Travel Insurance for the States

[Mad Mike]

Bump!
What do people do for the coverage for medical evacuation - i.e. some type of medi vac coverage to get them back to Ontario instead of languishing in a deliverance hospital. Or maybe you need to get off the side of a mountain?

I already have great coverage through work and also through my Visa infinite card, but thought I read that some purchase this extra coverage.

Any thoughts?

The insurance on a Visa Infinite Travel card is excellent, good chance they will arrange a medivac if you have a serious medical problem. If you are really worried, you can buy annual travel insurance for less than $125 from TD that gives you $5m coverage for trips up 17 days.

 

[shanekingsley]

A woman from Quebec went polar bear viewing in Churchill Manitoba, got mauled and air lifted to Winnipeg. Universal healthcare took care of the treatment but not the $13,000 medivac flight. She complained to the PQ government who told her she should have looked at PQ polar bears or purchased travel insurance.

A friend of friend thing but he got very ill in backwoods Mexico and had to be airlifted out. The local hospital used every excuse in the book to not release him even though they could barely keep him alive. They liked the income. He survived because he had some medical contacts that were able to arrange a flight with a doctor on board. I don't know who picked up the tab.

Google indicated $30 K to $ 70 K

A smart travel insurance company will pay for a evacuation flight instead of paying through the nose for extended care. Once you're on home turf OHIP kicks in. Of course if you die the travel insurance company passes the liability onto a life insurance company. "Sorry, not my department"

I can relate. On one of my Dad's annual winter trips to Arizona, he ended up in an ICU for 4 days at age 62. I think the bill was $64k. Can't imagine not having insurance and having to deplete your life savings or sell your house to pay for that kind of stuff, but it happens all the time.

 

[ifiddles]

I worked in banking for many years back in my early 20s...had an older client come in one day to cash out a GIC...part of our job was to determine why they were cashing out to see if there's any way of keeping the business...turned out he went to Florida for his annual trip, forgot to buy insurance and had a heart attack while down there...had to cash in his savings to pay the bill...very sad...

 

[Lightcycle]

What do people do for the coverage for medical evacuation - i.e. some type of medi vac coverage to get them back to Ontario instead of languishing in a deliverance hospital. Or maybe you need to get off the side of a mountain?

For the first couple of years of travel, we paid for MedJet Assist. It was pricey and it wasn't clear that it covered off all our requirements.

Medical Evac only kicks in once you are under medical care of whatever country you happen to be in. But it doesn't cover Search and Rescue to get you off the mountainside.

That falls under a different organization like Global Rescue, or whatever company Garmin inReach uses for their SOS beaconing products.

Towards the end of our trip, we used a blanket medical insurance provider called World Nomads. No SAR, but they cover up to $500,000 USD of medical evac expenses as part of their policy.

 

[shanekingsley]

For the first couple of years of travel, we paid for MedJet Assist. It was pricey and it wasn't clear that it covered off all our requirements.

Medical Evac only kicks in once you are under medical care of whatever country you happen to be in. But it doesn't cover Search and Rescue to get you off the mountainside.

That falls under a different organization like Global Rescue, or whatever company Garmin inReach uses for their SOS beaconing products.

Towards the end of our trip, we used a blanket medical insurance provider called World Nomads. No SAR, but they cover up to $500,000 USD of medical evac expenses as part of their policy.

Thanks - World Nomads is exactly the company I remember reading about and it was either you or @oomis who I think mentioned it before.

 

[adv_round]

I'm heading to states soon, and will rent a car there... My credit card covers vehicle insurance, but not liability... I thought I had that coverage under my car insurance here, but turns out I don't (should have been more careful when I switched companies).

Should I just buy rental company's supplemental liability protection when picking up a rental?
Anyone has any tips on this?

 

[ifiddles]

@adv_round what about your credit card?...a few here have said they offer insurance...or try CAA?

 

[nobbie48]

I worked in banking for many years back in my early 20s...had an older client come in one day to cash out a GIC...part of our job was to determine why they were cashing out to see if there's any way of keeping the business...turned out he went to Florida for his annual trip, forgot to buy insurance and had a heart attack while down there...had to cash in his savings to pay the bill...very sad...

When I turned 65 I was no longer covered by my wife's group policy so I did an online application explaining the coverage I wanted and for a few hundred IIRC got insurance and paid by giving them my credit card info.

A few days later I got a confirmation in the mail, saw everything was right and filed it.

A few days later I hopped on the bike for a weekend moto camping trip to Virginia. Getting back late Sunday night.

Tuesday I got a letter in the mail from the insurer advising that I hadn't signed and returned the acknowledgement and wasn't covered until they got the acknowledgement.

Two days after that I had my first ambulance ride due to a pulmonary embolism. Treatment here was $50. In the USA it would have been X 1000.

A friend's F-I-L lied on his application to get a reduced rate and had a heart attack in Florida. When you sign you allow full access to your medical records.

The insurance company basically said "You lied when you said you were healthy. We lied when we said we'll pick up the tab."

On a typical application you will be asked what prescriptions you're on. You'll probably remember the heart pills but maybe not the lotion you use occasionally for dermatitis. Ladies, do you have a Rx for the pills? It's an Rx and in your name.

Some sketchy policies use any lie or error on an application as an excuse to refuse coverage. This isn't like car insurance where they check you out ahead of time and decide on the rate. They take what you say and only check things out if there's a claim.

You might be asked if you've had any medical procedures and say no. You think an ECG is a test not a procedure but the insurer says it's a procedure and you misinformed them, pay you own bills.

One thing about CAA is if there is an omission, error or lie they cover you but you owe them the difference between what you paid and what you should have paid plus a maximum of five grand.

 

[Evoex]

Be very careful with your benefits insurance (sun life, etc) Read the small print.

When I went to Thailand I checked and it only covered costs in about 3 hospitals in the entire country.