Trek Guide
If a condition adds £200+ to a UK quote or gets you refused, the insurer must signpost a specialist directory. How it works, and what to declare.
By Bishnu Adhikari · Oct 9, 2026
Since 1 January 2026, a UK travel insurer that adds £200 or more to your premium because of a medical condition must point you to a specialist directory, and the same applies if it refuses you, cancels you, or leaves you with an exclusion you cannot…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
When any of five things happens because of a medical condition: you are refused a quote, your policy is cancelled, a condition is excluded and cannot be removed, the medical part of the premium is £200 or more, or the firm cannot tell you what the…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The premium trigger doubled from £100 to £200 on 1 January 2026, and it will now move with inflation every five years. The FCA's review of the rules, last updated on 3 December 2025, says it was "increasing the medical condition premium trigger…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The FCA says "two directories, for people with serious PEMCs, that meet our criteria": the MoneyHelper directory, provided by the Money and Pensions Service, and BIBA's. PEMC means pre-existing medical condition. Every firm selling retail travel insurance…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Answer every screening question fully and honestly, including conditions you think are minor, medication, and tests or treatment you are still waiting for. GOV.UK's guidance says to "declare existing conditions or pending treatment or tests", and that "you…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
It depends on how the insurer judges your answer: deliberate or reckless, and it can refuse every claim and keep your premium; careless, and the remedy depends on what it would have done had it known. The remedies sit in Schedule 1 of the 2012 Act, summarised…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
No: GOV.UK says "EHIC and GHIC are not alternatives to travel insurance" because they do not cover private medical costs, repatriation or additional costs. The card gets you state care in Europe on the same terms as a local, and it is free, so carry one. Our…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Six steps cover it: gather your medical details, screen honestly, read the result, use the directory if the result is poor, keep the insurer updated, and carry a GHIC as well. Prescriptions, diagnoses, dates, pending tests, for every traveller. Every…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Declare everything, and treat a big medical loading or a refusal as the start of the search, not the end. The directories exist because the cheapest mainstream policy is often the wrong one for a serious condition, and the January 2026 change means fewer…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Free state care in Europe, and the gap it leaves. How medical screening works, and what declaring means. Cover, costs and the age-limit traps. Packing, paperwork and transit rules. Sources: FCA Handbook, ICOBS 6A.4 (6A.4.5R, 6A.4.6R and 6A.4.6AR in force from…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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