Travel is something with which most people associate freedom, new experiences, rethinking themselves and their lives. All people look for different things when traveling. Some are interested in sights, some get acquainted with the cuisine of other nations, some enjoy unusual nature, some go on a trip to attend a theater premiere, concert or exhibition. However, despite all the positive experiences that travel can bring, we should not forget that they are fraught with certain troubles for your health and well-being. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should always be afraid that you will eat something of poor quality or something that will be poorly received by your body, or that you will certainly fall into some crevice if you go on a hiking trip. However, the most informed and rational approach to travel would be to consider ensuring that you receive medical care if you encounter an injury or other illness while abroad.
Unfortunately, as a rule, things happen to us that we never expect. Therefore, you should not be surprised if, for example, going to a hot country and taking with you a lot of sun protection products, you encounter pneumonia due to being under a fan or too strong an air conditioner. Even in one’s native country, this is not the most pleasant and easily experienced experience, but being in an unfamiliar environment, a person may generally feel completely helpless and disoriented, not knowing how and where to get help.
The situation is often complicated by lack of knowledge of prices in local pharmaceutical markets and in medical institutions, lack of knowledge of the language and bureaucratic procedures associated with obtaining medical services. Travel medical insurance helps cover potential costs associated with illness or injury incurred while in a foreign country. Medical insurance for traveling abroad is purchased by the traveler before he leaves his country. This is a kind of deposit that can cover the costs of a variety of types of emergency medical care, if the need arises during the trip.
What Is Traveler’s Health Insurance?
Travel health insurance or traveler’s health insurance can consist of different plans that cover different diseases. As a rule, the longer the list of situations in which insurance compensates for the cost of treatment, the more expensive the insurance package.
Travelers are strongly advised to purchase travel health insurance because domestic health insurance policies are not valid outside the country where they are issued. Thus, if you know that, for example, living in the United States, you are entitled to receive emergency medical care based on your health insurance, this doesn’t mean that even in neighboring Mexico someone will provide you with help for free. Even if you are bitten by a local snake, you will most likely have to pay. If you purchase travel medical insurance in advance, the costs associated with going to a medical facility or paramedics will be reimbursed by the insurance company.
In most cases, a travel health insurance policy is valid only for the duration of your trip and acts as a temporary document. You should not assume that if you have purchased such insurance, then in any case, no matter what happens to you, you will be provided with free help. It all depends on what types of treatment and services your specific policy covers. Insurance plans often offer different coverages for different countries. Of course, there are also universal cases that are covered by almost any travel insurance, such as broken bones, dislocations, heart attacks, stroke, emergency dental procedures, evacuation from a natural disaster area, emergency transportation. But there are also local insurance features. For example, travelers to India or Thailand are offered insurance plans that cover treatment for stomach ailments, which travelers often encounter due to unusual foods and less than clean environments. Meanwhile, tourists who travel, for example, to Norway or Iceland, are often offered insurance plans with extended injury insurance, since in such countries vacations are usually associated with active pastime: hiking in the mountains, sailing, and so on.
Benefits of Purchasing Traveler’s Health Insurance
The main advantages of purchasing travel medical insurance are that, first of all, you create a kind of safety net for yourself. In the vast majority of cases, trips take place without any incidents and don’t harm your health. However, the risk of some kind of emergency always exists, and it is impossible to fully prepare for it. By purchasing travel insurance, you can be sure that your budget that you have budgeted for the trip will not be eaten up by any injuries or illnesses, if this suddenly happens. In addition, travel health insurance ensures that you receive medical care or treatment as quickly as possible. There is no need to delay treatment until you return home, increasing the chances of a successful recovery. After all, even a harmless disease can be neglected and lead to a life-threatening condition if you don’t start therapy and wait until you return home.
Finally, many people overlook the fact that travel health insurance includes an interpreter accompanying the traveler when visiting medical facilities. Of course, this is not provided for in all plans, but in quite a few. This is important because in some countries, especially those where the majority of the population doesn’t speak English, communicating with medical professionals can be difficult.
Treatment, translation services, direct access to medical institutions – all this costs a lot of money, and without travel insurance, these costs fall on the shoulders of the traveler. Of course, the situation is different in all countries, but in general they can reach more than substantial amounts and even force the traveler to go into debt or save on treatment and jeopardize their health.
Travelers Health Insurance Cost
Travel medical insurance is an expense item that should be included in your vacation budget at the planning stage. Fortunately, the average cost of a travel insurance policy is low, typically less than $100. This type of insurance is usually quite short-term, so if you are planning a long trip, check with your insurance company to see if you need a special policy. The average duration of travel insurance is two weeks. Take this into account when planning your trip and choosing the best insurance plan. If you don’t know exactly how long you will spend in the country, pay attention to the most long-term insurance policies. They may seem more expensive – up to $200 – but at least you will be sure that you will not be left without medical care if you stay in the country for some reason longer than you planned. The cost of each specific insurance depends on the range of so-called insurance cases and the list of medical services, the cost of which is covered by the insurance company.
Best Traveler’s Health Insurance
It is difficult to give a definitive answer to the question of which travel health insurance is the best. This is influenced by many factors, from the country you are traveling to to the method of travel. In each case, the best insurance is individual, but it makes sense to pay attention to certain points. When choosing a policy worth considering, first make sure that the insurance company you are using can offer you different types of coverage and different monetary limits. In addition, it makes sense to clarify how the insurance offered for different countries differs. For example, for a trip to tropical countries, where many exotic animals and insects live and most of the food is unfamiliar to the traveler, it makes sense to purchase extended travel medical insurance, where special attention is paid to covering the cost of treatment for bites and stings, as well as intestinal infections and poisoning. If you are planning active recreation in mountainous areas, river rafting, excursions to caves and other potentially dangerous places, pay attention to the fact that the range of insurance events covered by a specific plan is as close as possible to the list of emergency situations that fall within the competence of the so-called disaster medicine.
Is It Obligatory To Purchase Travel Medical Insurance?
Some countries don’t accept travelers who cannot present travel health insurance upon entry into the country. The most famous example is the United Arab Emirates, but they include also quite a few countries in Central America, the Caribbean, French Polynesia and others. This policy of these countries is associated with their reluctance to spend any money on providing even emergency medical care to a tourist without a guarantee that this tourist will have the money to cover the treatment.
Many other countries don’t make the requirement to purchase health insurance mandatory, but in most cases it is better not to take risks and still bother purchasing such insurance, especially since we are not talking about a large amount. Even if you’re traveling on a cruise ship, insurance can be helpful. All such ships must be provided with means of providing various medical care and doctors, but if your condition goes beyond the competence of the ship’s doctors, they have every right to ask you to go ashore and continue treatment in the nearest country. In this case, travel medical insurance will be indispensable.
It is worth remembering that in countries such as the USA and Canada, purchasing travel medical insurance may be necessary even when traveling within the country, because quite often the insurance policy is valid only in the state where you are registered. Thus, a person may need to purchase such insurance even if he is planning a trip to his own country. In each case, it is better to clarify the situation further with insurance companies.
In What Cases You can’t do Without Travelers Insurance?
First of all, you should never refuse to purchase travel health insurance if you have any chronic diseases that may become aggravated during your trip. It could be anything: dermatitis, bronchial asthma, diabetes, rheumatism. Often, climate change causes a malfunction of the immune system, which is why habitual, easily controlled diseases can cause complications or exacerbations. In this case, insurance will come in handy. In addition, medical insurance is required even for short-term trips to exotic countries: Australia with its thousands of spiders of different species, India with poor quality water, Asian countries with unsanitary conditions. When traveling to such regions, it is better to protect yourself in case of unforeseen health situations by purchasing insurance, and the most extended one. It is also strongly recommended to purchase insurance for tourists planning active holidays or visiting regions where earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis and other extreme weather events are common.
