| By Thomas Kua
First, let's define what an International Travel
Medical Insurance is. International Travel Medical
Insurance is a short-term medical insurance
plan that provides among other things medical
coverage associated with international traveling.
It is sometimes known as Travel Medical Insurance
for short.
Do not confuse Travel Medical Insurance with
International Health Insurance which typically
is an annual plan that provides more comprehensive
medical coverage for people living abroad. This
is sometimes known as the Expatriate Health
Insurance or Global Health Insurance.
The following are some of the typical benefits
found in International Travel Medical Insurance:
Reimbursement of eligible medical expenses,
Trip Interruption,
Lost checked luggage,
Emergency medical evacuation,
Emergency reunion,
Emergency dental,
Accidental death and dismemberment,
Return of remains.
More and more International Travel Medical
Insurance plans are also providing the following
additional benefits as their standards:
Terrorism coverage,
Hospital indemnity (or hospital daily cash),
Complications of pregnancy,
Acute onset of a pre-existing condition,
Natural disaster,
Travel assistance such as pre-trip health and
safety advisories, emergency cash transfers,
lost passport or travel document assistance,
bail bond assistance, etc.
Some may even provide:
Incidental home country coverage for a short
return to home country during coverage period,
End of trip home country coverage of say, an
additional 30 days at an extra premium.
Just like all medical insurance plans, there
are deductibles, coinsurance percentages and
overall maximum limits associated with International
Travel Medical Insurance. Different levels and
combinations of these benefit features will
give rise to different premium rates.
The detailed explanations of these benefit
items are beyond the scope of this paper. For
more information, readers are encouraged to
refer to the link provided in the resource box.
Now back to the question of "Do I need
an International Travel Medical Insurance?"
Before we answer this rhetorical question, let's
examine some of the real risks associated with
international traveling. We are talking about
risks of:
Not knowing where to go or who to turn to when
you have a medical situation in a foreign country;
Exposing yourself and your loved ones to sub-standard
medical care that may further exacerbate your
pain and suffering and putting your life at
risk;
Emergency medical situations that may require
you to be evacuated to save your life;
Emergency situations that develop due to act
of war, terrorism or natural disaster.
Unfortunately, the above calamities are real
in the world that we all live in today. From
the financial point of view, it is not wise
and illogical for an individual to assume all
these risks. Furthermore, some of these risks
are far beyond financial and in the case of
an emergency it could mean live or death.
In short, whether you travel for business or
pleasure, international travel involves risk.
You may arrive at your destination to find that
your luggage with personal items has disappeared.
A personal emergency may necessitate your early
return to your Home Country. A medical emergency
may require hospitalization or even air evacuation.
In most cases, your existing insurance will
not provide adequate protection for these and
other risks. Without appropriate travel insurance,
you may be exposed to significant financial
risks.
Fortunately, with a quality International Travel
Medical Insurance plan, the above risks can
be mitigated cost effectively. For example,
you can get U$1,000,000 International Travel
Medical Insurance coverage at as low as $1.50
per day. This is probably less than the cost
of a bottle of mineral water!
So, do you need an International Travel Medical
Insurance to cover you and your loved ones?
The answer is obviously!
Go see the world, but don't leave home without
a good International Travel Medical Insurance!
Thomas Kua is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries
(USA) with more than 15 years of experience
in health insurance. Tom is the founder of GHI
(Global Health Insurance) Specialists, a firm
specializes in providing quality International
Health Insurance solutions to customers worldwide.
For more information on quality International
Health Insurance plans please visit: => www.BuyInternationalTravelHealthInsurance.com
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