For a long time now , it has been difficult for travel agency websites to discuss travel medical insurance with their visitors. It seemed as though everyone was simply trying to push the lowest price deals they could and if they tried to raise the final bill by selling an add-on like insurance, then they risked exposing themselves as uncompetitive in a very crowded marketplace. Thankfully, that’s not the case any more. You see, people are now more aware than ever that, should the need arise, going to hospital in a foreign country can be a very costly exercise.
Sometimes, people buy travel insurance, and they just assume that it includes medical cover as well. That’s of course, is rarely the case. And on a side note, you simply can’t afford to be casual about your travel medical insurance. As you will find out as you read on here, you need to be very careful indeed about where you buy as well as what you buy.
What Is Travel Insurance?
Travel insurance is general cover for things that happen when you go out to another country, for example, say you have a flight canceled, if the travel company lose your baggage, and so on. That’s what general travel insurance focuses on. Of course, they sometimes do cover accidents and a few emergency room treatment cases, but this tends to be the exception rather than the rule. But that’s the extent of what they do. If you really want proper cover, you need to buy purpose built travel medical insurance. With cover of this kind, you can expect medical care of any kind that you need – ambulance expenses, medical evacuation back your own country and just about everything else.
Am I Not Already Covered?
Many Americans will simply travel to other countries without travel medical insurance because they assume them that their existing health insurance back home will cover them everywhere. Of course, they are mistaken. It’s actually a wonder that anyone would assume this if they’ve spent any time at all with the American health insurance industry, but many people do! This is an industry that will even deny you healthcare right at the hospital next door given half a chance.
Needless to say, many health insurance policies exclude coverage in other countries. In some cases, they will offer coverage, but it will not be cashless, the way it is back home. In other words, you have to pay money upfront and then run around for reimbursement several months down the line – and that can seriously leave you out of pocket.
It’s always a good idea to buy travel medical insurance from the country that you’re traveling to. If you buy from some health insurance provider in your own country who claims to have an arrangement with providers in that country, you might find that when you get there this system doesn’t really work well. For example, if they can’t find you on their computer, you’ll be left high and dry.
If you are a business professional who travels to other countries all the time, you should probably get short-term coverage that’s designed for business professionals.
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