Grounded by travel policies
Stranded: Some travellers are more welcome than others in the UK and abroad. Picture: Pixabay
When I renewed my annual travel insurance the other week, it didn’t cross my mind to mention that I’m autistic. As far as I’m concerned, autism is an aspect of my identity – like being Scottish or having brown eyes – that has no bearing on my likelihood of making a claim.
So I was shocked when I stumbled on a Facebook post that said having a formal diagnosis could affect travel cover and visas.
My first impulse was to dispute that such blatant discrimination could be possible, but when I looked into it, I realised the post was correct.
If you’re autistic and fail to declare it, your insurer could refuse to pay out on the basis that you’ve withheld potentially relevant medical information. When it comes to visas, several popular immigration destinations don’t welcome autistic people.
In theory, nations that have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities can’t discriminate against immigration applicants because of disability.
Drain on resources
Yet signatories New Zealand and Australia routinely refuse autistic adults or families with autistic children, arguing they would be a drain on resources. Canada did the same until recently but claims to be taking a less black-and-white approach now.
Even the UK isn’t immune from ignoring the Convention. A few months ago, a couple of GPs from Pakistan who were moving here to work in the NHS were denied a visa for their autistic daughter. It wasn’t until The Guardian newspaper printed the family’s story that the Home Office changed its mind and agreed to grant the girl entry.
Having made these depressing discoveries, when I called my insurer, I was fully expecting to be interrogated and, if my cover wasn’t cancelled, be stung with an additional premium.
In fact, all the call handler asked was if my autism affected my ability to carry out ‘activities of daily living’ or had ever led me to cancel or cut short travel plans. I was able to say no to both, but was still stunned when she responded that there would be nothing extra to pay.
As a former personal finance journalist, I never thought I’d say this, but it seems the notoriously risk-averse UK insurance industry is more enlightened than our own – and several other – governments.