Stay Safe and Healthy with Travellers Medical Insurance

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Travel )



When you and your family frequently visit other countries without a travellers medical insurance, you may be putting your family and your own life and health at risk.

A travellers medical insurance can perform many functions. It can protect you against trip cancellations. It can provide benefits to survivors or beneficiaries in the event of accidents resulting in fatalities or injuries. It can even arrange for the evacuation of the ill or injured. Last but not least, the most appropriate travelers insurance package can provide you with medical care in the event of illnesses or injuries during your trip.

You may be satisfied with your already existing health insurance policies. Although these may be perfectly adequate in your own country, the policies can be inadequate when dealing with medical emergencies in another country where not only the language and customs, but also medical personnel, facilities and procedures are unfamiliar to you, the traveler.

At the minimum this situation can create frustration and confusion for you, the patient and for health professionals treating you. At the maximum it can delay or prevent the proper medical response to life and death situations, putting you and your family members at serious risk.

Two options for travellers medical insurance

You have two options when it comes to choosing travellers medical insurance. You can acquire medical insurance valid in the US and other countries, or you can acquire a travelers insurance scheme that is valid only in countries outside the US. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

In the first arrangement, insurance will pay for treatment, in the US, of travelers who get sick or are injured outside the US. It also covers pre-existing conditions that may flare up or worsen during the trip such as hypertension. However cost is a definite issue; insurance valid in the US is usually more expensive than insurance that is valid only overseas.

In the second arrangement, the insurance policy will pay only for treatment overseas, but not for treatment in the US, and not for pre-existing medical conditions. Overseas policies however are usually cheaper since medical treatment abroad is cheaper.
In choosing which policy to buy, you should know what the policy covers and what it excludes and consider your health situation and needs and that of your fellow-travelers. It would also be useful to know the health situation and health facilities available in the countries where you are going.


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