Travel Health Insurance
No matter where your travels take you, don’t lose site of the fact that illness and injuries can happen anywhere. It’s often an overlooked area since everything else requires such careful planning – hotel reservations, airline tickets, luggage, international travel requirements – but health insurance can get lost in the shuffle.
If you are traveling domestically and you have a health insurance policy, you will have some level of coverage to visit any doctor in the event you become ill or suffer an injury. If you participate in a network, chances are you will be seeing an out-of-network doctor and will face higher costs, but some of the costs will be covered with your insurance plan.
International travelers, however, will need to be aware of just how well their health insurance plan translates in another country. Typically, it doesn’t translate, and your health insurance coverage will not apply when you travel abroad. In that instance, a travel health policy makes the most sense. As far as illness and injury go, you never know when it will occur, so the best strategy is to be prepared.
Request a free travel health insurance quote now >>
Health Insurance to Consider for Traveling
Carefully review your existing health insurance to see what type of coverage you will have when you travel. If the coverage is not adequate, consider a travel health insurance policy for the best protection during your trip. Areas to consider include:
Hospital room and board
Most travel health insurance policies will reimburse you for certain expenses associated with hospital stays. Carefully review the contract with a prospective travel insurance provider to see what sort of coverage is provided for hospital stays.
Medical expenses
Some doctor’s fees, office visits, and procedures might also be reimbursed through a travel health insurance policy; check the policy carefully for the dollar amount that is reimbursable.
Emergency medical treatment
If you should need emergency medical treatment during your travels, some travel health insurance plans help reimburse health care expenses (be sure to check with the travel insurance provider to see what is and is not covered).
Emergency medical evacuation
In the event that you should need to be transported due to a serious illness or injury, a travel health insurance plan may cover the cost of medical evacuation; without coverage, emergency medical evacuation can be quite expensive.
Accidental death and dismemberment *
If you should become disabled during your trip, AD&D coverage provides payment to you; if you pass away, a beneficiary or your estate receives payment. Depending on the coverage, this may or may not be covered through a travel health insurance policy.
Some travel health insurance protection comes as part of an overall travel insurance package. Research your options carefully – with travel insurance, you may also receive assistance with lost luggage, trip delays, travel cancellations, locating physicians or a hospital, making money transfers, and more. At a negligible cost, travel insurance is worth the small expense for peace of mind.
* As an optional rider for most policies, AD&D coverage will come at an additional cost.
|
