Medical-Only Travel Insurance Policies – What is Covered?
Not every country in the world is lucky enough to have the public health-care system that Australia does. In some, reasonable-quality health care is available only for large upfront fees. Unfortunately, these are usually the same countries where the risk of becoming sick or being injured is more significant! Even the most basic travel insurance policies will cover you for some of the expenses incurred in getting emergency medical treatment, however, with the base option you may still be left out of pocket for various expenses. If you undertake legal action as a result of your injury or illness, or have any out-of-pocket expenses, for example, you could end up in thousands of dollars worth of debt. Medical travel insurance policies are a cheap way to cover any unexpected expense that is health-related. So what do they cover, and what are their limitations?
Medical travel insurance policies may not be offered by all insurers. Some choose to package additional benefits in with a mostly-medical offering, so that your hospital out-of-pocket and legal expenses are covered, along with natural catastrophe cover, for example. At almost all travel insurance agencies, though, you’ll find a mid-level cover that takes care of all, almost all, or all plus a little bit more, of your medical expenses while overseas.
A good medical travel insurance policy will include cover for occurrences like:
- Medical, surgical and hospital emergency treatment
- Emergency dental treatment
- Legal advice and expenses incurred in civil health-related suits
- Abandonment of trip for medical reasons
- Accidental death or total disability
- Cancellation and curtailment of your trip for medical reasons
- Hospital out-of-pocket expenses
Many people don’t realise that medical travel insurance policies will not cover you for expenses that you plan to incur overseas. This is especially important for the increasing number of medical tourists having cosmetic and even necessary surgery done in other countries. Unfortunately you can’t simply take out a travel insurance policy and have them pay the cost of your work! In many cases, if you have any emergencies that are related to planned medical treatment, these emergencies are not covered either. This is because you are seen to be engaging in excessively risky practices. Most good insurers have to turn down these types of claims in order to keep premiums affordably low for others.
You will also find that many travel insurers won’t cover you for emergency medical expenses incurred in doing adventure sports or pursuits like bungee jumping, white water rafting, caving, etc. The reasoning behind the exclusion is the same as for medical tourists, however some good insurers will allow these sorts of activities. You should check out their websites. Other common exclusions in medical travel insurance claims relating to pre-existing conditions. Make sure you understand the cover being offered by the insurance company and if you need cover for your condition make sure you have declared it when buying the policy – – all companies vary in the way they determine that something already existed.
Medical travel insurance only policies are an affordable way to get cover if the countries you are travelling to have low social risks, but reasonable health risks. They won’t cover you for things like public transport delays, missed flights, or having your personal effects stolen, but they take care of a huge chunk of the concern of travelling overseas, at affordable prices.
