My wife and I have learned that ou US medical insurance does not cover us in Europe. I will be driving a rental car and am thinking it would just take one accident or one emergency hospitalization to run up a large uninsured bill. What do other people do about this, is there a travel insurance policy that provides adequate medical insurance?
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
I have retired health and welfare with previous employer. Be sure to take claim forms with you from your insurance carrier. I have Kaiser and will cover me in Europe but I have to pay there and Kaiser will reimburse me.
In my opinion, international travelers insurance and medical evac is a necessity when traveling abroad.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
80 posts
Defiantly call someone about your current plan; you would be surprised as to what they might cover. my travel agency uses Travel Guard. They have pretty good rates and will customize your trip.
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
Hi, I thinking about the same thing. The New York Times last week had an article about a company called - International SOS. I googled searched for them and their web site is www.internationalsos.com. They charge so much depending on the amount of days you travel or you can join by the year. The article said that alot of business travelers and companies use them. You can also pay an insurance fee to have them evacuate you home if necessary. They link you up with Engish speaking doctors, etc. I myself was wondering if I should get it and was going to ask a question about it on this website. I would be interested to find out what other tell you.
Thanks.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9099 posts
Medical/evacuation insurance is a necessity whether your renting a car or not. If you were to break your leg and needed special seating on a plane to get you back home, those charges start at $20,000 USD. If the accident happens in a remote location or you live in a remote part of the US, those fees can easily double. I have heard horror stories of travelers being financially ruined by the expenses. I never take a chance, I also buy the coverage. There are lots of companies that offer this kind of insurance, I happen to use this company:
www.travelinsure.com
Posted by
Lebanon
711 posts
Kent.. We always buy travel insurance when we buy our tickets. AAA has good insurance. Any AAA agent or travel person can tell you about it. Covers alot.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
Here are other travelers insurance companies:
http://www.worldnomads.com/insurance.aspx
http://www.internationalinsurance.com/patriot-international/
Posted by
Daly City, CA
58 posts
www.insuremytrip.com is a website that lets you compare insurance policies instead of going to individual sites.
Rebecca
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
American Express also has travel medical/evacuation insurance of about $100,000.00 that any of it's members can purchase. You can do it as a monthly or annual premium. They are also supposed to have numbers you can call for medical referals as well as translation services. I haven't used it abroad, but have used it for reimbursement of medical expenses in Las Vegas. I keep seeing the information about it on my monthly statement.
Posted by
In the Mountains, USA
689 posts
We always contact our current insurance carrier and get a rider through them. this year we are lucky - our current health insurance covers us in Italy as long as we don't stay longer than 3 months.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
I have used www.insuremytrip.com a number of times. You can select from a number of companies, and they have all kinds of options for levels of coverage so you only buy what you need. Several of them even cover terrorist acts that might occur in your departing city or the city you're traveling to (which might result in cancellation of your trip).