Our expat health insurance covers chronic illnesses that develop after your policy start date or after any applicable waiting period. A condition can be considered pre-existing even if it was never formally diagnosed before your policy started. What matters is whether the condition itself originated before your coverage began. You can still sign up for expat health insurance with a pre-existing condition and pay for related treatment out of pocket.
Does expat health insurance cover chronic illnesses?
Our expat health insurance covers chronic illnesses that first develop after your policy start date or after any applicable waiting period. A condition is considered pre-existing if it originated before your policy started, regardless of whether it had been formally diagnosed or treated at that time. You are still eligible to sign up for expat health insurance with a pre-existing condition; but treatment costs related to that condition would need to be paid out of pocket.
What counts as a pre-existing condition?
A pre-existing condition is any illness, injury or medical condition that originated before your expat health insurance policy started, whether or not it had been diagnosed or treated at the time. Some conditions develop gradually or go undetected for years before a diagnosis is made. If the underlying condition existed before your policy start date, it is still considered pre-existing and would not be covered.
For a detailed explanation of how pre-existing conditions work with expat health insurance, see our dedicated FAQ about pre-existing conditions.
Does a waiting period apply before new conditions are covered?
A waiting period applies before new illnesses are eligible for coverage, unless you are in one of these two scenarios, in which case it is waived:
Your insurance started within 31 days of arriving in Spain
You're switching from a policy of equal or greater coverage to your expat insurance with no gap.
Even if neither scenario applies, life-threatening accidents and illnesses are always covered from day one.
For full details on whether a waiting period applies to your plan, see our dedicated FAQ about potential waiting periods.
What else does expat health insurance cover?
Chronic illness coverage is one part of a broader policy. For a full overview of what is and isn't covered under your expat health insurance plan, see our complete coverage guide for our expat health plan.