Do I need Medical Travel Insurance Now?

First of all, I just wanna say I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Thomas Eric Duncan, and my prayers are with his family right now. I cant imagine going through what they are going thru right now, and pray to God I never have to go through that.  Secondly, I won’t rant about the reasons why this poor soul was not given the treatment immediately after he was admitted. I will leave that discussion for another forum and another time.  I’d rather concentrate right now on prevention.  If you are a traveler, you are susceptible to get Ebola.  I don’t care what race you are, what status you are, how many Chase cards you have and bluebird cards, etc etc….YOU are susceptible if you are traveling through any major airport abroad. You don’t know who has it or who has transmitted it. The good news ; it’s not easy to get it like the cold or flu.

So what do we do if we have an emergency abroad, and we need immediate medical help? As an award traveler, most if not all my travels are due to miles I have redeemed for free travel.  I don’t like paying for my vacations.  So the question comes up: if we use miles to book our tickets, are we covered when we are overseas? Yes, and No……

Let’s take a look at a scenario.  Assume you redeemed for two first class tickets using United miles, and flew to Malaysia on Asiana , routing through Incheon. You also charged the taxes for the flight to your United Mileage PLUS VISA card.  While in Kuala Lumpur, you got violently ill, and seeked immediate medical help.   They said you got some weird illness and you need to fly home and get treatment.

Will Chase pick up the tab for your costs? The simple answer is NO. Most card issuers will NOT cover the costs to provide you medical care. They will arrange medical help, but will not pay for it. You are on your own.

What Do I Do Now?

The State Department website actually has comprised a nice list of travel insurance companies.  I looked at Travel Insurance Inc., and evaluated their levels of coverage.  They all are pretty much the same, in terms of coverage. Only the price differs somewhat. I put in my age and travel dates for a 2 week travel time, and for the most comprehensive package, it came to about $118.00.  Since I redeemed miles for my trip, the cost of the miles has no coverage, since they consider the trip cost to be $0.00. I guess they don’t consider my time loading Bluebird, churning, etc etc worth anything.   However, the taxes, you paid for will get covered. There is also a little pop up that states Purchase within 21 days after initial trip deposit and for the full non-refundable cost of your trip to be eligible for Cancel for Any Reason coverage.  They quoted me $118.00 for covering my wife and I on a 2 week trip, covering the cost of returning home, and even the cost of re-depositing miles (up to $250.00).

If you have to fly back to the U.S., you could get reimbursed based on the type of coverage you choose to get. Most travel insurance policies will pay for a one way, coach ticket, back to your home, but it needs to be purchased. Assuming you can’t find availability back home, you must purchase a one way ticket to get home.  Most policies have a base coverage, that includes trip interruption. A feature that covers your needs, in case you have an emergency while traveling.

 

Is it worth it?

It really depends on how much piece of mind you want.  When you are on vacation, worrying is something you want to leave at the gate. You want to enjoy your trip, and not have to ‘think’ much.  Worrying and having fun do NOT go together. If you are traveling to a part of the world known for various things like Ebola, dengue fever, malaria, etc, then I would consider getting extra insurance.  However, if you are traveling to Europe, or a more developed country, then I wouldn’t get it, as your primary health insurance MAY cover you in case you have an emergency.  Check with your primary insurance company exactly what is covered, outside the United States though. However, it all goes back to peace of mind.  To keep costs down, you may want to consider a lower coverage option that includes the basics, but not any extras that you don’t think you will need.

..at the end of the day.

There’s no reason to live in fear because of the ebola scare. Honestly, the world has seen far worse epidemics than this, and we are probably more ready than ever for something like this. However,medical travel insurance can sure save you from disastrous costs if you need medical attention immediately.  Do some homework before you jet off to that next safari, or that beautiful temple across the world.  It may just save your life. Happy (safe) Travels.