I came across a great article over at Orlando Sentinel about some nuances of travel insurance and some tips to help overcome health related problems with travel insurance. Here was the problem:

Question: I recently booked a vacation trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Because I was visiting during hurricane season, I also bought travel insurance through Access America.

Five days before buying my trip, I had my annual physical exam. After I booked my vacation, my doctor phoned me and asked me to come back for a consultation. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and several weeks later, my doctor advised me to cancel my vacation.

I submitted a claim to my travel-insurance company. It was denied because the company claims I exhibited symptoms on my visit to my doctor before booking my vacation.

I told the insurer that I had medical records that indicate I had no knowledge of a possible illness when I visited my doctor. The insurer and its consumer advocate say that I don’t have to have knowledge of the symptom — the policy only requires that I have a symptom.

According to the travel insurance expert, every major travel-insurance company has a clause that lets it off the hook for a pre-existing medical condition. The question you have to consider is whether your individual diagnosis qualifies for this “pre-existing” medical condition?

Looking at Access America’s definition, a pre-existing condition is “any injury occurring prior to and including the effective date” of your policy and “any illness occurring during the 120 days prior to and including the effective date of this insurance for which treatment by a licensed physician has been sought or advised or for which symptoms exist which would cause a prudent person to seek diagnosis, care or treatment.”

In this case, the patient was able to get the situation resolved because the test results weren’t available until after the vacation had been booked. But when you’re filing a claim on your travel insurance, it’s important to first look at your policy to see what is and isn’t covered, and to offer the records that will allow the insurer to honor your claim. Always read the fine print.