Medical Evacuation Insurance
 

Just a reminder for those of us leaving on safari shortly...

www.medjetassistance.com

In the event of an accident, Med Jet Assistance will transport you all the way home to the hospital of your choosing. If the accident is serious enough, this could save tens of thousands of dollars.

This is not a substitute for health insurance or travel insurance, but neither one of those will cover your transportation costs.

A full year policy for a couple costs $325. I just picked up my policy this morning and it should arrive in the mail by next week in time for my August 30th departure. I sure would hate to be stuck in a Lusaka, Zambia, hospital rather than at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena!

Hi Rocco,

Good idea to remind people about this!

However, you should note that some of the top-end lodges automatically include Medevac coverage (but not other medical expenses). Wilderness and CCA both include Medevac coverage if you are staying with them.

Cheers,
Julian

I would be curious to know if the "top end" lodges which include Medevac coverage is only to the nearest suitable facility as most insurances cover. Coming home is a different matter and to me Medjet is important so I also carry the extra coverage it offers.

The "top end" lodges/camps and a few others will get you out of wherever you are but only to the closest suitable medical facility.

Medjet gets you home. For the annual family fee or even the individual fee - for those who travel just 50-miles from home, way to go! And they have a support hot line with various help available.

We booked Medjet for our recent trip and medical coverage - skipped on the comprehensive, but that was our choice. We were going come hell or high water... no way were we not, even if delayed, strike, terrorism, you name it.

The information can be found on

www.insuremytrip.com

along with comprehensive policies, medical only, evacuation only. Check them out. Thanks for the reminder Roccco.

For our trip to Kenya we went to Kenya we ended up becomming members of
www.AMREF.org or the Flying Doctor's Association of Africa which like the medjet assistance, isn't a substitute for trip cancellation or health insurance is a nice way to be covered for evacuation and the money goes for a great cause.

Hi All,
No direct or indirect experience with this, but, I do believe Jo'burg has some of the best doctors and hospitals in the world. A 4 hour (?) flight to Jo'burg would get you treatment a lot sooner than 10 or more hours to USA. And if your choice is back to some of the European countries, England for instance, than for sure I'd rather go to Jo'burg for medical treatment.
regards - tom

Although I am not usually the most conservative person, after reading this article, I vowed that I would not leave home without medical evacuation insurance:

http://www.huntingreport.com/current_issue.cfm?id=204

While I have no doubt that there are fine hospitals in Johannesburg, one thing to keep in mind is that often a person must first pay the bill in a foreign country, from out of their own pocket, and then later be reimbursed by their health insurance.

Also, if one finds themselves in the hospital for an extended time, wouldn't it be best to be home with friends and family. Imagine if one was laid up in a Joburg hospital for a few weeks...what would their spouse / travel partner then do?

Although the odds are very small of something going wrong, I do think those odds increase greatly with canoeing amongst hippos and nile crocodiles and doing walking safaris amongst elephants, snakes, predators, etc. A Zambian safari is definitely not an East African safari where one is in the security of a closed vehicle.

So, if anyone is thinking about passing on medical evacuation insurance, I would encourage you to read the above linked article.