Around the world, more and more people are setting out on vacations abroad, often without all the health coverage they need. What many travelers fail to realize is that their home country's health insurance plan usually does not extend to out of country locations.
Most local health insurance plans will only cover you in your home country, and some may only cover you in your state or region specifically. Medicare, for example, does not extend any benefits for those heading out of country. There are a few exceptions to this- for example, if you have a European Health Insurance Card from an EU member state, you can expect to receive treatment in other EU member states as you would back home. However, outside these countries you are uncovered once again.
The most common solution to this problem is to purchase travel insurance, which is inexpensive in most cases and will cover your needs exactly. As you would imagine, health insurance will not usually take care of lost or damaged baggage or missed flight connections, but with travel insurance everything you may possibly need will be accounted for.
You have a few options regarding your choice of travel insurance, not least of all the selection of the company you will purchase from. Nearly all large health companies also offer travel insurance, though there are others which cater specifically to travelers. One other place you may consider purchasing insurance is more surprising- your local bank. Many banks, especially international banks, are now offering great rates and coverage for travel insurance.
When purchasing, you can request either single trip insurance or multi trip insurance. The difference lies in how often you plan to travel abroad. With single trip cover, you will be covered exclusively for your current vacation, no more and no less. If you extend your trip, your flight is delayed a few days past your coverage period, or you take another trip out, you will be left with no cover. Multi trip travel insurance, also called annual travel insurance, will cover you on all your vacations within one year. Regardless if you travel once or twenty times, you will have the same level of coverage each time without having to purchase a new policy.
As you might expect, multi trip travel insurance is much more costly, as it sets out to cover the insured for a much longer period. However, if you are a frequent traveler, or even if you travel out of country three times a year or more, this is likely to offer you huge savings over the year.
Most local health insurance plans will only cover you in your home country, and some may only cover you in your state or region specifically. Medicare, for example, does not extend any benefits for those heading out of country. There are a few exceptions to this- for example, if you have a European Health Insurance Card from an EU member state, you can expect to receive treatment in other EU member states as you would back home. However, outside these countries you are uncovered once again.
The most common solution to this problem is to purchase travel insurance, which is inexpensive in most cases and will cover your needs exactly. As you would imagine, health insurance will not usually take care of lost or damaged baggage or missed flight connections, but with travel insurance everything you may possibly need will be accounted for.
You have a few options regarding your choice of travel insurance, not least of all the selection of the company you will purchase from. Nearly all large health companies also offer travel insurance, though there are others which cater specifically to travelers. One other place you may consider purchasing insurance is more surprising- your local bank. Many banks, especially international banks, are now offering great rates and coverage for travel insurance.
When purchasing, you can request either single trip insurance or multi trip insurance. The difference lies in how often you plan to travel abroad. With single trip cover, you will be covered exclusively for your current vacation, no more and no less. If you extend your trip, your flight is delayed a few days past your coverage period, or you take another trip out, you will be left with no cover. Multi trip travel insurance, also called annual travel insurance, will cover you on all your vacations within one year. Regardless if you travel once or twenty times, you will have the same level of coverage each time without having to purchase a new policy.
As you might expect, multi trip travel insurance is much more costly, as it sets out to cover the insured for a much longer period. However, if you are a frequent traveler, or even if you travel out of country three times a year or more, this is likely to offer you huge savings over the year.
