Most travel health insurance providers will not cover pre-existing conditions, meaning any illness or injury you already had or received treatment for before your coverage started.
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Genki offers travel health insurance & international health insurance for digital nomads and long-term travelers. Sign up anytime from anywhere in less than 1 minute. Be covered and safe. We take care of the rest!
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This article explains travel health insurance and compares to other relevant insurance types.
🎯 At a glance
| ✈️ Travel health insurance | 🏥 National health insurance | 🌍 International health insurance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-existing conditions | Typically excluded | Usually covered for residents | Sometimes covered |
| How it's decided | Fixed exclusion, no individual assessment | Guaranteed by law for residents of that country | Medical questionnaire and individual underwriting |
| Possible outcomes | Always excluded regardless of condition | Covered as part of standard resident care | Full coverage, exclusion of specific conditions, a higher premium, or decline |
| Best for | Short trips with no ongoing conditions | Residents living in their home country | Long term international cover, willing to disclose full medical history |
⚙️ What is a pre-existing condition?
An illness, disease, or injury that existed before starting a health insurance plan is called a pre-existing condition. A pre-existing condition can be diabetes, COPD, cancer, depression, or sleep apnea are examples of pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions (mostly) share the characteristic of being chronic, or long-term, and require special medical care and treatment.
☔️ Who covers pre-existing conditions?
- Travel health insurance providers will most likely not cover your pre-existing condition. In the event you get, e.g., cancer during your current travel health insurance cover, once this current cover ends, the cancer is now a pre-existing condition for your re-subscription. But pre-existing conditions are most likely not covered by travel health insurance. Re-subscriptions are new contracts, as you can not extend your current contract.
- National health insurance providers offer residents of that specific country the cover of pre-existing conditions. They have to do so, by law, for example in the USA for US residents, or in Germany for German residents. However, when you travel internationally, these insurance policies will most likely not apply to your situation.
- International health insurance providers typically assess pre-existing conditions individually rather than automatically excluding them. Most require a medical questionnaire at signup covering your current health, past illnesses, and ongoing treatments. Based on your answers, you may be accepted with full coverage, accepted with specific exclusions, accepted at a higher premium, or declined altogether.
🚦 What might health insurance providers do?
When you have a pre-existing medical condition or a pre-existing medical history, for example, a chronic illness or a severe allergy, health insurance providers often do the following:
- Exclude cover for pre-existing conditions completely.
- Health insurance plans become more expensive depending on pre-existing conditions.
- Health insurance plans become completely unavailable if you have certain pre-existing conditions.
- Health insurance providers require a list of all pre-existing conditions upfront.
- Some may also include pre-conditions dating back many years.
- Providers add current medical conditions to your pre-existing conditions upon policy renewal.
Tip: Check your own medical history. If you have pre-existing medical conditions, find out with your health insurance provider or in your health insurance policy which ones are covered and how they are covered.
❓Frequently asked questions
Can I get travel insurance if I have a pre-existing condition?
Most travel health insurance excludes pre-existing conditions entirely.
Is a chronic condition like diabetes or asthma automatically excluded?
With most travel health insurance, yes. With international health insurance, it depends on your answers to the medical questionnaire.
What happens if I don't disclose a pre-existing condition?
Leaving out or misrepresenting a condition on a medical questionnaire can lead to a denied claim, a cancelled policy, or the insurer terminating the contract retroactively once the omission is discovered. Always answer medical questionnaires honestly and completely.
Can I add pre-existing condition coverage to a travel insurance policy?
Not with standard travel health insurance. Once a plan lapses and you resubscribe with a new one, any condition that developed in the meantime is now treated as pre-existing. If you expect to need this kind of coverage, international health insurance with individual underwriting is the more realistic option.
🛟 Travel health insurance with Genki
Genki Traveler
A flexible, worldwide travel health insurance subscription for up to 1 year.
- Who is this for: Frequent and long-term international travelers (like digital nomads) who want the freedom to go anywhere and to change plans on a moment's notice.
- Region of cover: Worldwide cover, outside of your home country.
- What’s covered: Up to €1,000,000 of medical care for unexpected injuries and illnesses. That includes doctor’s visits, treatment at public and private hospitals, emergency medical transport, and medically necessary return transport to your home country. It doesn’t cover prior health conditions, preventive care, dental, vision, or maternity care.
- Pre-existing conditions: No. A pre-existing condition here is any condition with symptoms, medical advice, a diagnosis, or treatment within 1 year before your coverage started. Any chronic or congenital condition you already knew about or symptoms in the month before coverage started. None of these are covered, whether or not you'd already seen a doctor. For full detail, see Genki's help center articles on pre-existing conditions with Genki Traveler.
- Length of cover: From one month up to one year. Monthly billing. Cancel anytime. You should have other long-term health cover in your home country.
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Are you looking for a cover beyond travel health insurance?
Have a look at what Genki Native offers.
Have a look at what Genki Native offers.
☂️ International health insurance with Genki
Genki Native
- Who is this for: Digital nomads, expats, and other long-term travelers who want complete health cover.
- Region of cover: Worldwide (limited in Canada & USA).
- Period of cover: As long as you want. Lifelong if you wish. The minimum contract is 1 year with a monthly payment plan.
- Home country: Genki Native is available to people from any country (including nomads without legal residence). You can choose to have limited or full cover in your country of citizenship.
- Genki Native Basic: Genki Native Basic covers necessary medical treatment (inpatient and outpatient treatments) at any licensed doctor or hospital up to €1,000,000 per year. That includes accidents and emergencies, as well as common illnesses and injuries.
- Genki Native Premium: Genki Native Premium also covers preventive care/check-ups, plus dental, vision, maternity, mental health, and more. Genki Native Premium has no overall limit for medical costs and also includes full cover in your country of citizenship.
- Pre-existing conditions: Possibly. Every application goes through a medical questionnaire covering current health, past illnesses, and ongoing treatments. Squarelife reviews it and either accepts you with full coverage, accepts you with exclusions on specific conditions, accepts you at a higher premium, or rejects the application. Answer honestly. Inaccurate answers can lead to a denied claim or the insurer canceling the policy retroactively. For full details, see Genki's help center articles on pre-existing conditions with Genki Native.
- Monthly costs: Genki Native starts from €180 a month (prices for ages 20-34). The monthly costs depend on the result of a medical questionnaire, your age, the chosen deductible, and the region of cover (incl. or excl. USA and Canada).
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