Travel insurance typically covers a broad range of aspects related to a trip, including trip cancellations, delays, lost luggage, and more. It provides financial protection for non-medical issues that may disrupt travel plans. Sometimes, travel insurance includes coverage for medical-related expenses.
On the other hand, travel medical insurance is specifically designed to cover healthcare and medical emergencies while traveling abroad.
Purchasing travel medical insurance is likely unnecessary because your private health insurance probably includes international coverage, at least for emergency and urgent care. In case of an incident abroad, you will likely have to pay out of pocket and then be reimbursed by your insurance company upon your return home. Check with your insurance provider to confirm details.
(Of note to some is that Medicare generally has no coverage outside of the U.S., so you might want to buy a travel medical insurance policy to get more coverage. Read this article from the Medicare website.)
Some guests avoid any guesswork by purchasing travel medical insurance. I have purchased insurance from Trawick International, but I cannot attest to its effectiveness if you have to make a claim.
Many credit cards include benefits related to travel insurance, so you may want to check on that before deciding what to purchase.
If you’re unsure what’s best for you, you might want to speak with our recommended travel agent, Katsumi Mamiya (k_mans@msn.com). He would be happy to provide guidance and coverage.
