Travel Insurance for an Overactive Bladder

What is an overactive bladder?

An overactive bladder gives you sudden, strong urges to pee that are hard to put off. Many people need to go more often than expected during the day, get up several times in the night, or experience leaks before they reach the toilet. It is one of the urinary conditions people most often live with quietly.

It happens when the bladder muscle squeezes before the bladder is full. Treatment usually starts with bladder training, pelvic floor exercises, and cutting back on caffeine, and moves on to tablets or, less often, Botox injections into the bladder. The NHS urinary incontinence page covers urge incontinence and overactive bladder in more detail.

Why do I need to declare an overactive bladder for travel insurance?

Once it’s been diagnosed and you’re having treatment or check-ups, an overactive bladder counts as a pre-existing medical condition. It isn’t usually a high risk, but it can lead to things like a urine infection or a reaction to new medication while you’re away, so we need to know about it.

Leaving it off your application could mean a claim linked to your bladder is refused, or that you get back less than you expected.

You won’t need to declare every medical condition you’ve ever had or been diagnosed with, only those that fall into the initial set of medical questions.

Can I get travel insurance with an overactive bladder?

For most people, yes. An overactive bladder on its own is often fairly straightforward to screen.

Whether cover is offered can depend on whether an underlying cause is being investigated, whether you have had recent procedures, or repeated urine infections, and whether you are waiting for tests.

What we’ll ask about your overactive bladder

Declaring your overactive bladder online doesn’t take long, and you may ony have to answer a couple of questions regarding your overactive bladder and urinary tract infections. After that, carry on declaring any other relevant pre-existing medical conditions you have.

Once you’ve finished the medical declaration, you’ll go through to the quote page. If your overactive bladder and your other conditions can be covered, you’ll see a list of quotes, and the premium shown includes the cost of cover for your medical. If we can’t provide cover, you’ll know before going any further.

If your health changes before travelling

Bladder symptoms can change. If your GP starts you on a new medicine, you’re referred to a urologist, you’re sent for tests, or you have a hospital stay between now and departure, you must let us know. It may mean reviewing your cover or referring your medical situation to the underwriters, and in some cases we may not be able to proceed with cover. Not telling us about a change in your medical can lead to a future claim being affected or denied.

What can overactive bladder travel insurance cover?

With your condition accepted, emergency treatment abroad can be covered if a problem linked to it needs medical care. An example would be a kidney infection that starts as a urine infection while you’re in Tenerife and needs a short hospital stay. Repatriation can also be covered if you need medical help to get home. Everything is subject to the policy terms, exclusions, limits and excess.

If you fall ill just before you’re due to leave and can’t go, cancellation cover may refund non-refundable costs.

Routine supplies such as pads, or replacing tablets you forgot to pack, aren’t medical emergencies and won’t be covered. Neither will planned treatment abroad or anything linked to an undeclared condition.

Will an overactive bladder affect the cost of travel insurance?

An overactive bladder may change what you pay, or it may make no difference at all. The overall screening result is a factor in deciding the premium. General details like your age, the destination, and the length of your trip are taken into account too. You’ll see a price before committing to anything.

Single trip or annual cover with an overactive bladder

Because an overactive bladder is often well managed, annual multi-trip cover can be worth looking at if you travel a few times a year. It depends on your screening result. For a single holiday, single trip travel insurance keeps things simple.

Travelling with an overactive bladder: practical tips

These are everyday tips from a travel point of view. They are not part of the cover.

Book an aisle seat on planes, trains and coaches so you can get up without climbing over anyone. On long coach transfers, it is worth asking the company in advance how often they stop.

Be a little strategic with drinks. Cutting back on fluids can make urgency worse and leaves you dehydrated in the heat, so keep drinking water but go easy on coffee, tea, fizzy drinks and alcohol before a journey.

Some bladder tablets can cause a dry mouth or constipation, and a few can reduce sweating, which matters in hot weather. Your pharmacist can tell you whether yours does. If your symptoms tend to get worse with a change of routine, ask your GP whether anything should be adjusted before you go.

A toilet card, such as the Just Can’t Wait card, can help you ask for access to staff toilets in shops and cafes. Pack more pads or products than you think you’ll need, as the brands you use may be hard to find.

If urine infections are part of the picture, our UTI travel insurance page has more on what the screening covers.

How to get a quote

Start with your destination and dates, declare your overactive bladder and anything else that applies, and choose your cover. You’ll know the cost before you commit.

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.