Did you know that the Bureau of Consular Affairs (part of the US Department of State) has a website just for helping US citizens learn everything they need to know about foreign travel? From information about passports and visas, to tips about using medical insurance for traveling abroad , this website has lots and lots of good information you can use to plan your trip to a foreign country. And while there is lots of good information and advice, some of the best advice this website offers is about travel and medical insurance.
According to the website, before traveling abroad you need to do this:
“Ask your medical insurance company if your policy applies overseas, and if it covers emergency expenses such as medical evacuation. If it does not, consider supplemental (extra) insurance.”
The type of extra insurance the website is talking about goes by lots of names, including travel insurance and holiday medical insurance, but is basically medical insurance for traveling abroad. These types of policies are just like regular medical insurance policies, except they cover you while you are traveling in other countries too – many regular medical insurance policies don’t do this. Of course, some insurance policies provide protection even when you are in another country, so before you travel abroad, you need to find out if your medical insurance plan will cover you in the country you are visiting.
If your provider offers medical insurance abroad, find out exactly what their policy covers. Specifically, ask if they provide coverage for medical evacuation, which is the most important thing to have in a foreign health insurance policy. If your insurance doesn’t provide this, then it’s important that you buy worldwide medical insurance that does offer medical evacuation. What is medical evacuation? If you get seriously hurt or gravely ill while traveling, medical evacuation will cover the cost of getting you out of the country you are in, and to a better hospital in another country.
Unexpected illness and injury can happen to anyone at anytime, even when traveling. So if you will be traveling to another country, take the advice of the US Department of State, and make sure you have the right type of medical insurance for traveling abroad to protect yourself. Policies can cost as little as $1/day, and can protect you from the unexpected – no matter what country you are in or what might happen.
