I will be travelling in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic in August. I have "regular" health insurance that provides some international coverage (out of network, of course), but have seen some info online about health insurance while travelling. To the seasoned travelers out there - how do you handle insurance? Health insurance? Emergency insurance?? Any other needed? Thanks in advance from this newbie traveler :)
Posted by
2539 posts
I buy medical insurance and especially for the evacuation coverage See http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/travel-insurance.htm
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
156 posts
I just answered this question under trip cancellation insurance. The only thing that I buy is evacuation insurance. My own health insurance covers me while traveling (but you might have to pay out-of-pocket and get reimbursed) and my credit cards also provide additional coverage.
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2787 posts
I started to buy travel insurance which included medical coverage, evacuation, trip cancellation, etc. from Travel Guard after doing research via insuremytrip.com two years ago when I joined Medicare which does not cover me in Europe. Small price to pay for peace of mind compared to the total cost of the trip.
Posted by
Baton Rouge, LA, United States
56 posts
When I checked with my insurance company (through my employer), I found out that I was only covered out of the country in the event of "life threatening" illness or injury. For $48.40, I was able to add a 1 million dollar policy with a $100 deductible - definitely worth it for the peace of mind! Do I need 1 million dollars of coverage? Probably not, but the price difference for the lower policies was extremely small - a $50,000 policy was $36.30.
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
Heather - I have a travel health/evacuation policy that I keep up - it's an annual policy that's good anywhere 100 miles or more from home. I keep this up specifically for the evaculation insurance. Most of my trips are either airline miles or good deals on airfare and reservations for hotels that can be cancelled usually 1-3 days in advance. Sometimes you can even cancel without penalty after the deadline. For those trips, I don't get any additional insurance. For any international trips having a lot of pre-paid non-refundable expenses (packages, tours) I sometimes spring for cancellation/interruption/etc insurance. This is mostly if there is a chance I have to cancel for work or if one of my parents has had a recent medical issue. I just run the numbers to figure out if I think it's worth it. I actually used it once when I was stuck due to an acute medical issue and the insurance company reimbursed me for almost everything.