What Is Travel Medical Insurance?

Though you never plan to have an accident or get sick during an international trip, unexpected emergencies happen. Your U.S. health insurance likely won’t cover any visits to the hospital or emergency care in a foreign country.1

To ensure you have coverage while traveling, you can purchase a stand-alone policy for travel medical insurance.

Travel medical insurance explained

Travel medical insurance provides temporary, short-term health coverage when you travel outside the U.S. It can pay for expenses like ambulance service, hospital stays, emergency care, and more when you fall ill or get injured while traveling abroad.

Most U.S. health insurance — including Medicare and Medicaid — won’t pay for medical expenses when you travel outside the country.

Even if you have health insurance that covers medical care when traveling abroad, it may not pay for costs like X-rays, lab tests, or ambulance services in a foreign country. It’s a good idea to check with your insurance company to see what protection you might have outside the U.S.

You must buy travel medical insurance before you take your trip in order to be covered.

What travel medical insurance covers

Travel medical insurance covers the cost of unexpected medical expenses while abroad. If you encounter an unexpected injury or illness, your travel medical insurance will reimburse you up to your plan limit.

Depending on the type of travel medical insurance you buy, your policy may pay for:

• Emergency room care

• Emergency dental care

• Doctor or hospital care

• Prescription medications

• The cost to evacuate you to the U.S.

Generally, travel medical insurance should pay for any medical emergency you experience while traveling outside the country.

What travel medical insurance won’t cover

Like your health plan at home, travel medical insurance doesn’t cover everything. For example, if you go to a doctor overseas for a routine checkup or have a pre-existing condition, your travel medical policy likely won’t cover those costs.

Other situations that travel medical insurance typically won’t cover include:

• Pre-existing conditions: Travel medical insurance typically excludes coverage for pre-existing conditions. But you might be able to buy a policy that includes it.

• High-risk activities: If you plan to do something risky while traveling — such as skydiving or bungee jumping — your travel medical insurance likely won’t cover injuries you sustain while doing a high-risk activity.

• High-risk countries: Your travel medical insurance policy might not cover you if you’re traveling to a country that the U.S. Department of State has designated as a Level 4 “do not travel” nation.2

Types of travel medical insurance plans

You can choose from different types of medical travel insurance plans and add-ons when buying coverage. The best travel insurance for you will depend on factors such as where you intend to travel, for how long, and what you plan to do.

Here are five different types of coverage you may encounter while shopping for travel medical insurance.

Primary coverage

The difference between primary and secondary coverage has to do with payment priority. With primary medical travel insurance, the insurance plan will pay your medical costs directly, even if you have another health insurance policy. You’ll file any medical claims directly with the company you bought travel medical insurance from, which can help speed up the payment process.3

Secondary coverage

With secondary medical travel insurance, you’ll need to file a claim with your primary healthcare insurance provider first — even if you don’t think the insurer will provide coverage. If the insurer denies your claim or doesn’t fully cover it, you can then file it with the medical travel insurance company.

Emergency medical evacuation insurance

An emergency evacuation can be very expensive — especially if it’s in a remote area. Medical evacuation insurance can help cover the costs associated with emergency transportation to an adequate treatment facility. It can also cover the costs associated with transporting you back to the U.S.

Comprehensive travel insurance plan

Some comprehensive policies include medical travel insurance and trip-cancellation coverage if you have to cancel your trip due to something such as severe weather or a natural disaster. Many comprehensive plans also cover trip interruption, medical evacuation, travel delay benefits, and baggage delay.

Trip cancellation

With medical travel insurance, you can often include trip cancellation insurance as an add-on for an additional cost. Trip cancellation insurance covers trip costs, including your flight, cruise, or train tickets, if you can’t go on your trip. It doesn’t cover any medical care you need while traveling.4

How much does travel medical insurance cost?

The cost of travel medical insurance can vary widely depending on many factors. Insurance companies typically charge a certain rate per person, per day of the trip. That may be a percentage of the total trip costs or a flat daily fee.

Depending on the company you choose and the type of policy, travel medical insurance can range from a few dollars per trip to hundreds. It’s a good idea to get multiple quotes to ensure you get the best policy for your needs at the lowest price available to you.

Who should buy travel medical insurance?

Since most American health insurance policies don’t work outside the country, anyone traveling outside the U.S. should consider travel medical insurance. The coverage may be particularly helpful for:

• Students studying abroad

• International vacationers

• International business travelers

• Travelers to areas that require visitors to have health insurance