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Having a pacemaker doesn't mean you need to slow down on your travels.
We've researched several Australian travel insurance brands that will consider you if you have a heart condition and pacemaker fitted, so you can get covered and go on your way.
AllClear is a specialist travel insurer that considers all ages and pre-existing conditions - including heart-related ones like heart attacks, stents and those who have a pacemaker fitted.
Travel insurance brand | How do I get considered for my heart condition? | Apply |
---|---|---|
![]() | You can declare your condition with a medical assessment | |
![]() | You can do an online medical questionnaire and you may need to pay an additional premium | |
![]() | All heart conditions are considered | |
![]() | You can do a medical screening online or over the phone and you may need to pay an additional premium | |
![]() | You can do a medical screening online or over the phone if you haven't had any heart complications in the last five years. | |
![]() | You can do an online medical questionnaire | |
![]() | You can declare your condition with a medical assessment | |
![]() | You can submit a medical assessment over the phone or online | |
![]() | You can do a medical assessment over the phone or online and you may need to pay a premium and get decreased cover limits | |
![]() | You can select a Standard or Top cover plan and declare your condition |
If you have had a pacemaker fitted, it’s possible to get travel insurance. However, you will need to:
While it may be tempting to not mention your pacemaker in an attempt to avoid paying a higher premium, it is vital that you declare any pre-existing conditions. If you don’t and you suffer a medical incident related to your heart condition, your insurer will not cover you. This could leave you seriously out of pocket if you are hospitalised in a country such as Japan or the USA, where health costs are prohibitively expensive.
Before you declare your heart condition to your insurer, you should read the fine print in their product disclosure statement (PDS) to determine if your condition is covered. Travel insurers normally have three tiers when it comes to pre-existing conditions:
If it’s covered, but only under certain conditions, you will need to declare your condition when you apply for insurance and depending on the insurer either:
If your condition is approved for cover, your insurer will then send you a written notice to this effect, including any conditions that apply to cover and any additional premiums payable.
Although it’s likely to help with your application for cover, insurers assess eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
As with most pre-existing medical conditions, the length of time since you last had treatment for your condition is an important stage of the assessment process. Different insurers will have different criteria for how the period since the last treatment affects cover e.g. 12 months on policy A and 24 months on policy B.
Generally, if an insurer sees that your pacemaker was fitted some time ago, they are more likely to view your condition as lower risk because there haven’t been any aggravating circumstances.
Back to topTravelling with a pacemaker is generally safe. The two main concerns are electromagnetic interference and rough activity that could damage the device. Most issues can be avoided by observing the following tips:
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