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Should You Consider Travel Health Insurance,

Are you a recent college graduate looking for that dream summer back packing across Europe, A young adventurer who wants to re-trace the steps of Genghis Khan, A middle aged individual who is years overdue on a really good vacation, For many individuals, a truly great vacation includes traveling. Getting away means just that, getting away. But there is one major detail that many individuals tend to ignore that they shouldn’t: travel health insurance in case of emergency.

It’s funny how so many people think of the importance of having health insurance at home, where they even know doctors and hospitals, yet then they leave to take a trip overseas and don’t have any coverage at all. How can you leave your country without health insurance,

Contrary to popular belief, many plans do not cover you outside of the US. The last thing you need is to be stuck in a foreign emergency room with a broken arm, strange rash, or dysentery without any protection of health insurance and any ability to pay for service. Even things as small as rashes or infections can become a very big deal.

Travel health insurance has other benefits beyond just its obvious name. Don’t think of travel health insurance as just being health insurance for overseas, but think of it as kind of an overarching insurance that happens to include health. Many of these plans are cheap, and not only do they cover important fees such as hospital and medical expenses, but also things like lost luggage, trip cancellation, emergency dental work, evacuation, and even accidental death. If you can get all of this coverage for a cheap price, why would you even consider leaving without it, You can buy the policy, get an insurance card and an emergency number to call, and that’s it. You now have peace of mind.

When contemplating travel health insurance, many people only think of small things that don’t really matter in the larger picture: loss of money, stolen camera, or stolen luggage. Illness and accidents are possible realities wherever you go, and need to be accounted for. This is the purpose of travel insurance. To define it succinctly: travel health insurance is a policy specifically designed to protect and cover you from any and all possible risk you might run into while traveling abroad.

Travel health insurance is a great policy, and generally is very cheap. Most likely, and obviously you hope, that during a vacation overseas nothing will go wrong and you will enjoy a trip that will create memories worth lasting for a life time. But peace of mind is a good thing to have, and just in case things go wrong you want to have a plan in case a dream vacation ends up turning its head towards being an ugly nightmare.

Travel health insurance gives you this option, covering you in almost any event and helping to give a security abroad that you would hope to have even if you never left your front door. So find a good policy, and enjoy the trip!

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Should I Purchase Travel Insurance, Travel Tips

This is one of those age-old questions with no definitive answer. It’s estimated that 30 percent of Americans purchase travel insurance, which is a drastic increase since 9/11, when less than 10 percent of travelers were insured.

If you’re flying on a $150 ticket to see Aunt Irma in Wisconsin, you probably don’t need travel insurance. But on a trip such as yours, travel insurance can come in handy if something unexpectedly disrupts your trip. Your first step is to compare the cost of the trip versus the cost of the policy.

The most common situations when travel insurance comes in handy are:

Your flight is canceled

Your passport and wallet are stolen

You require medical treatment while abroad

You need to cancel your trip due to illness

An unexpected hurricane hits your destination

Your airline/cruise line/tour company go bankrupt

Reasons NOT to purchase travel insurance are:

You’re afraid of terrorism

A hurricane is going to hit your destination (this applies if the storm has already been named by the National Weather Service)

Your pet is ill

Your flight is delayed for so long that you want to cancel

One major caveat: Never purchase travel insurance from the same tour operator or cruise line with which you’re traveling. If that company goes out of business, there may not be money to cover your claim. Use a third-party provider (that includes travel agents).

Also, don’t forget about medical insurance. Even if you are covered for basic emergency care overseas, in almost all cases, your current health insurance does NOT cover you to evacuate you and fly you back to the U.S. Something called “Medical Evacuation and Repatriation” insurance comes in handy here. You pay a yearly fee, and if you get sick or injured overseas, the policy will get you treated, stabilized and flown back to the U.S. to the hospital of your choice, not theirs. There are a number of good companies that provide this type of plan, such as MedJet Assist.

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Why Traveler’s Medical Insurance Is An Important Investment

With the many recent bankruptcies in the travel industry, and with the increased threat of terrorism overseas, travel insurance has become one of the most important investments you can make before your next trip.

How much would it cost if you needed to cancel your trip or come home early, Who would you call if you suddenly fell ill in your overseas hotel room, How will you navigate the local health care system if you get run over by a local bicyclist, Travel insurance can cover a lot more than trip cancellation costs and lost luggage.

Unlike most insurance policies that are purchased annually, most travel insurance covers a single trip. Single trip travel insurance is designed for those of us who take one main holiday a year or who prefer to have a few short breaks from the daily grind.

However, if you travel often, you can purchase a multi-trip policy that covers all your travel for a specified period of time, depending on your needs. The right policy is the best way to minimize the financial risks of traveling overseas.

Although many people think of trip cancellation coverage when they think of travel insurance, the medical element of travel insurance may be more important, especially if your group health plan does not have benefits outside your own country. In fact, travel Insurance is highly recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for all overseas travel.

Before going abroad, learn what medical services your own health insurance will cover overseas. If your emergency medical care and transportation are covered by your group health policy, you may not need a separate travel policy that covers your health. However, if you have an HMO or managed care plan, or if your health care needs are covered by Medicare or your national insurance plan, you should consider an international medical policy.

Your first step is to check with your health insurance company and see what it covers. Will they help you out if you lose your prescription medication along with your luggage, Will they help you find a good hospital or an English-speaking doctor in a foreign country, Will they cover emergency evacuations if the local facilities are unable to treat your illness or accident,

If your group coverage allows claims from other countries, how long will it take for you to be reimbursed, and how easy (or difficult) is it to file a claim, Once you have answers to these questions, you’ll know if you should add medical coverage to your travel insurance policy.

If you travel for business or if you are taking an extended trip lasting for several years, you may need an international health insurance policy designed specifically for expatriates and citizens traveling around the world. There are many global insurance carriers that offer life, health, disability and travel insurance to individual travelers and to companies with employees overseas.

The coverage offered by different international companies will vary a great deal from one policy to the next, so carefully review all fine print before making your choice. You might also check to see if the company is regulated by your own national laws and insurance regulations.

In a world where anything can happen, travel insurance is your ticket to safeguarding your trip. Emergency medical travel insurance is essential to protect yourself, your family and your personal finances, and to give yourself peace of mind while enjoying your vacation or business trip abroad.

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