Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is an insurance policy that covers you when you travel outside of the United States. Many health insurance companies do not cover their members when they leave the country, so purchasing travel insurance is a good way to make sure that your expenses are covered incase you have a medical emergency while abroad. Many travel plans also cover emergency dental procedures, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation of remains, return trips to the US, lost luggage, and accidental death or dismemberment benefits.

Who Needs Travel Insurance?

While it never hurts for anyone to buy travel insurance, there are certain individuals that should never travel with out it. If your health insurance policy does not cover you when you leave the United States, it is unwise to travel with out purchasing travel insurance. Should you get hurt in an accident or get sick while traveling, if you don’t have travel insurance you will have to cover all of your medical expenses. Senior citizens that use Medicare need to understand that Medicare is very limited outside of the United States, so they should purchase travel insurance if they plan to travel outside the country. If you are planning to reside out of the country for up to a year, you might want to consider a travel insurance policy so that if you get sick, you won’t have to pay for doctor visits out of your pocket.

What are the Limitations of Travel Insurance?

Unlike domestic health insurance, travel insurance policies have a predetermined length of coverage. Your travel insurance is only good for the length of time that you are out of the country and it expires when you return home. It is also important to understand that travel insurance will only cover medical expenses that are considered to be medically necessary and it will not cover pre-existing conditions. Travel insurance doesn’t cover routine physical exams, immunizations, maternity needs, drug or overdose treatments, routine dental care (such as cleanings), routine eye care (such as an eye exam for glasses), or injuries that are the result of participating in dangerous activities.

Travel insurance is not intended to provide coverage for current medical conditions or medications. It should only be purchased to make sure that you are covered in the event you experience a medical emergency when you are abroad and out of your medical insurance company’s coverage area.

Trip Cancellation Insurance?

While most people purchase travel insurance to cover unexpected medical emergencies, many policies include trip cancellation benefits. This insurance will reimburse you for prepaid trip costs if something unexpected, such as sickness or a family emergency keeps you from traveling.