Although usually not the first consideration when planning a trip, choosing the best travel assistance provider can turn out to be a crucial step in pre-trip planning. No one plans on becoming ill or being injured while traveling, so it is no surprise that most people do not even consider buying travel insurance or contemplating foreign medical options prior to traveling. However, a few minutes spent researching assistance coverage before a trip can save a lot of hassles and be invaluable in the unfortunate cases where a traveler ends up needing these services.
Many travelers already have some degree of travel assistance coverage without even knowing it. Travel assistance is sometimes an added benefit of life insurance policies, club memberships (e.g. AAA, RV Association of America, Divers Alert Network...), and premium credit cards if the card was used to purchase the travel. Many employers also have travel assistance as part of their benefits packages. Before investing in additional coverage, it is useful and can save time and money if a traveler can first determine what degree of coverage they already have in place and if these assistance services have limitations that would make it advisable to seek additional coverage.
Most travel assistance providers offer two types of service: medical expenses coverage while traveling and assistance with travel to adequate medical care or to return home (evacuation and repatriation). These services can either be insured or non-insured. It is useful to consider each of these services separately as different providers may offer just one or both of these benefits.
Some primary medical insurances only offer coverage for medical expenses in a defined country, usually the patient's country of residence. If they do offer coverage away from home, the patient may be required to pay the expenses up-front and then file a claim once back home to request reimbursement. Especially in the cases where there is no medical expense coverage, a traveler will want to make sure that they acquire medical travel assistance coverage that includes help with paying medical expenses. Many travel assistance providers also have pre-existing exclusions, so the traveler should always declare any pre-existing conditions when purchasing a policy to make sure that the coverage will still apply and, if required, they can pay for any pre-existing waivers when available to cover conditions which would otherwise be excluded. In many countries, hospitals and doctors will not see a foreigner prior to a payment being issued, so if a traveler's primary medical insurance does not issue guarantees of payment overseas or the traveler does not have an independent means of paying for sometimes very large medical expenses out of pocket, they will not be able to receive even life-saving, emergent care in many countries unless they have arranged for appropriate medical travel assistance coverage prior to taking their trip.
Medical transportation coverage is divided into evacuation and repatriating services. Although most assistance services will offer evacuation to an adequate medical facility in the initial phase of the illness or injury, not all will then help the patient to get home. As with medical expenses, there are sometimes exclusions for medical transportation coverage, so all pre-existing conditions should be declared when purchasing new coverage and considered when researching whether any existing coverage may apply.
There are many travel assistance providers in the marketplace. There are several factors which should be considered when deciding which one is a good fit for any individual traveler's needs. Usually it is best to choose a provider that has an office in the traveler's home country. This will make it more likely that there are no communication problems and that the company is regulated by the laws of the country were the traveler lives. Using providers that are known in the industry or affiliated with a large company (e.g. assistance bought through an airline web site, cruise company or timeshare company) should provide some reassurance that the company is reputable and will honor promises of assistance should they be needed. Cost will certainly also be a factor whenever purchasing travel assistance coverage. The limitations of coverage and deductibles should be compared to the purchase price when comparing multiple companies. As it is unlikely that medical evacuation and repatriation costs would ever exceed $150,000.00, paying for coverage in excess of this is usually not required. If a traveler has primary medical insurance which provides unrestricted coverage of medical expenses outside the home country, paying for redundant medical coverage as part of a travel assistance policy would not be a good purchase either. It is always important to look at exclusions to coverage when choosing a medical assistance provider. Some will have exclusions for specific medical conditions, such as psychiatric or alcohol/drug related events. Others may have geographical exclusions (e.g. in war zones, events in the traveler's home country, illness or injury within a defined distance from the home of record...), so it is important to confirm coverage in the locations when the traveler plans to go. There may also be limitations on the activities a traveler may engage in without jeopardizing coverage, e.g. no skydiving, scuba diving, skiing, rock climbing...
In summary, there are many different types of medical travel assistance coverage and many different companies offering these services. Most travelers should consider obtaining medical travel assistance coverage before leaving home. Before purchasing additional coverage, the travel should first determine if there is any travel assistance and medical coverage already in place, and then determine if there is a need to purchase additional coverage. In order to select the best product for any specific trip, the traveler should define where they will be traveling, what activities they will be engaging in, what pre-existing conditions they have and what the limitations of their primary medical insurance are. Once they have this information, they will be in the best position to contact a variety of providers and find the best policy that fits their unique needs.
