Medical travel & travel insurance- What's the difference? (2024)

FAQs

Medical travel & travel insurance- What's the difference? ›

A comprehensive travel insurance policy will include more protections than stand-alone travel medical insurance. Travel medical insurance plans will have protections related to emergency medical events, while comprehensive trip insurance policies cover everything from medical care to trip cancellations.

Medical insurance for travel is specifically designed to cover any medical expenses you may incur while traveling. Travel insurance, on the other hand, provides more comprehensive coverage, including things like trip cancellation, lost luggage, and emergency medical evacuation.

Most travel insurance policies won't pay out if you're negligent while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and have an accident or have property stolen.

It can also be expensive, difficult to file claims, and not always cover the things you thought it would — or should.

How much travel medical insurance do you need? Squaremouth, a travel insurance comparison site, recommends buying at least $50,000 in emergency medical coverage for international travel. For travelers going on a cruise or to a remote destination, the site recommends at least $100,000 in coverage.

Emergency medical coverage is automatically included on all comprehensive travel insurance plans. This emergency medical coverage can work in conjunction with your health insurance, or in place of it, to help reimburse the cost of emergency medical care while traveling.

Travel health insurance is especially important if you have an existing health condition, are traveling for more than 6 months, or doing adventure activities such as scuba diving or hang gliding. Check if your current health care covers emergencies that happen while traveling.

However, depending on your provider, travel insurance costs can range from 4%-16% of your trip cost. That means for that $1,000 trip, you might find coverage for as little as $40 or up $160 on the high end. Costs vary across providers, level of coverage and factors like your age and destination.

While traveling abroad, it is common to get a minor illness such as a cold, the flu, a fever, diarrhea, stomach upset, etc. Such illnesses usually require you to visit a doctor's office. All U.S.-based travel medical insurance plans provide coverage for outpatient services such as doctor's office visits.

Does travel insurance replace health insurance? ›

Travel insurance isn't the same thing as health insurance.

Travel insurance with emergency medical benefits offers just that — benefits for losses due to covered medical and dental emergencies. It doesn't cover preventive, routine or elective medical care.

The main types of travel insurance include trip cancellation or interruption coverage, baggage and personal effects coverage, medical expense coverage, and accidental death or flight accident coverage.

Every plan is different, but the coverage amounts and benefits may vary. Determine how much you really need. For example, SquareMouth recommends international travelers get around $50,000 in Emergency Medical coverage and $100,000 for cruises or travel to remote areas.

If all conditions are met, most of the policies will reimburse you 50% to 75% of your trip costs, unless otherwise noted.

A Deductible for a travel insurance plan, as in other insurance policies, is a specified dollar amount that you are required to pay before any Emergency Medical benefits will be paid.

What type of travel insurance do I need? There are two main types of travel insurance: trip protection plans and travel medical plans.

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