HappyTrvlr

We've paid for medical care in Europe several times and it was much less expensive than we pay in the US. We paid with cash as they requested.We submitted the forms we were given by the doctors to our insurance company when we returned home.The only time we paid almost nothing(3E) was at a hospital ER in Greece,they didn't know how to bill us when we offered, and little English was spoken so we finally relented.

Christina

AAA has travel insurance in my state, also (Maryland), they probably do everywhere. Of course they are not an insurer, no auto club is, but they have a tie-in with an insurer (Access). My friend got it through them and really liked Access. All you have to do is go to their website and click on the insurance tab to read about it. But they aren't writing their own policies, so there isn't much point, you can go to Access and read the same rules. There are a lot of regulations and financial conditions to actually run an insurance company.

slangevar

Thanks, mztery & Christina - I'll give them a call! (I'd just checked their site before.) HappyTrvlr - great to hear confirmation that it won't break our wallets if something does happen.

hmmm

Sounds as though someone doesn't understand the concept of insurance, which is based on the notion of spreading the costs of losses unforseen as to any particular individual.

Someone is seeking to shift medical costs to others, after a loss has occurred or is likely to occur (like trying to buy flood insurance when the dam is about to burst). Moreover, this scenario is a perfect illustration of a "moral hazard"--someone will engage in risky behavior, e.g. lifting weights he shouldn't, because another party will pick up some or all the cost of that behavior.

Have a good trip.

cathies

Until Flanneruk posted,nobody suggested that the chap with the broken arm was going to try to pick up his luggage with that arm! hmmmm - just buzz off, you aren't being helpful.

slangevar has asked for assistance with a product she would like to purchase and pay for if it is available. I don't know why you think you have to attack her.

Cathinjoetown

To be fair, Slangevar said her husband was stubborn and likely to try to lift luggage or something else that would land him in the ER. That's why I commented on availability of sky caps at the major airports.

cathies

Apologies, I missed that post about the husband being stubborn. In that case I think you should leave him at home and take a girlfriend instead

slangevar

HA! The DH is actually being honored over there, so I think I might get in a bit of trouble if I just left him at home.

Thanks for the support with hmmm, cathies. I'm still mystified by how my interest in paying for insurance could provoke such an accusation.

The luggage comment was mostly a joke. We just returned from another trip on which I carried EVERYTHING. I don't let my DH do anything. But people on the street (texting) still slammed into his arm without looking, so I'm trying to be prepared for everything.

hmmm

Seems quite useful to explain why that insurance would not be available to cover the costs of complications from a pre-existing injury. Pretend as we might, we are expecting someone else to pick up our medical bills after a predictable loss. If that were not so, there would be no desire for "insurance". Nothing mysterious.

Overlooked is a fundamental element of true insurance: risk sharing. Everyone in the pool bets a little that he won't experience a large loss in the future. When the anticipated loss is unpredictable as to any individual, that works, as insurance has for hundreds of years. But, if people are free to buy in after a loss has occurred only suckers would buy in before. At the point where "insurance" is only purchased after the fact the cost of a premium would be the bills associated with the loss and the costs of administering the plan. Not a deal.

You might try Lloyd's of London for a quote. Enjoy your trip.

zeppole

I'm coming late to this thread and I admit I haven't read every last word, but:

You DON"T need trip insurance to cover a repeat injury to your husband's arm.

You DO need trip insurance to cover both of you in case one of you becomes unexpectedly and seriously ill (or suffers some new grievous injury) to the extent you need to rearrange your hotels or transportation, or need emergency evacuation to the US.

Check into the cost of acquiring standard trip insurance that excludes the "pre-existing" condition. If the arm is re-injured, your out-of-pocket costs for a patch up in the UK are not going to bankrupt you.

Your worst case scenario is that your husband re-injures his arm to such an extent you need emergency evacuation to the US and your trip insurance won't cover it. The chances of that happening seem rather remote to me.