Buying Travel Health Insurance for International Trips

Most people associate travel insurance with a policy that insures your trip’s activities, protecting your flights, hotels, tours, etc., in the event something happens and you can’t take your trip.

But an important — and often overlooked — aspect of travel insurance is health insurance. Unbeknownst to most people, your health insurance typically does not cover you outside your home country. These policies are often fairly inexpensive, and cover you in case you get sick or have an accident while rafting, hiking, motorcycling or simply walking down the street.

Often, your in-country insurance provider does not offer these policies. Some of the top companies offering this type of insurance are Travel Insured International, HTH Travel Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield and International Medical Group. Some companies, like Travel Insured, let you tack a health policy onto a wider trip insurance package.

Just like your regular health insurance, there are various levels of policies, from basic plans that pay only for certain disastrous expenses and do not cover pre-existing conditions, to more robust plans that cover you in any circumstance. Some of these more expensive plans even have a “death and dismemberment” aspect that provides emergency evacuation should you fall ill in a remote spot without adequate health care providers. Should you die, it also allows your body to be transported back to your home.

It’s a grim reality, and certainly not one you’ll be happily thinking about before a big trip, but it will save you some headache — and possibly a huge medical bill.