Travel insurance and diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes refers to a group of chronic conditions that affect your ability to use insulin to control sugar in your blood. Some types of diabetes affect the ability to create insulin, others make you insulin resistant. In both cases, people with diabetes end up having to be super careful about what they eat, when they eat it, the impact it has on their blood sugar and whether they need extra insulin.

Estimates vary, but between 55 and 10% of Australian population is estimated to have diabetes . In the US, around 9.3% of population is estimated to have diabetes.

The main types of diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. Your body attacks the beta cells in your pancreas that produce insulin, so you don't have enough.

Type 2 diabetes is a condition where your body has become insulin resistant, typically due to genetic or long-term lifestyle factors.

Gestational diabetes is a condition affecting pregnant women. Basically, hormones can increase your insulin resistance.

Type 3 and 3c diabetes are rarer types of diabetes. Type 3 is insulin resistence in the brain, typically associated with Alzheimer's disease. Type 3c is a result of trauma to the pancreas, reducing your ability to create insulin.

Travelling with diabetes

All 3 major types of diabetes will need you to be really careful about what you eat, so that you don't spike or crash your blood sugar. Severe hyerperglycemia, which is where your blood sugar gets way too high, is really serious, and can require an urgent hospital visit.

Traveling with diabetes, as a result, is a tricky thing. Diabetics are already 'always-on' with regard to watching what they eat and drink, and that become even harder when you're traveling. Real-time blood sugar monitors are of course extremely useful, but they don't solve the problem.

Travel insurance and diabetes

The good news is, travel insurance will cover diabetes related claims. However, it is considered to be a pre-existing condition, so you need to declare it with your insurance provider ahead of time. Diabetes is one of the most common pre-existing conditions in countries like Australia, up there with mental health and asthma, so all major Aussie travel insurers have systems in place.

There are some conditions, however. Many companies will only insure people who:

• Were diagnosed at least a year ago
• Haven't and any complications for the last year
• Haven't got any eye, kidney, nerve or vascular complications
• Haven't got any known cardiovascular diseases
• Are younger than 50

Diabetes travel insurance case study: Michelle Vodden

Michelle's close call in the USA

"When I went to the USA I took about 4 or 5 insulin pens with me. Insulin is crazy expensive over there, so I didn't want to be left hanging. But then, I left them in the hotel fridge! It was a hassle, but I had to go back and get it. I didn't put much thought into travel insurance. I just used the one on my credit card, so we wouldn't have been covered. "

Michelle Vodden

Contributor

Because Michelle just got the travel insurance on her credit card, she didn't have the chance to declare her pre-existing condition. With a standalone policy, she could have declared her diabetes and been covered for lost insulin, along with any emergency medical care, which would have cost a pretty penny in the USA!

Will diabetes increase the cost of travel insurance

Unfortunately, a pre-existing condition will probably increase the cost of your travel insurance premiums. This is because a person with diabetes is more likely than a person without diabetes to make a claim. Luckily, the difference isn't too big. Here's a sample quote from a few leading insurers for a 40 year old spending a week in Bali.

*The quotes shown on the table were last updated in December 2023.

As you can see, some travel insurance providers won't add any loading for uncomplicated conditions. Our example here was Type 1 diabetes with no additional complications. Your quotes will vary, but it always pays to shop around. You can use the Finder travel insurance comparison tool below to get started.

Frequently asked questions

• Does travel insurance cover diabetes?

  Yes, travel insurance can cover all types of diabetes. However, you will need to declare it as a pre-existing condition when you take out cover. It's important to be 100% truthful when you do this, as lying or omitting important details can lead to your claims being denied.

• Will my travel insurance premium be higher if I have diabetes?

  Travel insurance may cost you more if you have diabetes, because it is considered a pre-existing condition that makes you more likely to claim. However, if your condition is under control, you may find that the increase in cost is manageable. In fact, many travel insurers will not charge any extra if your condition is managed, and not too serious. That said, don't be tempted to not declare your condition, or you may not be covered for any medical costs.

• Does travel insurance cover type 1, type 2 and gestation diabetes differently?

  Each travel insurer has different rules about how they'll cover diabetes, which can include charging a different amount to cover different types of diabetes. However, the extra premium you'll pay for a pre-existing condition has a lot more to do with your specific circumstances. This can include how bad your condition has been in the past few years, whether you've had unplanned hospital visits, etc.

• Will travel insurance pay for insulin?

  Yes, most travel insurance will be able to cover the cost of additional insulin if you lose your supply. Your insurance company will likely have some requirements around being responsible and not negligent though, so check the details. Also, this only applies if you declared your diabetes when you signed up for cover.

Written by

Tim Bennett

Insurance expert

Tim Bennett is a Finder insurance & utilities expert. For over 10 years he's reported on news, politics, finance and other topics as a journalist and radio presenter. Tim's roles have included radio news reader and breakfast at the ABC, news producer for SBS and producer for Fairfax Media. Tim regularly appears as a health insurance expert on programs like Sunrise and SBS news, as well as in the Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail and more. See full bio

Tim's expertise

Tim has written 120 Finder guides across topics including:

• Personal finance
• Financial comparison
• Health insurance
• General insurance
• Life insurance