Visit the USA can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can become very unpleasant and challenging when sickness or injury occurs and medical services or medical evacuation is needed. Medical care is excellent in most parts of the US, but can be very expensive and even unaffordable in case of critical illness. Many travelers purchase supplementary international medical insurance or travel insurance to avoid the high costs that may result from a serious illness or a wound on his journey.
When planning your trip, it is a good idea to contact your primary health care provider or insurer in your country to determine if you are covered and under what circumstances and how much cover you while traveling abroad. You may be surprised to find that your health plan offers little or no protection while traveling in the USA. If this is the case, it would be wise to purchase international travel insurance.
Types of Insurance
Many people are familiar with flight accident insurance, which pays you a large sum of money if you are killed or seriously injured in an air accident. This type of insurance policy normally does not cover medical expenses resulting from illness or other types of accidents while traveling.
Travel agencies frequently offer travel protection plans or trip cancellation insurance. These usually cover the cost of travel costs in case you are forced to cancel your vacation due to an accident, disease or other causes. These usually cover travel assistance services, protection for lost or damaged baggage and limited medical insurance. May or may not have a deductible or co-payment for medical spending.
International Medical Insurance is an insurance of short- or long-term designated to reimburse medical expenses incurred while traveling or living abroad. The maximum that this policy covers is usually high enough to cover major medical expenses such as emergency surgery and extended stay in the hospital. What covers the international medical insurance "American Style" usually is subject to a specific deductible, co-insurance or co-payment. The Plans may include emergency evacuation, reunion, and repatriation benefits as well as other travel assistance services. What is covered by a plan can be for a single trip, multi-trip or renewable.
Definition of terms
Maximum Policy Coverage: The maximum amount of money that the insurance provider will pay for covered expenses. It may be an overall maximum or an amount for each accident or illness.
Deductible: (also known as excess) This is the amount of medical costs that you must pay before the insurance provider starts paying. It may be an annual amount, an amount for the duration of the policy or an amount for each accident. Example: a deductible of $50 means that you must pay the first $50 of medical expense before the insurer begins to pay.
Co-Pay: This is the percentage or amount of medical expense that you must pay after the deductible is paid. Example: a co-insurance of 20% or an 80/20 co-pay means that the insurance company will pay 80% of the charges and you will pay 20% of the charges after you have paid the deductible.
Exclusions: These are medical expenses that the insurance company will not pay. These usually include expenses related to the illegal use of drugs, medical conditions existing prior to the acquisition of insurance and medical expenses due to the participation in dangerous activities or high-risk sports.
Evacuation of Emergency Medical Evacuation: covering the expenses for sending an injured or ill person home or transporting him/her to a place where appropriate medical care can be obtained.
Emergency Reunion: covers the expenses of bringing a family member to the injured or ill person during a medical emergency.
Repatriation Benefits: cover the cost of returning the dead body of a traveller to your home.
Single Trip Plans: on a trip.
Plans Annual/Multi-Trip Plans: cover all trips taken within one year.
Individual Plans: cover one person.
Family Plans: cover all members of a family together.
Travel Insurance Online
There are many websites that offer travel insurance online. Most sites offer only one type of insurance - either a travel protection plan or international medical insurance - or they cover only to citizens of a given country. Only a few insurers offer a variety of plans for travelers from all countries.