Traveller's Medical Insurance
 

Just wondering if any of you purchase supplemental medical insurance while travelling abroad?

If you're in doubt whether to get med. insurance or not: YES!! My then 19-year-old absolutely healthy child had to spend a night in a German hospital. Our insurance company reimbursed us 100%. First of all check if your med. insurance have an emergency worldwide coverage, call their 800 number. If not, there are travellers' insurances which are generally cheaper then medical insurance. Shop around.

We use CSA trip insurance, taking the Gold Plan for pre-existing conditions and very good rental-car coverage. I wouldn't leave home without it!

Thanks for the info. I normally purchase trip insurance (for cancellation) through a tour operator, however for my upcoming trip, I purchased all components separately and did not have a chance to purchase insurance through airline or villa rental company, car rental, tour group etc.

Since I have spent a significant amount of non-refundable $$ upfront, I decided to purchase cancellation and medial insurance.

I was primarily wondering how many travellers purchase medical insurance when travelling abroad? In the past I did not really think about the need until I read an article about a young Canadian couple visiting Cuba. In a freak accident the young woman ended up a parapelgic (unsure of spelling) and required emergency evacuation and medical care in the US. They did not have insurance, and depended on the assistance of friends and family to come up with the money to fly them to the US. It was a heartwrenching story that impressed upon me the importance of medical insurance! Thanks for the info.

We've bought basic travel insurance for some years now, but the need was reinforced 2 years ago when a friend had a freak accident on a Caribbean island and had to be air-lifted to Miami on a hospital plane. As you can imagine, the cost was prohibitive.

In the event of a death while travelling, sending remains back to the U. S. is VERY expensive, and insurance to cover the possibility is very good to have. (If you want a bit of humor on the subject, see Billy Crystal's movie "Forget Paris.)

I now get it because you never know The nytimes has a good article registration is required.
http://query.nytimes.com/search/arti...tures%2fTravel

http://query.nytimes.com/search/arti...tures%2fTravel

We no longer travel abroad without a traveller's medical insurance policy, as our plan does not have international coverage. In order to get complete coverage (including pre-existing conditions), you need to sign up for the policy no later that 14 days after your initial payment (deposit) on your trip. So, as a matter of course, we should all get into the habit of purchasing medical insurance once we book the airline reservations or pay the first installment on a tour.

Our medical plan has international coverage, and we are in good health, so we've never purchased additional coverage. While there's always a chance something might happen requiring medical evacuation or some such, the risk/reward ratio in our case tilts towards not buying additional insurance.

Just an FYI.

Basic Medicare Part A does not cover you outside of the US.

If your health insurance covers you outside the USA you still need to know how they are going to cover you and when are they going to pay the medical bills.My health insurance requires that I pay the entire medical bill first. Then I have to obtain photocopies of the treatment/hospitalization to bring home and submit to them. Furthermore, if the photocopies are not in English, and they most likely are not, I will have to pay for them to be translated into English.As a result of this I pay for travel medical insurance that does not require me to jump through all these hoops.