Travel Medical Insurance
What is Travel Medical Insurance?
Although going to a hospital or seeing a doctor in a foreign country is the last thing you want to think about during your getaway, an unexpected event or health problem on your trip abroad can occur and set you back tremendously. If an unexpected event does occur, travel medical insurance can help take the stress off and ensure the continuity of care by covering your medical bills, such as physician services, ambulance transportation, hospitalization, prescription drugs, and more.
What are the Benefits of Travel Medical Insurance?
Medical expenses can be very costly when travelling abroad. Health coverage you have in your province may not be able to help pay your medical fees outside of your province. And for some countries, they will not treat you at a hospital if you don’t immediately have the funds to pay the medical bills. Having travel medical insurance allows you to provide immediate payment to medical service providers abroad.
How Does Travel Medical Insurance Work?
Coverage is dependent on how frequent you’ll be travelling. If you plan to travel infrequently within a year, you can get coverage with a single trip plan, which covers you on a single trip outside of your home province or internationally. If you intend on travelling more often within a year, you can consider getting coverage with a multi-trip annual plan, which covers unlimited trips in a year. You can also now get coverage for COVID-19 related emergency medical conditions.
Travel Medical Insurance 101
Is it mandatory to have travel insurance?
Travel insurance is not mandatory. However, it is recommended because your health insurance may not cover the costs of care and treatment outside of your home province and country. Travel insurance can also provide extended benefit such as COVID-19 coverage, which includes hotel quarantining costs.
What happens if I travel without travel medical insurance?
If you travel without travel medical insurance and you become ill or get into an accident while abroad, you will be personally responsible to pay all medical care costs. If you are travelling in the US, these costs can be substantial, and you may even be refused care if you are not able to pay.
Does travel medical insurance cover COVID-19?
Yes, it is possible to buy travel medical insurance which includes covering the costs related to the treatment and care relating to COVID-19 infection. It may not automatically be included in your plan, so make sure to ask if this coverage is included and if not, request to find an insurer who will provide it.