What would happen if you were sick or sustained an injury while you were traveling? It’s an important question to ask because it can be stressful to need medical attention at any time and even more so when you’re away from home and there may be a language barrier.
We strive to help Addition Financial members in any area that may impact their finances and that includes traveling. We sometimes get asked about travel health insurance and whether it’s necessary. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Travel Health Insurance?
Travel health insurance is health insurance that covers you if you should become sick or sustain an injury while you’re away from home. Some of the most common insurance plans, including HMOs and PPOs, provide little or limited coverage if you see a provider who’s not approved or in their network. While most will provide coverage in an emergency, you could get sick and need care on a non-emergency basis and that applies only if you are traveling domestically.
Travel health insurance provides short-term coverage for the duration of your trip. It may sometimes be bundled with other types of coverage related to travel, including the following:
- Trip cancellation
- Trip delay
- Baggage loss
- Emergency medical evacuation
It can be both difficult and expensive to obtain medical care when you’re away from home and travel insurance can provide you with some peace of mind that you’ll be able to get treatment if you need it.
What Does International Health Insurance Cover?
For most Americans traveling inside the United States, buying travel insurance is a rarity. It is more common for international travel. With that in mind, let’s talk about the types of treatments and services that are covered by international health insurance:
- Ambulance services
- Hospital expenses
- Operating room charges
- Diagnostics, including lab tests, X-rays, examinations and anesthetics
- Doctor bills
- Prescriptions and other medications
- Dental care (typically pays only a limited amount)
- Emergency medical evacuation (usually requires a policy rider and additional premium)
Each insurance company that offers travel health insurance will have its own list of covered procedures and most will pay reasonable and customary charges, which are typically based on the average cost of a procedure or treatment in a given area.
When is International Travel Insurance Necessary?
Do you need to buy travel health insurance? Let’s talk about why it might be necessary. The first reason you might want it is that life is unpredictable. Any of the ailments or injuries that could occur at home could happen while you’re traveling. If you fall and hurt yourself or require emergency surgery, having coverage can remove a lot of the stress that you would experience in such a situation.
Another reason would be that if you are in poor health or have a pre-existing medical condition. However, if this applies to you, you should be aware that most travel insurance carriers will cover pre-existing conditions only if you meet specific requirements. We will cover those in the next section.
Most international travel experts recommend travel insurance because there is always a chance that something could happen while you are traveling and the expenses associated with treatment without insurance can be extensive.
What Does International Health Insurance Cover (and Not Cover)?
The purpose of international health insurance is to provide coverage for the unexpected. Most policies you can find will cover the following things:
- Unexpected illnesses
- Unexpected injuries
- Other unexpected medical conditions
If you were to break a bone or suffer a heart attack while traveling, your international health insurance policy would cover it. We should note here that not every travel insurance company covers COVID-19-related expenses, so if you are traveling during the pandemic, you should make sure to check. You may also want to consider adding coverage for an emergency medical evacuation. If you become seriously ill or injured, evacuation insurance will cover your trip back home, including emergency transportation should that become necessary.
If you have a pre-existing condition, you may need to provide your medical history and testify that your condition has not been treated in the past year to receive medical coverage. Requirements vary from carrier to carrier.
The list of things that are not covered by international health insurance is longer. You should keep in mind that in an emergency, your regular health insurance may provide some medical coverage even if you are traveling abroad. However, buying international health insurance can supplement your regular insurance plan and give you peace of mind. Here are some of the things that are typically not covered by your travel insurance policy:
- Routine medical care (check-ups and vaccinations, etc.)
- Pre-existing conditions (Some carriers may provide insurance coverage if you buy an insurance plan within two weeks of making your trip deposit, while others may want to review your medical history first as noted above.)
- Organ or tissue transplants
- Weight loss or obesity modification, such as gastric bypass surgery
- Injuries from hazardous activities, such as bungee jumping or skydiving
- Medical equipment or corrective devices, such as eyeglasses or contacts
- Intoxication and drug use
Keep in mind that every insurance plan is different and you should check with each insurance company you contact to see what they cover and what they don’t. Carriers are happy to provide a sample policy for you to review before you decide which coverage to buy.
What Are the Different Types of Travel Medical Insurance Policies?
Depending on what your travel plans are, there are two different types of travel insurance to consider.
Single Trip Insurance
If you are planning a single trip, whether it’s for business or pleasure, then a simple, single trip travel health insurance policy is what you need. It will provide you with travel medical coverage for expenses incurred during the time of your trip. Medical benefits will not begin until you depart for your trip and will end when you arrive back at home.
Multi Trip Insurance
Anybody who travels more than three times per year should consider multi trip travel insurance. With multi trip coverage, you will have a health plan in place for any trips you take during the year in which your policy is active. It’s a good idea for anybody who travels extensively to carry a multi trip travel health insurance policy to protect them while they are abroad.
What Countries Require Travel Medical Insurance?
One of the developments in travel insurance that you should know about is something that has arisen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some countries are requiring all travelers to carry insurance that will cover COVID-related health expenses before they will issue a visa. Some countries require coverage from a company that is licensed in the country; Costa Rica is an example.
Others do not require coverage but charge a fee to cover the costs if you become ill with COVID while you are visiting. For example, Jamaica charges a $40 fee for the Jamaica Cares program, which covers on-island healthcare up to $50,000. You should make sure to check and verify your destination country’s requirements, since in some cases a travel policy purchased from a United States-based insurance company will not be accepted.
How Much Travel Health Insurance Do You Need?
One of the most important things to know before you shop for travel health insurance is how much coverage you need. You don’t want to pay more than necessary, but you also don’t want to be caught without the emergency medical coverage you require if you do become ill or get injured.
You should keep in mind that your insurance company will likely not provide much coverage if you need medical attention while traveling abroad. Depending on where you are, the cost of medical evacuation can be high and you’ll need enough coverage to protect you if an evacuation should be necessary.
It’s a good rule of thumb to have at least $50,000 in coverage. However, remember that medical evacuation – which may be necessary if you are traveling to a country where high-quality healthcare is not available – can cost more than $50,000 and in some cases, can run to $200,000 or more. You should talk to multiple insurance companies and get quotes for the coverage you need.
How Much Does Travel Health Insurance Cost?
You are probably wondering how much it will cost to buy travel health insurance if you plan to travel abroad. The good news is that in most cases, the cost is low: between $40 and $80. The reason is that most people who buy travel health insurance never use it.
There are several factors that can impact the cost of travel health insurance, including your age, your health and your destination. For obvious reasons, multi-trip insurance will be more expensive than coverage for a single trip.
Keep in mind that if you decide to buy a higher coverage limit or add coverage for an emergency medical evacuation, you will pay more for your policy. Some of the US-based carriers that you may want to consider are Allianz, Travelex and Travel Insured International. Make sure to check if coverage from a US carrier will be accepted for your visa. If it isn’t, you may need to obtain coverage from country where you are traveling.
If you are planning a trip overseas in the near future, then it is our recommendation that you buy a travel health insurance policy to cover you if you should get sick or sustain an injury and require urgent care while you’re traveling. Given the relatively low cost of travel health insurance and the potential financial ramifications of not buying it, we think that the cost is worthwhile.
Do you need a Health Savings Plan to cover your out of pocket medical expenses? Addition Financial is here to help! Click here to learn about our HSAs and open an account today.
Posted on Feb 24, 2022
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