Travel Insurance for Low Blood Pressure

What is low blood pressure?

Low blood pressure, or hypotension, usually means a reading below 90/60. For many people it causes no trouble at all and doesn’t need treating. It becomes a problem when it brings on symptoms such as lightheadedness, blurred vision, feeling sick or fainting. Doctors class it with other blood and circulatory conditions.

A common type is postural hypotension, where your pressure drops when you stand up and you feel dizzy for a few seconds. Dehydration, heat, some medicines (including those for high blood pressure), pregnancy and certain heart or nerve conditions can all play a part. Treatment depends on the cause. The NHS low blood pressure page has more information.

Why do I need to declare low blood pressure for travel insurance?

Low blood pressure counts as a pre-existing medical condition once it has been diagnosed, treated or investigated. We need to know about it because fainting and dizziness can lead to falls, cuts and fractures, and a hot climate or a long flight can make episodes more likely. Any of those could mean treatment abroad or a trip cut short.

If it isn’t declared and you claim for something linked to it, such as a broken wrist after a faint, the claim could be refused or the payout reduced.

Can I get travel insurance with low blood pressure?

Most people with low blood pressure can find cover. Whether it’s offered depends on how the condition behaves day to day. Occasional lightheadedness on standing is a different picture from frequent faints, falls that have caused injuries, or a cause that is still being looked into.

What we’ll ask about your low blood pressure

Our online medical screening is quick to fill in. It asks a handful of questions about your low blood pressure as part of the quote, and you’ll see the outcome on screen as soon as you finish.

Your screening result

The result comes through the moment you finish. Your quote will show whether low blood pressure has been accepted, and if so, the premium you see already includes cover for it. If it can’t be included, you’ll know before you pay anything.

Telling us about changes before you go

Your health may change in the weeks before a trip. If you get a new diagnosis, your medication changes, you go into hospital or you’re referred for tests, let us know before you leave. The cover may need reviewing, and an unreported change could affect any related claim.

What low blood pressure travel insurance can cover

If low blood pressure is accepted, emergency medical treatment abroad linked to it can be covered. For example, you might faint in the heat in Crete, fall and need stitches and an overnight stay for checks. Those hospital costs could be claimed, as could repatriation if you needed medical help getting home. This is all subject to the policy terms, exclusions, limits and excess.

If a related problem before your trip leads a doctor to advise you not to travel, cancellation cover may let you claim back costs you can’t recover elsewhere.

Planned medical treatment abroad isn’t covered, and nor is anything connected to a condition you didn’t declare.

Single trip or annual cover with low blood pressure

A single trip policy suits one holiday. If you go away more often, annual travel insurance may be worth comparing, as long as your screening result allows annual cover.

Will low blood pressure affect the cost of travel insurance?

It can. How much low blood pressure changes your premium comes down to your result from online medical screening, which may ask how the condition is treated and how well it’s controlled at the moment. Your age, where you’re travelling and how long you’ll be away also feed into the price, as they would for anyone. Once the questions are done, you’ll see the figure before deciding whether to buy.

Travelling with low blood pressure: practical tips

These tips are general advice for your trip and don’t form part of the policy.

Heat is often the hardest part. Warm weather widens your blood vessels and you lose fluid through sweat, so pressure can drop further. Drink regularly through the day, rest in the shade in the afternoon, and be careful with hot tubs, saunas and very hot showers. Our heat exhaustion page covers the warning signs.

On a flight, cabin air is dry and you sit still for hours. Keep sipping water, go easy on alcohol, and move your legs regularly. When the plane lands, take your time standing up and don’t rush to grab your bag from the locker.

Get up slowly in general, especially first thing in the morning or after a big meal. Sitting on the edge of the bed for a minute before standing can stop the dizziness. Some people find that smaller, more frequent meals help too.

If you feel faint, sit or lie down straight away, ideally with your legs raised. A fall on a hard floor or uneven pavement is often more harmful than the faint itself.

1. carry a refillable water bottle wherever you go
2. ask your GP whether support stockings would help you
3. if you take medication, keep it in your hand luggage with a copy of your prescription
4. if long queues make you dizzy, airport assistance can be booked through your airline

How to get a quote

Tell us about your trip, then work through the medical questions for low blood pressure and anything else you need to declare. Your price is confirmed before you pay.

Get a Quote

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Don't worry if your condition is not listed above - we cover plenty more medical conditions.
* Please note that cover will vary depending on individual medical screenings.

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