I will be traveling with my wife, but not on an organized tour, but by our selves. Both on Medicare; therefore need seperate medical policy. When reviewing policies on internet all positive responses are from people who never needed to use the policy that they purchased. Negative reviews from those who did. Has anyone purchased medical policy for traveling overseas and had to use it
My question is; what companies are good based on actual claim experance?
Posted by
Mission Viejo, Calif., USA
1010 posts
My husband and I have used American Express Medical (800 437-9209) and been very happy with their coverage. We have used them for six long trips. We were in Australia and had to go to the doctors, twice. When we returned, all we had to do was submit our claims to American Express and were quickly reimbursed. If you want their coverage, you call them two weeks before you are about to leave on your trip. That gives them time to send you the I.D. cards and a few papers. You pay monthly. You can cancel it when you return. It is extremely reasonable. When we took two Tauck tours, we were insured by "Insure My Trip.com". We didn't make any claims though. If you belong to AAA, you might want to call them and ask them for recommendations. I would think that all the major companies, would be very credible.
Posted by
Missouri City
252 posts
My husband came down with pancreatitis in July 2010 and was hospitalized for 4 days. As a result of his illness, he lost alot of weight very quickly and was very weak. We were scheduled to leave to Europe in early September but by early August, we realized he would never be well enough to travel much less drive as he was still using pain meds so we rebooked our flights for mid October and incurred fees to do so. I had insured our trip with Travelsafe thru www.squaremouth.com. I downloaded and completed their claim forms which included a statement from my husband's physician. I also included copies of his hospital bill and his pain medication prescriptions. Within a matter of weeks, I had received a check from Travelsafe for the fees to rebook our flights. That's the only time we've needed to file a claim but I was happy with the results.
Posted by
Fort Wayne, IN, USA
2349 posts
Please see the current thread on a woman needing an appendectomy. While it doesn't answer your question, it does emphasize the need for insurance, if only for peace of mind. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/98858/traveling-and-needing-emergency-appendectomy-help.html
Posted by
San Francisco, CA, USA
5 posts
Take a look at the medical insurance offered by Divers Alert Network (DAN). Although it's designed for scuba divers, it covers a ton of extreme situations, which can be really good if you ever need a helicopter flight off a cruise ship or some remote island.