overseas medical trip insurance for year

[1Texansgo]

We currently travel outside the U.S. approximately 30-50 days per year sometimes on cruises and sometimes on land based vacations. We do not own any property outside the US so no issues with our being on our own property. We want medical insurance for illnesses/injuries that may occur outside the US and that our current health insurance would not cover. Our research thus far has been very confusing. Are most policies indemnity policies wherein you must pay all charges in the country of treatment and then seek reimbursment. We also want a policy that has med ambulance/ medical transport back to the US if necessary. What should we be looking for in these policies etc?.  Thank you for any help you can give us.

[iamtrustworthy]

On 12/22/2020 at 12:15 PM, 1Texansgo said:

We currently travel outside the U.S. approximately 30-50 days per year sometimes on cruises and sometimes on land based vacations. We do not own any property outside the US so no issues with our being on our own property. We want medical insurance for illnesses/injuries that may occur outside the US and that our current health insurance would not cover. Our research thus far has been very confusing. Are most policies indemnity policies wherein you must pay all charges in the country of treatment and then seek reimbursment. We also want a policy that has med ambulance/ medical transport back to the US if necessary. What should we be looking for in these policies etc?.  Thank you for any help you can give us.

Hi 1Texansgo,

 

What's the typical length of a trip that expect to take in the next few years? And, what are your ages?

 

Steve Dasseos

[1Texansgo]

typical trip is 7-10 days and our ages are 65 and 56; good health and we both have private health insurance through my employer 

[iamtrustworthy]

2 hours ago, 1Texansgo said:

typical trip is 7-10 days and our ages are 65 and 56; good health and we both have private health insurance through my employer 

How many trips do you have planned for the next 12 months?

 

And, do you want to be covered if you got ill with Covid?

[1Texansgo]

5; I assume we would want covid coverage unless for some reason I could be persuaded not to add that coverage.

[iamtrustworthy]

22 hours ago, 1Texansgo said:

5; I assume we would want covid coverage unless for some reason I could be persuaded not to add that coverage.

Hi 1Texansgo,

 

If you want Covid coverage that includes medical transportation / evacuation, don't get either Geo Blue plan.

 

Geo Blue's Voyager (https://tripinsurancestore.com/geo-blue-voyager-travel-medical-plans/) is a Single-Trip plan and the Geo Blue Trekker is a Multi-Trip (https://tripinsurancestore.com/geo-blue-trekker-travel-medical-plans/) plan.

 

Geo Blue has excellent medical coverage, can cover pre-existing conditions, pays as Primary and isn't an indemnity policy. If you use one of their providers (they have a large network), they pay directly.

 

However, their Trekker plan doesn't cover Covid at all. Their Voyager plan covers Covid for medical treatment but not medical evacuation:

 

Note: For existing and/or prospective members, injuries and Illnesses resulting from Terrorism and pandemics are covered as any other Injury or Illness provided all of the following conditions are met:

1. The Covered Person had no direct or indirect involvement in the Terrorist Activity;
2. The Covered Person has not unreasonably failed or refused to depart a country or location or is traveling to a country or location following the date a warning to leave or avoid travel to that country or location is issued by the United States government.

*Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are not subject to the above exception and are covered as any other Injury or Illness. Medical Expenses associated with asymptomatic testing or expenses for quarantining (confinement outside of a hospital setting) are not covered under this Plan.

This is important: Voyager covers COVID for medical. Geo Blue Voyager does not cover medical evacuation for COVID.

 

You can get Covid coverage for medical treatment and medical evacuation by buying a Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance plan that doesn't penalize you for pre-existing conditions if you don't insure the full trip cost.

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Steve Dasseos

 

[ipeeinthepool]

On 12/25/2020 at 1:37 PM, iamtrustworthy said:

You can get Covid coverage for medical treatment and medical evacuation by buying a Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance plan that doesn't penalize you for pre-existing conditions if you don't insure the full trip cost.

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Steve Dasseos

 

 

Steve,

 

Can you explain this approach a little further?   Is this the typical plan that someone would buy to insure a cruise?  Do you need to buy this type of policy within a few days of purchasing the cruise? How much insurance coverage would you suggest to provide the Covid and evacuation coverage?

 

Thanks

 

 

[iamtrustworthy]

18 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Steve,

 

Can you explain this approach a little further?   Is this the typical plan that someone would buy to insure a cruise?  Do you need to buy this type of policy within a few days of purchasing the cruise? How much insurance coverage would you suggest to provide the Covid and evacuation coverage?

 

Thanks

I know of two companies that won't penalize you for pre-existing conditions if you don't insure the full trip cost. There is a third company but they are pulling their plans off the market so I'm leaving them out.

 

Here are the companies, the page on my website that describes them in greater detail and the purchase deadline dates:

 

The IMG SE plan (https://tripinsurancestore.com/img-iti-plan-details/) needs to be bought within 20 days of the earliest payment of any kind on your trip. If someone lives in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington they have a lot less medical coverage.

 

IMG also has the LX plan (https://tripinsurancestore.com/img-iti-plan-details/). For most States, the deadline is no later than 24 hours after your Final Trip payment to get the LX plan’s pre-existing condition waiver. If someone lives in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington their deadline is within 20 days of the earliest payment of any kind on your trip.

 

The other company is TravelSafe. The plan is the Classic plan (https://tripinsurancestore.com/travelsafe-travel-insurance-details/). This needs to be bought within 21 days of the earliest payment of any kind on your trip.

 

Steve Dasseos

[ipeeinthepool]

Thanks for the information, but I'm not sure that's going to help many of us.  I know many of us may be booking cruises for late 2021 or 2022 on the hope that things may be closer to normal by then but still aren't convinced that we will actually be taking those trips.  That prevents us from buying the trip insurance so far in advance.  I still don't know what you are suggesting for only insuring part of the trip.  Are you suggesting that I only insure $500 of the cost of the trip to get the entire medical coverage?  Is this also the approach that I would use If I was willing to accept the pre-existing conditions limitations? 

 

For example I have a cruise planned for December 2021 that I've purchased long ago and planning to use GeoBlue for the medical coverage.  Now to obtain medical coverage for Covid and possible medical evacuation I need to purchase one of these policies at a reduced amount and supplement it with a GeoBlue plan for any pre-existing conditions?

[iamtrustworthy]

3 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Thanks for the information, but I'm not sure that's going to help many of us.  I know many of us may be booking cruises for late 2021 or 2022 on the hope that things may be closer to normal by then but still aren't convinced that we will actually be taking those trips.  That prevents us from buying the trip insurance so far in advance.  I still don't know what you are suggesting for only insuring part of the trip.  Are you suggesting that I only insure $500 of the cost of the trip to get the entire medical coverage?  Is this also the approach that I would use If I was willing to accept the pre-existing conditions limitations? 

 

For example I have a cruise planned for December 2021 that I've purchased long ago and planning to use GeoBlue for the medical coverage.  Now to obtain medical coverage for Covid and possible medical evacuation I need to purchase one of these policies at a reduced amount and supplement it with a GeoBlue plan for any pre-existing conditions?

For all trip cancellation plans that include medical coverage, the medical coverage is the same no matter what trip cost is insured.

 

When you are buying a policy from a company that does not penalize you for pre-existing conditions if you don't insure the full trip cost, you should just insure a $500 per person trip cost within the deadline. If it turns out you won't be taking that trip, and you are not incurring a financial penalty on the cancellation, you can change the dates to the rescheduled trip.

 

For trips where you paid the deposit was paid more than 21 days ago, I suggest you get the IMG LX plan (https://tripinsurancestore.com/img-iti-plan-details/).

 

As a Michigan resident, your deadline to buy it is no later than 24 hours after your Final Trip payment to get the LX plan’s pre-existing condition waiver.

 

This plan will not work if someone lives in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington because their deadline is within 20 days of the earliest payment of any kind on their trip.

 

Since your plan was to get a Geo Blue Voyager or Trekker plan, I recommend you find out if your current health insurance will cover you for Covid including medical transprtation back home. If so, you can safely get a Geo Blue plan.

 

If not, you have other options in what I've explained.

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

Steve Dasseos

[wrk2cruise]

Thank you for the information provided in this thread.  I know @ipeeinthepool and I share the same concerns to be properly covered on a return to cruising.

[ipeeinthepool]

Steve,

 

Thanks for the more detailed explanation.  The more generous time limit for Michigan residents sounds like a good option for me.  I happen to be covered by Medicare so, whatever insurance I purchase has to function as the primary coverage during the trip.

 

It's also my understanding that the Medical evacuation policies are also not covering Covid.  Is that correct?   Do you expect that to change anytime soon?

 

I suspect that there will be more changes to the insurance coverage as we return to cruising, thanks for keeping us informed. 

 

Obtaining proper medical coverage is a key element for me to return to cruising.  My plan is to wait until I approach final payment and give you guys a call to confirm I can get affordable coverage before I make final payment.

Edited December 28, 2020 by ipeeinthepool

[iamtrustworthy]

6 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Steve,

 

Thanks for the more detailed explanation.  The more generous time limit for Michigan residents sounds like a good option for me.  I happen to be covered by Medicare so, whatever insurance I purchase has to function as the primary coverage during the trip.

 

It's also my understanding that the Medical evacuation policies are also not covering Covid.  Is that correct?   Do you expect that to change anytime soon?

 

I suspect that there will be more changes to the insurance coverage as we return to cruising, thanks for keeping us informed. 

 

Obtaining proper medical coverage is a key element for me to return to cruising.  My plan is to wait until I approach final payment and give you guys a call to confirm I can get affordable coverage before I make final payment.

> It's also my understanding that the Medical evacuation policies are also not covering Covid.  Is that correct?

 

There are three main types of plans that include medical evacuation / transportation:

• Transportation Membership plans like MedJetAssist. There are more than a few companies with transportation membership plans available. I chose to only sell one company and that is MedJetAssist (https://tripinsurancestore.com/medjet-assist-program-details/). This is how MedJetAssist currently covers for Covid: "Beginning on October 19, 2020, Medjet will be able to transport a member hospitalized with Covid-19, while traveling in the contiguous 48 United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands, to a hospital of their choice at home".
• Travel Medical plans that cover you when you are traveling outside the USA. There are more than a few Travel Medical plan companies available. I also chose to only sell one company which is HTH who owns GeoBlue. The GeoBlue plans do not cover medical evacuation for COVID.
• Trip Cancellation Travel Insurance plans that cover you when you are traveling inside or outside the USA. There are hundreds of plans available but I see no benefit in offering so many similar choices, so I have nine that meet my requirements. None of my Trip Cancellation plans exclude pandemics or epidemics.

> Do you expect that to change anytime soon?

 

I expect benefit changes, but I have no idea what the changes will be. The only change I know for sure that is coming are price increases. These tend to happen quickly, so I hope I get at least a week's notice.

 

Steve Dasseos

Edited December 29, 2020 by iamtrustworthy
typo

[ipeeinthepool]

Thanks again, Steve.  Medical evacuation seems to be the big concern for Covid patients if MedJetAssist and GeoBlue aren't providing that kind of coverage.  There are probably several reasons for that; no one wants another Covid patient coming into their country or perhaps even passing through their country and international travel still has a lot of restrictions.  The logistics of a Covid evacuation are probably changing by the day.  I understand how the trip cancellation travel insurance policies currently are the best option for medical and evacuation coverage.  I personally don't see myself cruising before Fall of 2021 after I'm vaccinated.  It will be interesting to see if any of the insurance companies consider requiring proof of vaccination as a requirement for coverage.

 

My current cruises for 2021 are all longer than 7 days and leave or end from the US, so they are not allowed to sail under the current regulations.  I'll check back with you later next summer when cruising hopefully resumes and we can all start to travel again.

 

Thanks again for all of your help.

[iamtrustworthy]

Hi ipeeinthepool,

 

You're welcome. I'm happy to help.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Steve