Vacation and travel is synonymous with fun and excitement. Whether it’s with friends or family, these times can create memories that last forever. However, in our diligence to plan, we often fail to account for potential emergencies due to accidents or illness. Most medical plans have limitations regarding treatment outside medical networks or country of residence.
What is Travel Medical Insurance?
Travel medical insurance is designed to afford you benefits should you become ill or injured while traveling, particularly when you're traveling internationally. Plan coverage varies from provider to provider. Therefore, you want to make sure you understand specifics related to your particular plan should you decide to purchase. These plans can provide you coverage from as little as a few days through an entire year, and they garner additional benefits that extend beyond standard medical plans.
What Does Travel Medical Insurance Cover?
Travel medical plans are designed to cover hospital care related to accidents and illness. These plans may also cover medications and doctor office visits. Dietary intolerance is very common among international travelers. You may have experienced gastrointestinal discomfort related to foods and liquids as you travel abroad. Fortunately, these instances do not often end with hospital stays, but they may require an office visit and medical prescription.
Travel medical plans also offer emergency evacuation options. These benefits are designed to give assurance for travelers who spend time in locations with limited medical care. Should an emergency arise, the plan would pay for ground or air travel to full medical facilities within the country or safe passage back to domestic medical facilities for best care.
What Does Travel Medical Insurance Cost?
Costs vary from plan to plan and carrier to carrier. There are several factors that influence your price for coverage. The number of people to be covered will affect the cost of your plan. Obviously, the more people to be covered the more expensive the plan. Your destination will also affect the price of coverage. Locations that carry more risks will cost more money. The length of stay also affects plan costs. Cost is also driven by plan features. Like the emergency evacuation feature, most travel health plans include additional options that provide an increased measure of security. As these are added, they raise the price of your travel health plan. However, you can find travel plans as little as $25.
What Should You Consider Before Choosing Your Plan?
Travel insurance company reputation and value should be your top priority. Work with a company you trust. Your auto, life or health provider may offer a travel medical benefit. Reputable companies may also offer 24-hour assistance that can provide a sense of calm during a crisis.
Also consider your frequency of travel. If you are someone who travels often, you may be able to save money by purchasing an annual travel plan as opposed to individual blocks of time. Other considerations include destination and vacation activity. More often than not, you will enjoy your travel unscathed. However, the benefit is worth its weight in gold should you ever need it.
