medically stable when you get your insurance. Medically Stable means that in the 60 or 180 days (depending on the provider) prior to the day you buy travel insurance, there can’t have been any medical condition which:

1. Manifested itself, became acute or exhibited symptoms which would have caused one to seek diagnosis, care or treatment;
2. Required the taking of prescribed drugs or medicine, unless the condition for which the prescribed drug or medicine is taken remains controlled without any change in the required prescription; or
3. Required medical treatment or treatment was recommended by a legally qualified physician.

If 1, 2 or 3 apply and you’re past the first 14 days after you made your initial trip deposit (just for the Travel Guard Silver plan), you won’t have any coverage for claims from that pre-existing medical condition.

Here Are The Lookback Periods:

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