US Travel Insurance with Existing Condition

Hey Gang,

hoping to hit the USA next summer (2019) Son has recently been diagnosed with a condition
(Crohns) We're with Laya at the moment, whats story with travel insurance and a condition,
any recommendations. EU travel is fine with Health Insurance card but different ballgame going west.

Any advice or suggestions

Your EU cover isnt fine. What you are saying with EHIC is that you are fine in terms of hospital care if something happens in Europe. But if he was seriously ill your EHIC card won't fly him home.

In the same respect a travel insurance policy isn't a hospital cover policy. If he has a pre-existing condition they wont cover it.

try VHI. I found that they covered a 'condition'.

If you are with LAYA maybe, their own travel insurance might cover you. Phone them.

As Peteb says, the EHIC is NOT the same as travel insurance. You get public hospital care in the EU. Consider the state of public care here at the moment - queues in a&e etc.

Ravima said:

As Peteb says, the EHIC is NOT the same as travel insurance. You get public hospital care in the EU. Consider the state of public care here at the moment - queues in a&e etc.

Click to expand...

Conditions are different from country to country and of course it is a serious emergency then you will get treated immediately as is usual. But the big issue to remember is what it does not cover - repatriation, support of relatives to stay with you and so on. It is also worth pointing out that in some countries, particularly the alpine ones, the evacuation costs from the site of an accident to the hospital are not covered at all. So for instance if you happened to take a day trip to say Zermatt, St. Moritz or Mt. Blanc, had an accident and needed to be air lifted to a hospital you'd face a bill in the regions of 50K!!!!

So think carefully before passing on travel insurance even for Europe.

I use VHI cover where it stipulates you must have existing overseas travel cover up to E65K. I have a pre-existing condition, and it certainly seems to be covered provided I have existing medical cover. Here is a copy of the relevant section:
"Are pre-existing medical conditions covered on my policy? Yes, unlike most other travel insurance plans on the market, MultiTrip from Vhi Healthcare includes cover for pre-existing conditions up to the full limit of Your medical cover provided Your Private Medical Insurance plan has overseas cover and Your pre-existing medical condition is covered under the terms and conditions of Your Private medical insurance plan. Please note for those who do not have a Vhi Healthcare Hospital Plan, this benefit will not start until either Your Private Medical Insurance has exceeded its medical benefit or after €65,000, whichever is the highest. In order to qualify for benefit under Section 3 - Medical Expenses (Hospital Treatment), You must have a valid claim under Your Private Medical Insurance Plan. If You are 80 years or over, cover is limited only to the overseas cover limits on "


Full link to T&C's =https://www.vhi.ie/pdf/products/MultiTrip Rules_01Aug17_MHMT30.pdf

I travel a good bit and am with VHI for my health insurance and also have their multi trip travel insurance. I have a few health problems but you are covered abroad if you are with them for your health insurance as well as the multi trip. I feel it's a good level of cover if anything happened.

Thanks All, never considered the getting home bit etc., More concerned that son would get any emergency treatment he'd need.
So I did some digging and we a Laya Policy called Simply Connect Plus,

and found this for overseas cover, so sounds like the VHI Multi Trip would be a good option to cover bases ??


Overseas cover
Emergency hospital admission overseas Up to €100,000 per episode
Treatment not available in Ireland Full cover in the EU subject to prior approval
Medical Tourism Full cover if you choose to have your treatment in another Country within the EU, up to the amount payable in Ireland. Subject to prior approval

Some super advice there. I have a friend who broke their leg, 2 weeks ago in Lanzarote. They had health insurance and also the European health card, but neither of these would cover the trip home. They needed an operation and luckily were allowed to fly home later that week. If they had of been in a cast, they would have needed three seats and possibly a nurse.

It was even suggested that if the health insurance company sorted the seats home, they could use the EHIC card for treatment, thus saving money for the insurance company. "Computer said no!"