rcdovala

I recently read an article regarding the pros and cons of purchasing travel insurance. The one thing that was not mentioned in the article and should be of importance to all of us retired folks that still travel overseas is that Medicare, in general, will not provide coverage outside of the borders of the United States. I'm not sure how US territories play into this. There are a couple of exceptions but, in general, I believe that it is a very wise choice to purchase travel insurance that includes medical provisions when traveling abroad. And to the best of my knowledge, if Medicare pays nothing, your supplemental will also pay nothing.

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

Interestingly, last year I was traveling in England with another USA photographer who slipped into a pool and fractured his leg and scraped it badly. I took him to a local health clinic for treatment. No charge - free treatment.

rcdovala

This practice varies by country. On our last trip to Europe my wife came down with a urinary tract infection. She was taken to a local hospital in Austria and it cost about $400 for diagnosis. We paid it out of our pocket and was later reimbursed by our travel insurance company. There were about $6000 in expenses paid out by the insurance company for expenses incurred getting her home for treatment.

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

Good points.

RodM Loc: SE Virginia

Having turned 65 recently, I am healthy but not immune to injury or illness. I now always buy inexpensive travel insurance that covers the trip and health insurance--including evacuation if needed. I have used companies backed by AIG, very competitive and great peace of mind in Myanmar, Brazil and Peru where we traveled last year. (This year finding things to photograph in USA). Easy to do a Google search for options.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

They should have charged. It's often the case the staff can't find the processes to charge you. I do have some sympathy with them, the N.H.S. is a behemoth and would probably spend more recovering the sum than it's worth. I have no problem with cases like this, you didn't come to break a leg!, but I do have a problem with people who turn up with pre known health problems and do a bunk owing £100's K.
Treatment is free for U.K. Nationals and Europeans (who, in the main have similar but not identical schemes).

We do have reciprocal schemes with most of Europe but NONE cover repatriation should you need to return home with a medical team. Insurance will normally cover that.

Fkaufman3 Loc: Florida, LA ie lower Alabama

They could not treat her there? Must have been more than UTI?

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

I buy travel insurance every time I travel overseas. Frequently my travel is to remote areas where a serious injury would require a helicopter ride to the hospital. Over the last twenty years I might have spent about $20,000 for insurance. I used it once where it would have cost me over $150,000; i.e., two ambulance boat rides, emergency hospital X-rays and scans, crutches, first class travel back to US, all paid for by the travel insurance company.

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

We are a big fan of travel insurance. Three years ago when my husband retired we took an extended vacation in Europe. Flew from JFK to Budapest then a 10-day river cruise to Amsterdam. From there we were going to fly to Paris for a week then London and back to NYC. After landing in Budapest that night he receives a call his mother had passed away. We called Amex. They had a car meet us the next morning at the hotel we returned on the same plane we arrived on. In fact, we had the same seats in Business Class. Car service met us and took us home.
With the exception of $500.00, the Insurance paid for everything. If not for the insurance it would have been an expensive loss. We always pay for Travel Insurance.

DragonsLady Loc: Los Alamos, NM

We always buy travel insurance. At the moment we're waiting for our $6,000 payout for a cruise we couldn't take because my husband had to have prostate surgery. Hopefully the money will arrive soon as we intend to book the same cruise (Norwegian Spirit of America around the Hawaiian Islands) for the same time period (our anniversary week [Valentine's Day] - next year we'll have been married for 37 years.)

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

Just ended a trip to our 53rd country - South Africa. I have always purchased travel insurance for many of the same reasons stated by previous posters. The fact that Medicare does not cover foreign travel is reason enough. I've spent a great deal more than I've claimed, having only recouped 5000.00 on a cancelled trip to India, but the peace of mind is well worth the expense. My only caution is to research any company that you're interested in very carefully. Many companies get high ratings on sites such as Insure My Trip only because the raters rate the company on the purchase of insurance only, having never made a claim. The raters that should interest you are those that have filed claims.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Travel insurance is like any insurance - you are betting that you are going to lose (and need it) and they are betting that you are not. But - like at a casino - the house knows the odds, and will always win in the end. Said about insurance: "Gee - if you lose, you win, and if you win, you lose"...

Medical coverage and evacuation coverage is very important to have. A patient contacted me once about his friend who had injured his back in Central America. He needed to be life-flighted back to the US. I gave him the name of a number of Medical Flight services that would do this for him - as long as he had $25,000 available credit on his credit card!

I had another patient who was on the first shore excursion of a round-the-world cruise on the Queen Mary after her retirement when she fell and suffered a fractured pelvis. Her insurance not only reimbursed her for the cost of the cruise but flew her back to the US so that she could get hospital care and rehab at home.

About Medicare Supplemental Insurance - SOME of these policies specifically provide coverage for foreign travel - most of these limit the coverage to emergencies only - they will not cover you for routine care if you have retired overseas. They also will not evacuate you or cover shipping your remains home - that is another thing that travel insurance covers - nice to think about!

Looking at the coverage I have for an upcoming trip, I see that the medical evacuation coverage covers you for transportation to the nearest appropriate facility for treatment of your condition. So it might not even pay to transport me back to the US if needed. It would pay for my wife to fly to my bedside, however!

RGreenway Loc: Morristown, New Jersey

I used to get coverage as a Scuba diver for foreign medical costs and evacuation, but dont remember where I got it and since I am no longer diving don'd get the promotions for diver insurance any more. Can someone help recommend an annual policy the covers foreign travel medical costs and evacuation if needed?

berchman Loc: South Central PA

If you are over 75 it is difficult and expensive to get travel insurance that will evacuate you to a good hospital. There all kinds of provisos in the small print. I was on a trip to Africa when a member of our group got a detached retina. The bush pilot either got the wrong directions or he mistakenly flew into the wrong airfield, but the patient had undergone a bumpy jeep ride to the empty airfield, had to return on the bumpy ride, had to go again the next day. OAT should have hired a helicopter to come to the base camp to pick the patient up and fly him to South Africa. They screwed up and the tourist lost his sight in that eye. I will be 80 on my next Africa trip to encounter the mountain gorillas, and I can only hope that nothing happens to me warranting a medical evacuation.

gmccaleb Loc: East KY / South AL

Can you recommend a good company for travel insurance???