Health Travel Insurance

I always value the trip very low because they’re not going to reimburse me for hotel rooms that are cancelable. They’re not going to reimburse me for airplane tickets where can get a credit etc. so I generally put down about $1000 at most

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Medical+insurance&utf8=%E2%9C%93

Insuremytrip.com is good for comparisons
Squaremouth.com is also good for comparisons

My first thought is that a primary insurer will fight with a secondary insurer regarding who covers what, and may complicate the issue. Do you have medical evacuation insurance, which is a costly service? Do you have preexisting conditions - to cover these, health insurance needs to be purchased within weeks of your first trip reservation. Hard to answer you not knowing your age, country visiting, length of trip, etc. as everyone has different variables. Good luck!

For this year's trip to Italy and next year's trip to England and Ireland I changed what trip insurance I buy. I used to spend more for a comprehensive plan. But to have pre-existing conditions covered, I needed to buy insurance within two weeks of first payment.

For trip insurance to cover expenses, I bought only enough for each trip to cover non-refundable expenses. My hotels were cancellable with no money upfront. My plane tickets were refundable. I covered the 50% that Rick Steves will not cover with a credit. I upped the insurance amount as I increased expenses but didn't insure most sightseeing. These policies are through Allianz.
For medical, I bought GeoBlue annual policy that covers both trips. It is only for medical and covers pre-existing conditions even if you buy a policy a week before you depart. My Medicare Part F supplement has overseas medical but I didn't feel it is enough. It only reimburses. GeoBlue also only reimburses.
For medical evacuation, I bought MedJet Horizon annual policy to cover both trips. This is evac only. The cost for medical evac without insurance can run +/- $100,000, way more than I can afford.
Fortunately, I have never had to use these insurances.

There are lots of threads about trip insurance. If you use the search feature and narrow your search to forum and one year, you will find lots of information and experiences.

You can enter your trip costs as zero, and still be covered for medical, lost luggage, etc. and for very cheap.

I would still expect the medical coverage to be on a reimbursement basis. You may want to speak to the company directly to confirm. You can use a website like insuremytrip to compare policies and prices.

@Carol-Thank you for your reply. $1,000 was also I entered at first and the cost of the insurance looked acceptable; but when I entered the real cost (based on my estimate) the cost more than tripled. With your confirmation, now I think entering a small number is ok-it's not like I am going to claim or the agency will reimburse me for more than i entered when purchasing the insurance.

@Pat-One agency (I think it's Allianz lets you choose to buy primary plan or secondary plan) but the purpose of buying this is for it to cover the trip as the primary/only plan, even if my regular health plan may cover it.

@Horsewoofie-Thank you for the search function suggestion-I have searched on the forums for the previous discussions on the subject but didn't seem to have found answers to my questions.

Many trip plans bundle medical and evacuation expenses (e.g., Allianz). Is there any reason that you purchased them separately, was it because the coverage of the combined plan was insufficient? I looked up MedJet's annual plans, the least expensive one (International & Domestic, Up to 90 day consecutive aboard, for Medical Transfer only coverage), it costs $315 for an individual and $425 for family. Do those numbers look right?

@travel4fun-Thank you for your suggestion-Yes I agree entering a low travel cost makes sense when I don't expect the insurer to cover the travel cost.

There are insurance companies claiming that they will upfront the cost. For instance, Allianz says only when the healthcare provider doesn't accept their payment (or plan) will you need to pay out of pocket first then file a claim to get reimbursed.

Jean, the advantage of MedJet Evacuation plan is that it will take you to the hospital of your choice and most people want to go "home" after you are stable enough to travel with a flight nurse on commercial plane or air ambulance. Comprehensive plans will usually get you to the nearest facility. They may fly you home as has been reported on the forum. You need to read the policies carefully.

Yes, the MedJet Assist policy is $312 per year. I buy the MedJet Horizon plan for $474/year because if also includes security features and will upfront loan $60,000 for medical expensive if you need it. Look at the details to confirm. It's not that much more when expensed out over two trips. It also applies in the US if you are more than 150 miles from home.

I bought the Allianz Basic 1-trip plan to cover travel expenses, mainly trip interruption and cancellation. The medical is almost nothing as is evacuation. I feel I got better medical that covers pre-existing conditions with GeoBlue. And better evacuation with MedJet.

I tend to over insurance. Just like home insurance or car insurance you are betting you don't need it but it's a must have if you do.

I looked up on the website of insuremytrip.com, the costs from different agencies vary considerably. Insuremytrip was mentioned/recommended by more than one person, can I be assured that the insurance providers on its website trustworthy, do I still need to research each one I am interested in?
If I am not mistaken, Insuremytrip is just a platform for you to compare and purchase a plan but when it comes to filing a claim, you need to deal with the insurance provider. Perhaps it's better to buy a plan with an insurance agency directly.

Horsewoofie-Thank you for your explanations of the different plans and why you purchased each. Well thought out and made perfect sense.