Travel Guard Not Excluding Pre-existing Conditions for Trip Cancellation?

Well, not exactly for everybody except for those fortunate enough to live in Indiana. According to the policy wording for Travel Guard plans offered in Indiana (Basic, Silver, Gold and Platinum) – if we are reading it correctly – is that pre-existing conditions do not apply to trip cancellation or trip interruption.

The policy defines it below in the Definitions:

“Pre-existing medical condition” means an Injury, Sickness or other physical condition of an Insured, for which medical advice or treatment was received during the 365 days immediately preceding the effective date of the plan. It may not apply to a loss incurred beginning after the end of a continuous period of 365 days beginning on or after the effective date of coverage under the plan, during which time the Insured did not receive medical advice or treatment in connection with the Injury, Sickness or other physical condition.

Not your standard pre-existing exclusion. 365 days is the longest I know of for Package plans, but the important point here is that in the Exclusions section the only place you find a reference to this pre-existing definition is under the Travel Medical exclusions:

The following exclusions apply to the Medical Expense Benefit:
Benefits will not be provided for any loss resulting (in whole or in part) from:

…

(h) Pre-existing medical conditions. Once the pre-existing condition is no longer considered pre-existing, this exclusion no longer applies, subject to all the other terms and conditions of the policy.

After years of dealing with travel insurance policies you get the feel on how this plans are structured, and my interpretation of the above is that pre-existing conditions are not specifically excluded for trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage, but are specific to the Medical Expense coverage the plan offers.

Why does this matter? It matters if you are worried about cancelling or interrupting a trip due to you, a relative(whether or not they are traveling with you) or a travel companion’s past health issues. Looks like Indiana residents don’t have much to worry about in this regard.