Why You Should Declare Mental Health Conditions When Buying Travel Insurance
July 29, 2026
Planning a holiday is exciting, whether you’re heading overseas for some sunshine, taking a city break or enjoying a UK getaway. Alongside booking your accommodation and planning your itinerary, it’s also worth thinking about your travel insurance early on.
When applying for travel insurance, you’ll usually be asked to declare any current or pre-existing medical conditions. This includes mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and other diagnosed mental health conditions.
Many people are unsure whether mental health needs to be declared, particularly if their condition is well managed or they haven’t needed treatment recently. However, providing accurate and complete information during the medical screening process helps your insurer assess your individual circumstances and determine whether they are able to offer cover, subject to underwriting criteria and policy terms.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, around two thirds of people will experience a mental health problem at some point during their lifetime, making it just as important to discuss as any physical medical condition.
Why is it important to declare mental health conditions on your travel insurance?
It helps ensure your policy reflects your circumstances.
Travel insurance is based on the information you provide when you apply. Declaring all relevant medical conditions, including mental health conditions, allows your insurer to assess your health fairly and accurately.
At Lighthouse Travel Insurance, our in-house medical screening system, Protectif, considers each traveller’s circumstances individually. Depending on your medical history and screening results, we may be able to offer cover based on your individual circumstances, subject to our underwriting criteria and policy terms.
It can help avoid problems if you need to claim.
If you need to make a claim while you’re away, the information you provided when purchasing your policy may be taken into account during the claims assessment.
If you do not disclose information that you were asked to provide during the application process, it may affect your cover or the outcome of a claim, depending on the circumstances and the policy terms. This is why it’s important to answer all medical screening questions honestly and accurately.
Declaring a condition doesn’t automatically mean you’ll pay more.
Many travellers worry that declaring a mental health condition will automatically result in a higher premium or prevent them from obtaining travel insurance.
This isn’t always the case.
Every application is assessed individually, and premiums are based on a range of factors, including your destination, age, trip duration, medical history and the outcome of your medical screening.
Keep your insurer updated if your health changes.
Your health can change between purchasing your policy and travelling.
If you’re diagnosed with a new medical condition, your medication changes, or your existing condition changes before you travel, you should let your insurer know as soon as possible. They can review your policy and advise whether any changes are needed.
What mental health conditions should be declared?
You’ll usually need to declare any diagnosed mental health conditions that you’re asked about during the medical screening process. This may include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Schizophrenia
- Eating Disorders
If you’re unsure whether something needs to be declared, it’s always best to mention it during the medical screening process or speak to your insurer before purchasing your policy.
Travel insurance and mental health at Lighthouse
We understand that everyone’s medical history is different. That’s why we assess each traveller individually using Protectif, our in-house medical screening system.
Our aim is to understand your circumstances and, where possible, determine whether we can offer cover. Whether cover can be offered will depend on your individual medical screening results, underwriting criteria and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy.
Mental health conditions should be declared in the same way as physical health conditions when arranging travel insurance, as both can be relevant when assessing your application.
Providing complete and accurate information helps to assess your application correctly and determines whether cover can be offered and on what terms. If your health changes before you travel, remember to let your us know so we can review your policy and advise whether any changes are needed.
If you have any questions about declaring a medical condition, our team will be happy to explain the medical screening process and answer any questions you may have before you purchase a policy.
