The single most-litigated provision in travel medical insurance is the stability clause governing pre-existing conditions.
- A pre-existing condition is any medical condition that exists before departure, diagnosed or undiagnosed, treated or untreated.
- A stability clause requires the pre-existing condition to have been stable for a defined period (commonly 90, 180, or 365 days) immediately before departure. "Stable" typically means: no change in medication, dosage, or symptoms; no new diagnosis; no hospitalization; no new tests pending results; no investigation underway.
- If the condition was not stable for the required period, claims arising from or related to that condition are excluded.
- The required stability period varies by insurer, age band, and whether the policy is a base product or includes the "stable pre-existing" rider, older travellers often face longer required stability periods.
The stability clause is enforced at claim time through medical records review. A claim for chest pain in a traveller who had a medication change six weeks before departure is routinely denied, even though the medication change was "minor" from the patient's view.
Common mistake: a client who answers "no" to the application's "any health changes recently?" question because they consider the medication adjustment trivial. The carrier disagrees at claim time. The broker must explain stability clauses before application.
⚠️ Trap: A medication change that has not yet stabilized into a new regimen, even one stable for 30 days, defeats a 90-day stability requirement. Encourage clients to wait, or to disclose and have the condition specifically reviewed.
Recall: What does a 180-day stability clause require? Why is a recent medication change a trap for travel medical coverage?