If you are planning to travel outside your home country, it is usually a good idea to buy some insurance. Doing so will save you a lot of stress, hassle and money. Should someone get injured or fall ill, you know help is just a phone call away and that any necessary treatment will be paid for by the insurance company.
But, you do need to be careful when buying international travel medical insurance. It is important to do your research and buy a policy that is suitable for your family and the type of trip you are considering taking.
What the restrictions are
A good starting point is looking at what is not covered. Often, while reading through this section, of the policy, you will pick up on issues. For example, activities that you were hoping to enjoy doing, for which there is no coverage.
Pre-existing conditions coverage
If anyone in the family has a pre-existing condition or is taking medication, be extra careful. They will not be properly covered by normal medical travel insurance policies. But, you may be able to get coverage by declaring these conditions and paying a little extra. If you do decide to do that make sure that you get the fact that you have bought this additional coverage, in writing.
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How much coverage you get
It is important to make sure that you buy a high enough level of coverage. You do not want to end up with a medical bill of $50,000 only to find out, later, that you have only bought $25,000 worth of coverage.
Age restrictions
Some firms will not cover people below or above a certain age. So, always double-check. This is particularly important if you are traveling as a multi-generational group.
What is covered?
Double-check exactly what expenses are included. It is particularly important to make sure that there is an adequate level of medical repatriation coverage. Being flown back to your home country in an air ambulance is very expensive.
You should also make sure that tickets for the journey back for everyone is included, should your return be delayed by sickness within the group. The last thing you need is to have to leave your partner alone in the hospital, while you fly your kid’s home. Then struggle to buy a return ticket, so you can take care of things and get your partner home later.
Check that there is a proper support number
Accidents and illness can happen at any time of the day or night. So, make sure you only buy from a company that provides 24/7 support. Also, check how much they charge per minute for this service. The best companies have lines that are free to call from anywhere in the world.
A few sources of additional information
The above is an overview of the most important points. But, I am not a trained insurance professional, so you really should do some additional research before buying a policy.
Travel forums and consumer rights groups are both good sources of extra information. You can learn a lot about the potential pitfalls of buying the wrong insurance policy from stories like this one. Reading a few of them will help to stop you from making the mistakes other travelers have.
