Continuing last week’s column about travel insurance and how to choose the best policies for travelers’ specific needs, please be certain to thoroughly investigate before booking and taking your long-awaited vacation. Other types of travel insurance include benefits for:
Emergency medical assistance, evacuation, and repatriation coverage pays medical expenses if you get sick or injured on a trip. Medical evacuation coverage pays for transporting you to the nearest hospital, and medical repatriation pays for flying you home. Many years ago, while vacationing on a tropical island, my husband became seriously ill with kidney stones. After several days of horrific and continuous pain, we went to an island doctor who prescribed medication that only made the condition worse. He was so sick, in fact, he was unable to even sit up in order to catch an earlier flight home. Thank goodness by the time our flight out rolled around, he was enough improved to sit for the six-hour trip home. We immediately visited our family doctor who informed us that the “medication” had placed Hubby on the verge of renal failure! After this experience, every time we left the country, we shelled out extra bucks for medical evacuation insurance; while we haven’t had the need to use it, this plan provides us with great peace of mind.
Be sure to carefully examine the details of the policies you’re studying. For example, a policy might not cover pre-existing conditions and often exclude adventure sports, such as skydiving or parasailing, or competition in organized sporting events. You may need to buy a special travel policy designed for adventure or competitive sports. Moreover, the policy normally pays no more than $50K. Check the deductible – your cost can range from zero to more than $2,000. Finally, study your homeowner’s policy; call and ask some “what if” questions and remember that Medicare doesn’t cover us outside of the United States.
Major medical insurance plans are for people traveling abroad for several months or more and provide comprehensive health insurance while away from home. In some ways they work like traditional health plans. However, they’re not subject to the Affordable Care Act, so they include limits on coverage and exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
Before purchasing this particular travel policy, check first with your health insurance plan to see what coverage you would have out of the country. It still might be necessary to be enrolled in a U.S. health plan to be eligible. You’ll obviously pay more out-of-pocket to visit health care providers outside the plan’s network. Too, look at out-of-pocket expenses for deductibles, coinsurance and copayment amounts and, also, be sure to study policy limits – some major medical plans cap the total amount they’ll pay out and limit coverage for some benefits, such as prescription drugs.
Policies with 24-hour assistance provide a 24-hour hotline that you can call when you need help, such as booking a flight after a missed connection, finding lost luggage, or locating a doctor or lawyer. Many services also offer information before the trip, such as required vaccinations. Some plans likewise include concierge services (providing help with restaurant referrals, tee time reservations and more), but carefully read the policy beforehand to see what’s what.
Rental care coverage pays for repairing your rental car if it’s damaged in a wreck, by vandals or in a natural disaster. I’ve never bought this kind of coverage as our homeowner’s policy covers these mishaps. (However, if readers do purchase, know it doesn’t include liability insurance, which pays for damage to other vehicles or for others’ medical treatment if you cause an accident and are held responsible.) You can usually purchase liability insurance from the rental car company. Learn about car insurance requirements by searching for auto insurance by country on the U.S. Embassy website.
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance pays a lump sum to your beneficiary, such as a family member, if you die in an accident while on the trip. This type of insurance policy also pays a portion of the sum to you if you lose a hand, foot, limb, eyesight, speech or hearing. (Some plans apply only to accidental death in a plane.) This is unnecessary coverage if you already have sufficient life insurance; even term insurance pays out whether you die in an accident or from an illness. Certainly, you may also already hold accidental death and dismemberment insurance through work.
Note: An AD&D policy doesn’t pay out if a stroke, heart attack, aneurysm or other medical issue leads to an accident. The death or loss of a limb must occur within a certain time frame, such as one year, after the accident that occurred during the trip. Watch out for exclusions, such as risky sports.
As summer approaches, be on the lookout for more Consumer Watch advice to help make traveling easier, safer, and more enjoyable!
Contact Ellen Phillips at consumerwatch@timesfreepress.com