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Does travel insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

In short

Yes, if the condition was stable when you took out the policy and the deterioration comes unexpectedly. What was foreseeable at booking, such as a scheduled operation, is not covered. Many tariffs exclude conditions treated in the last 6 months. Abroad, travel health insurance usually pays for an acute deterioration, but not for planned treatment.

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Does travel insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

What it costs

Published premiums for tariffs that include stable chronic conditions, as of September 2026.

Example	Typical range
Annual cancellation policy, one person under 66, no excess, up to EUR 3,000 per trip, stable chronic conditions included	about EUR 96 a year
Same tariff, family	about EUR 106 a year
Very good annual policies without excess, family, trip price EUR 3,000, oldest member aged 66	about EUR 125 to 155 a year
Annual travel health insurance, one person	about EUR 8 to 25 a year
Arbitration by the insurance ombudsman	EUR 0, binding on the insurer up to EUR 10,000

Guide values as of September 2026 from publicly quoted tariff examples. Whether a tariff includes stable pre-existing conditions is set out only in its terms. The cancellation costs in the worked example and the assessment of when a special tariff is needed are guide values from our quoting practice. We obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Married couple, he is 63 with diabetes, package holiday for EUR 3,000

His diabetes has been stable on the same tablets for three years. At booking the couple takes out an annual policy that includes stable chronic conditions. Three weeks before departure he has a serious crisis and is admitted to hospital.

Cancellation costs three weeks before departure, assumed 40 percent	EUR 1,200
Excess, falls away in many tariffs with inpatient treatment	EUR 0
Refund	EUR 1,200
Same case, but therapy changed four months before signing up	EUR 0 depending on the tariff

With a stable course and a suitable tariff, the insurance pays the full EUR 1,200. If the therapy had been changed shortly before signing up, many tariffs apply the 6 month rule and the couple bears the costs themselves. Worked example with guide values.

What counts as a pre-existing condition for the insurer

It means any illness that already existed or was treated before you took out the policy: high blood pressure, diabetes, a slipped disc, depression, cancer in aftercare. What matters is not that you were ill, but whether it was foreseeable when you signed up that the trip might fail because of it.

That is why in a claim the insurer checks your medical records for the last few months. If they show treatment, a referral or an operation date that fits the cancellation, it refuses. If they only show a stable long-term medication without any change in findings, many tariffs pay.

Trip cancellation and travel health insurance treat it differently

Trip cancellation insurance (Reiserücktrittsversicherung) pays the cancellation costs if an unexpected serious illness makes the trip unreasonable. For chronic conditions, good tariffs only require that the illness was stable when you signed up and that no deterioration was expected. Simpler tariffs exclude anything treated in the last 6 months.

Travel health insurance (Auslandskrankenversicherung) pays for treatment abroad that is medically necessary and was not planned. If your blood sugar gets out of control on holiday, that is covered in most tariffs. If, on the other hand, you travel to continue treatment, or the treatment was already foreseeable before departure, it does not pay.

Case	Trip cancellation	Travel health insurance
Stable, well controlled diabetes, unexpected crisis	usually yes	usually yes
Operation date was already set at booking	no	no, planned treatment
Treatment in the last 6 months, then relapse	depends on the tariff, often no	usually yes, if acute
Illness first diagnosed after signing up	yes	yes
Travelling abroad to be treated there	not affected	no
Forgot long-term medication on holiday	not affected	replacement usually yes, if prescribed by a doctor

What the Federal Court of Justice decided

On 9 July 2024 Germany's Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), case number IV ZR 129/23, struck down a clause that excluded benefits for a previously known medical condition. It was so general that a customer could not tell which illnesses were affected and to what extent. Under § 307 (1) sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) it is therefore invalid.

That does not mean every exclusion falls. Clear clauses with a fixed period, such as 6 months before signing up, remain valid. But if a claim is refused with vague wording, it is worth a second look, if necessary via the insurance ombudsman (Versicherungsombudsmann). The ombudsman decides free of charge, and decisions up to EUR 10,000 are binding on the insurer.

When you do not need a special tariff

If your condition has been stable for years, without new findings and without a change of therapy, a good standard tariff that includes chronic conditions with a stable course is usually enough. An expensive special tariff then brings you little.

Conversely, even the best tariff is no use if the cancellation was already foreseeable at booking. If you know an operation is coming up, book with flexible cancellation rather than relying on insurance that will never pay in this case.

Answer health questions honestly

Most travel tariffs ask no health questions. If a tariff does, you must answer truthfully. If you conceal an illness you were asked about, the insurer may withdraw from the policy or refuse to pay in a claim, even if the claim has little to do with the illness.

Health questions are more common for long-stay trips and tariffs for older travellers. There a serious pre-existing condition can lead to a surcharge or to that one illness being excluded. That is better than a policy that fails when you need it.

Step by step

Before booking, ask your doctor to confirm in writing that you are fit to travel and no deterioration is foreseeable.
Look in the terms for the period and wording of the pre-existing condition exclusion.
Choose a tariff that expressly includes stable, well controlled chronic conditions.
If health questions are asked, answer them fully and honestly.
If your condition gets worse, see a doctor at once, get a certificate with the diagnosis and cancel the same day.

Checklist

Pre-existing condition clause read and period noted
Stable chronic conditions included in the tariff
Doctor's confirmation of fitness to travel available
Travel health insurance pays for acute deterioration
Medication and doctor's letters packed for the trip
No treatment planned that falls within the travel period

Common mistakes

Taking out insurance only when the condition has already got worse
Concealing a known operation and hoping the insurance will pay
Changing therapy shortly before signing up and not documenting it
Answering health questions imprecisely
Accepting a refusal based on a vague clause without checking

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Am I covered with high blood pressure?

Usually yes, if your blood pressure was well controlled when you signed up and no deterioration was foreseeable. If a crisis then comes unexpectedly, good tariffs pay cancellation and treatment abroad.

How long before must I not have been treated?

That is in your policy terms. Many tariffs name 6 months before signing up; good tariffs drop a fixed period and only ask whether the course was stable.

Does the insurance pay for cancer in aftercare?

If the illness was considered stable when you signed up and a relapse comes unexpectedly, often yes. If treatment was already scheduled, no. Have your fitness to travel confirmed beforehand.

Does pregnancy count as a pre-existing condition?

No, but a pregnancy known when you signed up is not an unexpected event. Unexpected complications are covered in many tariffs.

Does travel health insurance pay for my long-term medication?

Not the supply for the trip. If medication is lost at your destination or unexpectedly needed, many tariffs pay for the replacement prescribed by a doctor.

What can I do if the insurer refuses because of a pre-existing condition?

Ask for the reason and the clause in writing, set your medical records against it and, if in doubt, contact the insurance ombudsman. The procedure is free for you.

Do I need a special tariff for pre-existing conditions?

With a stable course usually not; a good standard tariff that includes chronic conditions is enough. Only for serious or recently treated conditions is a targeted enquiry worth it.