Should I Get Travel Health Insurance?
Let’s Decide if Travel Health Insurance Is Right for You
Vacation planning can be a tricky process, but unexpected injury or illness, trip interruptions, and delays can throw a serious wrench in your plans. A travel health insurance plan may be worth it to help you ride out unexpected emergencies. We’ve broken down some of the big questions you may have regarding travel health insurance to help you decide if it’s right for you.
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What Does Travel Health Insurance Cover?
Travel health insurance is a short-term supplemental medical insurance designed to cover unexpected medical expenses incurred abroad. Depending on the policy you purchase, it may cover expenses such as:
• the cost of a local ambulance (when hospitalized as inpatient)
• surgery, labs, and testing
• the bill for your hospital room and board
• emergency medical evacuation
• accidental death and dismemberment
Some policies also include travel benefits like Trip Interruption, Travel Delay, Lost Checked Luggage, and Lost or Stolen Passport/Travel Visa.
Unlike a standard health care plan, travel health insurance may not cover services associated with pre-existing conditions or preventative care, such as wellness exams and regular prescriptions. Review the Description of Coverage for any plan you’re considering and pay special attention to the exclusions and restrictions.
Already Have a Standard Healthcare Plan?
Some standard healthcare plans don’t cover any expenses incurred outside of your home county. Many others cover only emergency expenses incurred abroad. That’s why it’s so important to check your plan to determine what international coverage—if any—you have when you travel abroad.
Travel medical insurance covers eligible medical expenses incurred outside your home country. It also may provide travel assistance services and travel assistance benefits (trip interruption, travel delay, lost checked luggage, lost or stolen passport/travel visa, etc.) that you won’t find in your standard domestic plan.
When Might You Need Travel Medical Insurance?
Whether you’re traveling to a high-risk area or somewhere as seemingly innocuous as Europe, there is always the risk of an accident. To get a sense of the kinds of accidents travel health insurance covers, let’s take a look at some example scenarios.
Injury
You decide to explore Amsterdam like the locals and hop on a bike, but when your wheel gets caught in a tram track, you fly off and break your leg.
You can’t walk, so you call an ambulance that rushes you off to the nearest emergency room. Ambulance fees can be expensive. So can surgery and casts. But when your injury is covered by a travel health insurance policy and you’re admitted to the hospital as inpatient, you may only be responsible for your deductible and any coinsurance.
Travel Delay
During an extended layover, a severe storm picks up, grounding all flights until the following day.
No one likes sleeping on airport terminal bench seats. Thankfully, many travel medical insurance plans cover trip delays. In the case of a covered 12+-hour delay, Atlas Travel provides up to $100 per day for up to two days for reasonable accommodation and meals.
Illness
On a street food tour of Bangkok, you sample some seafood skewers that do not go down well. You end up being treated for food poisoning at a nearby hospital.
Many travel medical insurance policies cover hospital room and board expenses, physician charges, and medically-necessary drugs (as long as the illness is covered under the policy). Some providers, like Atlas Travel, also provide translation services 365 days a year to help prevent misunderstandings and confusion between you and your doctors.
Trip Interruption
While lounging on the beach in the Philippines, you get a phone call from a sibling telling you that your parent has suffered a heart attack and died.
So that you can be with your family during this distressing time, a travel health insurance policy that covers trip interruption will make sure you get home as soon as possible. With Atlas Travel, policyholders are covered for the cost of an economy-class, one-way ticket to their home terminal following the death of a parent, spouse, sibling, child, or grandchild.
Lost or Stolen Documents
Strolling through the streets of Barcelona, you stop to join a crowd that has gathered around a group of street dancers. Distracted, you hardly notice that someone has reached into your bag and stolen your passport.
Losing your passport can be a nerve-wracking experience for any international traveler, but having a travel health insurance policy that covers lost or stolen documents makes dealing with it a little less stressful. Atlas Travel provides foreign language assistance to help you obtain new travel documents and up to $100 to reimburse you for replacement fees.
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Is Travel Health Insurance Worth It?
Without travel medical insurance, you may run the risk of being solely responsible for unexpected medical bills as you travel abroad. Even the most common injuries, such as those resulting from a fall, could incur significant expenses. That’s why both the CDC and U.S. Department of State recommend getting health insurance for traveling abroad.
Here are a few real-life examples of Atlas Travel policyholders:
- An American missionary who fell 20 feet from a cliff during a hike had expenses of $32,805 for multiple broken bones, a concussion, and emergency medical evacuation to a hospital qualified to provide medically necessary care.
- A traveler in Bangkok who contracted multilobar pneumonia and tonsillitis from a bug bite had a medical bill of $12,149.37. With Atlas Travel, he was covered for 95% of his medical expenses. Ultimately, he paid for his $68.78 premium and his $500 deductible.
- When a Nigerian fellow in a U.S.-based leadership program learned of the sudden passing of his father, Atlas Travel covered his flight back to Nigeria. The total cost was $3,312.
It’s important to note that travel health insurance may not cover pre-existing conditions and that it may not be the right choice for every traveler.
Should I Get Travel Health Insurance?
When traveling internationally, it may be a good idea to make sure you have global insurance coverage, especially if you are a:
- Vacationer
- Backpacker
- Adventure traveler
- Eco-tourist
- Missionary
- Business traveler
- Study abroad student
You never know when a travel mishap, accident, or illness might strike. So, regardless of your destination or the activities you plan, it can be helpful to be equipped with travel medical coverage in case of an emergency.
Most, but not everybody, should consider a policy. Not sure where you stand? Here is a guide to help you Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine whether you need to purchase a travel health insurance policy.
Are You Covered by Your Domestic Insurance?
Are You Covered by Your Credit Card?
Do You Require Travel Health Insurance for Your Visa?
Are You Traveling to an Isolated Region?
Is Your Destination Under Travel Advisory?
Did You Know?
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) from the U.S. Department of State allows U.S. travelers to enroll their trip with the local U.S. embassy or consulate at their destination. Enrollees receive important information about local safety conditions so you can make smart travel decisions.
Who May Not Benefit from Travel Health Insurance?
Most international travelers are advised to invest in a travel medical insurance policy. However, there are some cases in which the coverage provided by a travel medical plan may not be beneficial.
- Medical tourists – People who travel abroad to undergo a medical procedure, often called “medical tourists,” are not typically covered by travel health insurance. Travel health policies cover unexpected expenses—not ones you plan on incurring.
- People seeking coverage specifically for pre-existing conditions – Treatment for pre-existing conditions is excluded from many travel health plans, including Atlas Travel. A condition may count as pre-existing if it existed, with reasonable medical certainty, in the predetermined period of time before your policy went into effect–even if you were unaware of the condition at the time.
Note that you’re still able to purchase travel health insurance if you have a pre-existing condition. You’ll still be covered for eligible expenses for injuries, illnesses, medical evacuation, and travel mishaps that are not related to a pre-existing condition or anything in the policy exclusions. - Expats living abroad – Anyone living and working abroad for a substantial amount of time may want to consider a standard health care plan that covers pre-existing conditions, preventative care, regular prescription drug coverage, dental care, and vision care. As foreign nationals, these people may or may not be eligible for subsidized or national health care and may want to consider an expatriate plan instead.
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What is Trip Interruption Insurance?
Some policies start at less than a dollar a day and vary depending on age, deductible, coverage level, destination, and trip length.
WorldTrips’ customizable Atlas Travel plans start at $0.50* per day and peak at $21.26** per day. That means plans can fall anywhere between $3.50 and $148.82 per week.
Here’s how certain variables affect that daily rate:
- Age – Your age determines which age group you fall into. As your age group increases, so does your daily rate.
- Deductible – This is the predetermined amount policyholders must pay before eligible expenses are paid by the provider. The higher your deductible, the lower your daily rate.
- Maximum coverage selected – This is the maximum amount your insurance policy will pay for benefits. As you increase your maximum coverage, your daily rate increases.
- Travel destination – Your daily rate will increase if any part of your international travel includes the U.S.
In Other Words:
- Lower age group + higher deductible + lower coverage maximum + travel outside the U.S. = lower daily rate
- Higher age group + lower deductible + higher max coverage + travel that includes the U.S. = higher daily rate
You can get a free Atlas Travel insurance quote for your trip here. Choose your coverage area and input your coverage start and end dates and birth date to see your plan options. Then play with the deductible and overall maximum coverage options to watch your price change.
*$0.50 per day based on the 2023 Atlas Travel daily rate for a traveler in the youngest age group (14 days – 29 years) who is traveling outside the U.S. with the highest deductible ($5,000) and the lowest overall maximum coverage limit available to this age group ($50,000).
**$21.26 per day based on the 2023 Atlas Travel daily rate for a traveler in the oldest age group (80+) who is traveling to the U.S. with the lowest deductible ($0) and the only overall maximum coverage limit available to this age group ($10,000).
Interested in Purchasing a Policy?
Visit the Atlas Travel insurance page to learn more about benefits, limits, and exclusions. Then enter your trip details to see the price of your policy.
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WorldTrips is a service company and a member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies.
WorldTrips’ Atlas Travel Series and StudentSecure international travel medical insurance products are underwritten by Lloyd's. WorldTrips has authority to enter into contracts of insurance on behalf of the Lloyd's underwriting members of Lloyd's Syndicate 4141, which is managed by HCC Underwriting Agency, Ltd.
WorldTrips' Atlas Journey, Atlas Cruiser, and Atlas On-The-Go trip protection insurance products are underwritten by Tokio Marine HCC's U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (USSIC). USSIC is a Texas-domiciled insurance company operating on an admitted basis throughout the United States. Coverage is available to U.S. residents of the U.S. states and District of Columbia only. This plan provides insurance coverage that only applies during the covered trip. You may have coverage from other sources that provides you with similar benefits but may be subject to different restrictions depending upon your other coverages. You may wish to compare the terms of this policy with your existing life, health, home, and automobile insurance policies. Coverage may not be available in all states.
In the State of California, operating as WorldTrips Insurance Services. California Non-Resident Producer License Number: 0G39705