Travel insurance policies generally have an automatic exclusion relating to providing cover for people who have or have had what are categorised as 'psychological conditions'. This includes depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, phobias etc.
Why is this?
Travel insurance, like any other kind of insurance, is structured and priced after the underwriter of the policy has gone through a risk assessment of what they feel able to cover and not. Insurers will want to provide a policy that is useful, cover what's generally expected to be covered, match or better what their competitors are covering, at a reasonable price and which will make a degree of profit.
Clearly, the amount of money collected from customers in premiums has to meet the running costs of the policy - the largest of these will be claims. Too many or large claims run the risk of bankrupting the policy and the insurer will then withdraw it - no good for anyone in that situation.
Therefore, the insurer will look carefully at the balance between pricing the policy and what's an acceptable level of risk that it will cover.
Generally, insurers do not like to offer cover for mental health conditions because of their experience of claims related to those conditions.
This automatic exclusion is not limited to mental health conditions. Insurers regularly automatically exclude cover for a whole range of medical conditions and situations. For example, it is extremely difficult to find a travel insurance policy that will cover someone if they have been given a terminal prognosis. An insurer will not meet a claim where they feel the claimant has contributed to the situation that has given rise to the claim. So if someone gets drunk, falls over and injures themselves or walks out into a road and gets knocked over, the insurer may well decline that kind of claim.
Understandably, many people who have or have had depression feel that an automatic exclusion of cover is unreasonable. According to one of the UK's leading mental health charities, MIND, one person in four is likely to experience a mental health problem at some point in their life!
Again, understandably, there can be the perception that everyone with a mental health condition is being regarded as the same by insurers and pose the same level of risk, which is, of course, ridiculous. Many people who experience depression, for example, are either on medication or see a counsellor/psychotherapist and feel that their condition is stable and well-managed. This can be seen as similar to people who have high blood pressure or cholesterol but whose condition is also managed. They often think that they therefore don't have a pre-existing medical condition and don't need to declare their situation to a travel insurance provider.
However, any medical condition that exists at the time of taking out travel insurance, whether physical or mental, should be declared. If the insurer agrees to cover it, any claims related to it will be met.
The danger is that if a condition isn't declared and accepted by an insurer, any claim, directly or even indirectly related to it, could be declined. This could lead to very high medical bills that would have to be met by the claimant.
But it's not only medical bills that someone might have to meet. Travel insurance provides cover for cancellation so if someone is medically unfit to travel, they can claim for their travel and accommodation costs. If someone cancels their trip, an insurer will, as a matter of course, obtain medical reports and check if the claimant had any medical conditions at the time of taking out the insurance that could have had a direct or indirect influence on the claim. If so, and if the condition(s) hadn't been declared and accepted for cover by the insurer, the claim could be declined.
Someone who has or has had a mental health condition could face this risk.
So, what's the answer if you're someone with a mental health condition and you wish to travel and ensure that you have comprehensive travel insurance? There's no alternative but to do some research and narrow it down to finding a travel insurance provider who will cover your condition.