When taking out any form of insurance it is important that you disclose your AS
If you have AS or any other ongoing medical condition it may simply not occur to you to mention it when you are arranging insurance. It's particularly easy to overlook it when you are arranging travel insurance. If the insurance company doesn't ask you and you do not read the conditions of your policy you may not realise that your AS is excluded, or that the policy may even be invalid, until you need to make a claim.
Overall, when taking out insurance it's important to be honest but clear about the extent to which your AS and any other pre-existing medical conditions impact upon you. Anyone who has had surgery or a hospital admission within the last few years or is waiting for the results of investigations may find is particularly difficult or expensive to obtain insurance. Do be aware that routine visits to consultants to monitor your condition are usually disregarded.
We advise members to shop around as much as possible. Try getting a list of insurers covering people with pre-existing medical conditions from a price comparison website and then calling the companies which come up to ask for quotes. If insurers do try and charge high premiums then challenge them on this.
Alternatively, NASS have a list of insurance companies that have been suggested by NASS members which you can download. NASS cannot recommend or endorse any particular insurance company.
If you have had a particulary good experience with an insurance company and would like to add them to the list then do contact Sally.
If the quotes you receive are still too high in your opinion then consider approaching an independent insurance broker. A good broker will do all the leg work in finding you suitable cover.
At the NASS 2009 conference and AGM, Danny McFarlane, Director of an insurance brokers called McFarlane & Partners and a NASS member lead a Q&A session on insurance. If you would like to listen to a recording of this session please click below.
Last reviewed: May 2012