We are supportive of all types of conditions and do not make any distinction between physical and mental conditions. We cover mental health conditions, unless your condition is considered a pre-existing medical condition.
Please see the definition of pre-existing medical condition in the Policy Wording to see what needs to be disclosed.
We might not able to cover you at all, but we will tell you this after you have disclosed your pre-existing medical condition and we have made an assessment.
The process is simple and quick. You don’t need to call us (though you can if you wish) and you don’t need to provide doctor’s certificates or other documents. All you need to do is fill out a simple questionnaire when you’re purchasing a policy online.
You’ll be asked about your pre-existing medical conditions during your online purchase and if you select ‘yes”, you’ll fill out the questionnaire. This is where we’ll ask you everything we need to know about your mental health condition.
Once you’ve filled out this questionnaire, you’ll immediately find out your travel insurance options.
What is a mental health condition/illness?
About one in five Australians experience symptoms of a mental illness every year. Mental illness includes a range of conditions including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic disorders, stress, prenatal depression and PTSD.
Here’s a few common mental health conditions:
Travelling means being away from your routine, so you should make sure you’ve taken all the necessary steps to keep yourself safe and healthy on your trip. Please note, the below is general advice only is not intended to replace the advice or information from a registered body or your doctor.
We’re supportive of mental health, and offer cover for a different range of conditions. What we do is assess your individual circumstances when you disclose your condition.
Depression and anxiety are very common conditions. That’s why we assess your individual circumstances when you disclose your condition.
PTSD is difficult to go through and is a highly individual condition. We’re here to support your travel, and we may be able to offer cover once we know the full details of your condition.
Pre and post-natal depression affect a wide range of women. After you give birth, you may need to travel to be close to loved ones or for other reasons. When you let us know about your individual circumstances so we can make an accurate assessment about your insurance options.
See here for more information about pregnancy and travel insurance.
If you are prone to panic attacks, you might need to speak to your doctor before you leave to figure out a strategy for this situation.
If you are overseas and your panic attack is severe, you or someone you’re travelling with might need to call our medical assistance team for advice.
If we are unable to provide cover for your mental health condition, you could still obtain a policy that covers other events that aren’t related to your condition, including medical cover for other unforeseen injuries or illnesses, cancellation fees, lost deposits, lost luggage, theft, and more.
If you’re travelling with someone and they’re named on the policy, you will need to make sure that, where necessary, their medical conditions are declared. As a parent or guardian you can do this on your child's behalf. For adult travel companions, you’ll need to declare their condition if you have their permission to do so and are aware of their health and medical conditions. If you don’t have permission, they will need to do it themselves.
We are unable to provide cover for mental health conditions automatically, but we provide you with an instant outcome once you have complete your assessment either online or over the phone.
A mental condition could come within the definition of a pre-existing medical condition for a number of reasons including but not limited to chronic or ongoing conditions, or if there are ongoing implications. It could also be something that you take regular medication for (or not). Please see the Policy Wording for the full definition to determine whether your mental condition is pre-existing and needs to be disclosed to us.
Travel insurance provides cover for a wide range of benefits. Although in some cases we may not be able to provide cover for your condition we may still offer cover things like unforeseen injury or illness (not related to your mental health), personal effects, cancellation fees & lost deposits, and family emergency.
If you don’t take out travel insurance you will be liable to pay all expenses that you incur if something happens while you’re away.
If you’re sick or injured, we advise that you or a member of your travelling party call our medical assistance team as soon as possible. Our medical team will liaise with the treating hospital, and if you are covered, may provide written guarantees of payment for reasonable expenses (subject to your claim being approved). If you are covered and approved for medical evacuation, they will arrange this, if it’s deemed necessary.
For minor ailments, such as those that only require a GP visit, you may choose to visit a doctor, pay for your visit upfront, and then submit your claim either from overseas or once you return home. Make sure that you keep all receipts and reports from your treating doctor, including the diagnosis and treatment notes and any other documents.
If your total cost of treatment will exceed $1,000 you MUST contact our medical assistance team as soon as possible. If you are still uncertain about what to do in relation to an injury or illness, please contact our medical assistance team for further advice.
Cover for mental health conditions on a Frequent Traveller policy works in the same way as single trip policies. You will need to complete a medical assessment to determine if we can offer the cover for your mental health condition when you apply for a quote.
If you’re diagnosed with a mental health condition part way through your Frequent Traveller policy, we ask that you contact us to tell us about your condition as soon as you become aware
If you have other pre-existing medical conditions that are not on our automatically covered list or they do not meet auto-criteria you will need to disclose them by completing a medical assessment.
If you forgot to disclose your condition and your policy has not started we may be able to add it. You can call our Customer Care Team to carry out an assessment for your condition.
Please be aware that depending on the outcome of the assessment you may need to pay an additional premium. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to cover your condition even after you have declared it on an existing policy.
All terms, conditions and limitations will apply in the same way as if you had disclosed the condition when you purchased the policy.
You may have a provision to claim for travel events related to the first episodes of a mental health condition, if it is not a pre-existing medical condition. Additionally, you would have had to have been deemed fit to travel by your doctor.
After these initial episodes, however, the condition becomes a pre-existing medical condition for all future policies with us.
A pre-existing medical condition is something that must be disclosed when you’re purchasing travel insurance. Find out what they are and how they affect your travel insurance.
You or someone you’re travelling with is going to have a baby…so you’ll need to find out how travel insurance works for pregnant women.
Repatriation is the process of returning a person home after a medical emergency or at worst case death. Being covered for repatriation is important so read the ins and outs.
It’s important that you have all the right vaccinations before you travel. From malaria to meningococcal, find out what you need to know about vaccinations and travel insurance.
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