No one wants to get sick while on vacation, and an illness or injury can be one of the most devastating events that can happen during a trip.
Travel medical insurance is designed to help in these cases. It’s especially important if you’re traveling outside the country, where your U.S. health plan might have only limited or no coverage. And Medicare doesn’t cover health care outside the U.S., except in very narrow cases.
What is Travel Medical Insurance?
Travel medical insurance pays for emergency medical expenses during a trip. If you are traveling and have an unexpected illness, injury or medical condition that’s covered by your travel medical insurance, the plan will reimburse you, up to the plan limits.
Travel medical insurance pays “reasonable and customary” charges for bills such as:
- Ambulance service
- Doctor bills
- Hospital and operating room charges
- X-rays, examinations, treatments, lab tests and anesthetics
- Drugs and medicines
- Dental care, but check for special limits on the dental payout, such as $500
Generally, there are two forms of travel medical insurance :
- Stand-alone medical insurance plans: These plans cover emergency medical and dental expenses you incur while traveling. However, a stand-alone medical plan doesn’t include other travel insurance coverage such as trip cancellation insurance or baggage coverage.
- As part of a comprehensive travel insurance plan: In addition to emergency medical benefits, a comprehensive travel insurance plan can package coverage for trip cancellation, trip delay, emergency medical evacuation, baggage loss and more. It’s the best way to cover a host of potential problems.
Travel medical insurance is for medical emergencies while traveling, like a sprained ankle while sightseeing. It does not cover non-emergency or elective procedures.
“It’s not intended for experimental medical treatment in a foreign country,” explains Carol Mueller, vice president at Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection. “It’s designed for travelers who face medical or dental emergencies and require care and treatment while traveling.”
What Are the Different Types of Travel Medical Insurance Policies?
When you’re buying travel medical insurance, it’s important to know the difference between these coverage types.
Primary vs. Secondary Medical Coverage
Travel medical insurance can be primary or secondary coverage, depending on the plan. If it’s primary, it will pay out before any other health insurance you have. If you have health insurance and buy travel medical insurance as secondary coverage, your own health plan must pay first.
If you’re traveling overseas and your U.S. health plan doesn’t provide coverage, a travel medical plan that’s “secondary” will essentially become primary coverage due to lack of other insurance.
Single-trip vs. Multi-trip
How often you travel in a calendar year could be the deciding factor between these two coverage types. Here’s the difference between the two.
- Single-trip coverage: Single trip coverage begins when you leave your home and travel to your destination (or destinations) and ends when you return home. The plan covers you for the duration of your trip. For example, you could purchase a single-trip plan for a four week European vacation where you visit several different countries.
- Multi-trip coverage: Also known as annual travel insurance, this covers you for a calendar year and is good for travelers who take three or more trips per year. For example, you could take a trip to Italy, come home for several weeks, then travel to Germany, come home, then take off to Mexico.