Travel Insurance to Europe

firstcome12 here is my take on it.

Some US policies will reimburse you for medical treatment outside of the US, but is “reimburse” after you paid and after you prove the cost and provide all of the documents and translations and then months later. So, relying on a US policy has its drawbacks, even if technically it will pay. You will still need the cash up front. But if your policy will pay, then MedJet might be enough. They have a policy with a rather large cash advance built into it. That should get you patched up then the evacuation part of the policy will get you home to where your policy will cover it.

Without a US policy that covers things outside of the US then you need a travel policy. I live in Europe now so I got a policy from Allianz. And I used them prior to the move here, but never made a claim. They have a good reputation and so far they have paid my bills since my move here without question.

But I am retired, and I also have Medicare in the US, so I did a belt and suspenders and got the MedJet evacuation policy too. The one without the cash advance because Allianz will cover the local cost.

So there are two names, Allianz and MedJet.

For “trip insurance” that is reimbursement for hotels and flights when you get stuck overseas, I have never seen how the math works for that, so in 40 years of travel before my move here, I never bought a policy and never regretted it.

But its all about your risk tolerance.

I concur with Mr E on all points.

I have Medjet for medical evacuation. I also am on Medicare, and if I lived in Europe as Mr E does, I would look at an Allianz health insurance policy, but as a short term tourist, I self insure on anything I would have to pay out of pocket while in Europe (knock on wood, hasn't happened yet). I also have a Medicare supplemental policy that provides some coverage for medical obtained outside the US, and I will cross that bridge if/when I have to.

And I am in total agreement with Mr E on not bothering with the other kind of travel insurance, coverage for the other aspects of travel, reimbursement for travel disruptions, etc. Now having said that, I have an Amex Platinum card that provides some coverage for these kinds of things, but I honestly have never dug into it to understand how it works, what it covers, etc. I have been flying internationally for more than 40 years and have never needed travel insurance for anything like that, and if I ever have to come out of pocket to fix my situation, that is what I will do. The travel insurance policies I have looked at seem ridiculously overpriced to me, but YMMV...

To be very clear, I would NOT travel abroad (or even in the US) without Medjet. My adult children also have Medjet policies (one of them is a physician, the other travels the world extensively on business).

What you really need is a policy for medical expenses in Europe, $50,000 is more than enough as medical expenses are so much less in Europe than USA. Also, medical evacuation back home insurance in case you are so badly injured that you have to come home in a private jet with an attendant, like Medjet, minimum $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 would be better.

I recently got a Travelguard policy for a 10-day trip for $50 and I am older than you.

OK I’m going to be the other side of this. Yes you need insurance. And a medical evacuation policy is not enough. Because here’s the thing medical evacuation is for an emergency evacuation.

several years ago I was in Europe with people about your age. Day one one of the women fell in Covent Garden, and broke her arm and shoulder in a couple of places. Guess what healthcare is much less expensive in Europe. It’s also rationed. We had a nurse with us, the nurse and I went with this woman to the hospital. They put her in a sling and were sending her back to the hotel. They were done. The nurse said to the doctor what about surgery so that she doesn’t lose mobility in that shoulder. The response she’s 60 years old that’s to be expected. They were basically fully willing for her to lose mobility in her arm because she was “old”.

Because I work in healthcare, I knew there was a private hospital in the area. I got her care transferred to the private hospital where they offered us the option of surgery or a travel authorization so that her insurance company could get her home We called the travel insurance company, and they agree with us that this was not the end of her treatment protocol and once I got a release from the hospital, they sent a nurse who flew with her in business class back to the United States. This was not a medical evacuation flight. This was a normal flight to get her back to the United States, where she received surgery and now has full use of her right arm.

since then I’ve always had medical insurance. Yes, you do initially pay upfront. But if it’s very expensive, they will help you out. We were in Mexico and the person we were with had a heart attack. The insurance company reached out to the hospital and took over the payments because they were going to be substantial. So if you get a good insurance company, you don’t have to pay all of the expenses upfront. Now if you go to the ER and they release you, you’re probably going to wind up paying upfront, but with major Surgery etc. they will step in and take care of you. (oh, and by the way, the experience in Mexico was better than London )

I am now 63 and I do not travel without medical insurance. I buy an annual policy from USAA carrier. I can’t remember right now who it is I haven’t had to use it but if I need it it’s there.

I travel full time. I have Medicare in the US and a supplemental policy that has some international coverage.

However, I also have an annual policy with Allianz and a full evacuation policy with Medjet Assist.

Most travel insurance policies offer some type of medical evacuation.....but....it's usually only to the nearest full service hospital. Not one of your choosing. Medjet Assist will get you to the hospital of your choosing.

Medjet Assist also offers evacuation insurance in case of war, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and more. You call them and they make all the arrangements to get you home.

However, fortunately, I have never had to put in a claim.

Here is what MedJet does, in their words, and it is not very restrictive:

MEDICAL TRANSPORT SERVICES
A. Availability
Medjet medical transport services are available to any Member who qualifies for medical transport
services in accordance with these Rules and Regulations, is hospitalized as an inpatient 150 miles or
more from his or her Residence Address and is accepted as a patient into an available inpatient bed by
an admitting physician at the hospital of the Member’s choice in the Member’s Home Country.
Medjet medical transport services are not available to a Member with mild lesions, simple injuries such
as sprains, simple fractures or mild illnesses that can be treated by local doctors and do not prevent the
Member from continuing his or her trip or returning home without medical attention.

There is a bit more fine print naturally, but none of it is restrictive to the point that reasonable expectations for evacuation will not be met.

AND any statement about the quality or the cost of care "IN EUROPE" is going to be problematic as there is no "EUROPEAN" health care system or "EUROPEAN" health care standard. There is a lot of misconception in the US about the "EUROPEAN" healthcare system.

If I knew all the details of the healthcare system in each country in Europe I might feel comfortable with 75% of the public health care in the EU. Outside of the EU, my guess is that percentage is a lot, lot, lot lower. I live in an EU country and I am pretty darn happy to pay the cost of private healthcare cause I have seen and heard about the local public healthcare.

And I guess I would be a tad more comfortable with emergency services than long term services. Being on your back in a life threatening situation is not the right time to evaluate if the odds of the care being at least as good as the US is true or not.

There is a post here about the events of a visitor in Hungary. She suffered a collapsed lung. The public medical system here saved her life, took good care of her, treated her with respect and kindness but not with too much anesthetics when they were forcing chest tubes in her. They gave her the best care available and the bill was cheap. Fortunately her husband was here to go and buy her food to eat and toilet paper during her stay in the hospital; and she never was at a loss for company in the hospital thanks to the ward she was in.

Thank you for all your responses. At least now we have a few insurance names that you have used

So here we are also August 2024. Our trip is approaching quickly.

One question. I am a diabetic...any advice on insurance etc

Thank you.

Depends on where you are going and for how long.

if you want pre-existing conditions covered you need to be buying any travel insurance right after - a matter of a few days - you buy your travel.

Since you asked in March, and again now, I'll guess that you have your tickets, so the pre-existing conditions boat may have sailed.

I hope you both have a great trip.

Some companies require you to purchase your policy within a timeframe of your initial purchase for the trip, such as airline tickets or hotel bookings to ensure full coverage and at a cheaper cost. The company I use for Travel Insurance & Evacuation is Travel Insured, you must purchase your policy within 14 days of your initial charges for the full coverage (pre-existing conditions, cancel for any reason) & lower cost.

One question. I am a diabetic...any advice on insurance etc

I will throw this out for the others that might be following. If you have a serious medical condition and if losing your meds could be a real nightmare, then you might think about getting a European prescripiton when you arrive.

In the EU, apparently, a prescription written in Italy is good in Spain, etc.... I say apparently because my doctor in Hungary writes a prescription for a heart medicine that is not available in Hungary, but there is a service that will take my prescription to Austria and get it filled for me. Costs me about $25 so i do it every three months.

You dont actually have to fill the prescription but you have it if you need it. Many countries have fairly inexpensive clinics were for a fairly low sum you can meet the doctor and get the prescritpion.

This may be overkill, but if you are worried and it will help you sleep better at night, then why not.

Thank you all for responding to my query re: insurance for diabetics. I found out that I am covered through my travel insurance.
So we chose Medjet per your recommendations.
Allianz per your recommendations.

So grateful for this group.

Happy day to all of you!

It's so great when someone comes with a serious question, gets a good range of answers and OP, acts upon the suggestions! Well done.
Hey Mr E, just a question, why you've purchased an Allianz travel policy when you have excellent EU insurance coverage, as we do in Sweden. Just wondering.. maybe it's for travel outside EU? Thanks!