Travel Ins., have you USED it?

On one trip we incurred medical expenses for which we had to get reimbursed by Travel Guard. They did require specific documentation but nothing that was unreasonable at all. We had a check from them in less than 2 weeks after filing our claim.

Check with your healthcare provider and see if you're covered when out of the country. Most insurance companies will reimburse you for any charges outside the U.S.

The exception would be those on Medicare without a supplement policy. But in reality, most retirees have supplements that cover you when traveling outside the U.S.

So many get travel insurance in case they have to receive emergency transportation home. Most sick or injured travelers can travel home on scheduled air carriers, and won't require a very expensive air ambulance.

If you need travel insurance for medical insurance reasons, you can buy a policy that leans toward medical coverage for specific amounts. And the rates can be quite reasonable.
We are in good health, well insured and don't purchase travel insurance.

HI David,

We are not covered abroad, not retired, etc.

Thanks.

Paul

I did use my travel insurance one trip when I had to see a doctor in Germany. I paid for the appointment, including testing and prescriptions, out of pocket. The insurance reimbursed me after I returned home. It wasn't an exorbitant amount, but the reimbursement was higher than the cost of travel insurance for me and my husband.

On my first trip to Europe the thought of travel insurance never occurred to me. About 10 days before we returned home I became ill. I just carried on, because I wasn't going to let anything stop me from having a good trip. After returning home I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with something that could have become very serious. I was sick for another month after that. If I had sought out medical care when I first became ill it would have been much better and I would have had a better trip.

My mother needed to use her travel insurance once. She was scheduled to be on a river cruise with my father when he died. Long story short, she decided to go anyway because there were multiple people she knew on the trip and thought it would good for her to go. Travel Guard insurance refunded everything my father's part of the trip cost with no argument and the cruise company did not charge her anything extra for being a single traveler and she kept the same cabin she was originally assigned. This was 10 years ago and I know things have changed, so your success rate in collecting insurance may vary.

Several years ago my wife had a freak accident on the Greek island of Santorini. The clinic there said they were not equipped to treat her there, so they flew us by military transport to Crete where she was hospitalized for 3 days before she was released. We did NOT have emergency med/evac insurance but were REALLY lucky since the Greek medical system is a socialized system and we were not charged for the evac or the hospital. Since then we have always bought travel insurance from Travelex because of their high limits on medical treatment and evacuation and car rental insurance coverage.

Last year my wife's sister died suddenly while we were travelling and we had to return to the States immediately. I contacted Travelex when we returned and sent in required documentation by email, and they covered most of our expenses per the contract.

Also some credit cards will cover emergency losses if the items were paid for with the credit card (like a pre-paid hotel stay). That worked for us in this case, but the credit card did not cover the expense of an overnite hotel stay in transit back to the States because that expense occurred after the emergency (death). You can't double dip with the two insurance coverages, but, between the two, we did recover almost all of our $2400 in expenses due to the emergency.

i am curious as to what type of situation would require someone to need to be medivaced back to the states? I would think most developed places could handle most emergency situations. With the exception of cruise ships, that is.

My husband was treated in France last year, bill was 65€ for after hours office visit and maybe 10€ for a prescription of antibiotics. I didn't bother trying to go through our Anthem coverage. My father in law, who has copd, had a breathing emergency in Croatia quite a few years ago and got very good treatment in the hospital there at no charge (he is a Dr himself) and my daughter spent 4 months earlier this year in Ecuador, had some breathing issues(very uncommon for her) she went to the emergency room for the initial treatment($80)then went back daily for nebulizer treatments at $5 per visit.

Paul,

It's not exactly "travel insurance", but I did have to use my IAMAT coverage many years ago during the time I was in Rome. They provide a type of "insurance" and a list of clinics with English-speaking Physicians who will treat minor ailments for a set fee (at that time I believe it was US$50). With my particular ailment, a clinic was all that was necessary and the problem was resolved forthwith. Although I also had a full travel medical insurance package, but I felt this was the easiest and quickest solution, and I wanted to try it and see how well it worked.

Paul: For the last several years, we have always taken out travel insurance--the benefits clearly outweigh the minimal costs. On our last trip to Europe, this past September, we used the insurance twice. Once for a four-to-five hour delay in our train travel between Linz, Austria and Munich, Germany due to German border crossing closures (95% of the passengers on our train were refugees / economic migrants) which caused us to miss our flight from Munich to Copenhagen. Our travel insurance reimbursed us for the cost of our pre-paid tickets and the cost of replacement tickets on a later flight. A few weeks later, I had my backpack and CPAP machine stolen while on a train between Amsterdam and Brugge. Again, our travel insurance came through and reimbursed me for the cost of the stolen items.

These reimbursements notwithstanding, we have the insurance in the event we have to either cancel our trip before departing or if we need to return to the US during our trip. Additionally, there is significant peace of mind knowing that any catastrophic event is covered--particularly if having to be medically evacuated back to the US. We always consider the nominal price of the insurance as part of our normal travel expenses.

We use Travel Insured through USAA.

We got into the habit of buying trip insurance when we traveled with my elderly father, to cover both medical treatment if needed or cancellation. Now that we are in our mid 60's we routinely include it in our travel expenses. We have no medical coverage outside the US. On our last trip a few months ago, our flight from Paris was delayed and we arrived in JFK to find our flight cancelled because of weather. We arranged for a flight the next day and were taking a taxi to a nearby hotel when I started grousing about the hassle to the cabdriver. He asked whether we had trip insurance and suggested we submit a claim. I had always thought of insurance in terms of evacuation and medical issues ($$$) and frankly had never considered the delay side. We had purchased Allianz insurance through Delta. I called, submitted the claims and all receipts. In about 10 days we were refunded 100% of our claim...hotel, taxis, meal. (Had I known, I might have ordered a Coke with the two KFC chicken breasts; as it was our meal was $10 for two of us, so maybe that helped grease the refund). We will continue to purchase insurance for our trips...just too many $1000s to second guess. We have been lucky so far. One guy on a cruise ship recently told us about his heart attack on board, and the $100,000's it would have cost had he not bought insurance. A woman we had met on a transatlantic cruise ship broke her leg on board, required hospitalization and return to the US. These were huge bills. A co-worker celebrating her 25th anniversary in Hawaii fell off her bike on day 2 , broke her shoulder, and spent $1000s. Anecdotal but true I know.

Dad took seriously ill once in Canada, and though he could have had surgery there, preferred to travel home to his doctors, so though services may certainly be available, Dad anyway (and many others I imagine) might choose home over foreign care options. That 2 nights in a Canadian hospital with myriad tests cost less than a bandaid back home in Dad's Ohio hospital is another story. Safe travels!

Thank you for all the excellent information and sharing your stories. Very helpful.

Paul

co worker got ill and had to leave her tour group. their trip insurance paid for her hospitalization, found a hotel room for her husband, and got her an upgraded seat on the plane home because she could not sit upright. she had to submit documentation, but got reimbursed for all of the above. unfortunately, I don't know which company she used.

i am curious as to what type of situation would require someone to
need to be medivaced back to the states?

Broken bones. After the break is set and stabilized overseas, most folks would prefer to recuperate at home or a facility close to their home. If it is a severe break and you need to remain horizontal during transport, that either requires a private air ambulance with nurse or several rows of seats yanked out of a passenger jet and a bed bolted to the floor. That could cost upwards of $100,000.

Michael, your answer to susan's question is exactly what happened to a relative of mine. He suffered several major fractures in a leg after a horrible fall while hiking a Greek mountain. He had to be carried off the mountain on the back of a donkey! After surgery in greece, he was told he would need a month of recovery followed by more surgery and wanted him to recover there. All he wanted to do was get home to orthopaedic surgeons he knew there. Medical/evacuation insurance took care of all.

An alternative is to contact the nearest embassy/consulate or Amex office if you're ill or need assistance. Years ago my wife had a dental emergency in Paris, we went to the Amex office and before we could even finish describing our need they handed us a business card for a dentist around the corner who had trained at the University of Chicago. And took Amex of course.

That's also why, before a long or expensive trip, I upgrade my regular Amex to Amex gold. Just for the higher level of benefits and (supposedly) better service in time of need.