Whenever you travel outside the country, it is essential that you have travel insurance. Such insurance will pay for your medical treatment should you become ill or are injured in some way when you are there. However, most travel insurance policies will pay for your treatment in that country, which may not be up to the standards of hospitals in the western world. This is why you do need to have emergency evacuation insurance instead.
There are three companies that offer this type of travel insurance. You do have to check out which company covers where you live. Residents of Canada and the United States can enroll in Medjet as well as people from those countries living in another country for part of the year. TravelGap Voyageur and Worldwide Trip Protector Lite are the other two providers but they cover US residents only.
There are good and bad points to each company. For example with Medjet, medical expenses outside of the cost of the flight are not covered at all. Travel Gap provides coverage up to $1 million up to age 74 and Worldwide allows $10,000 per person, but you have to add this option when you take out the insurance.
When it comes to choosing where you will be treated, Medjet will transport you to the hospital of your choice. Travel Gap allows a cost of $500,000 per flight so if that is not enough to bring you home, you have to settle for the nearest hospital to where you live. Worldwide has a cap of $100,000 and states that it will evacuate you to the nearest medical facility. However, if you are hospitalized outside the US and remain in hospital for a week, the company will evacuate you to the US.
If an insured person should pass away while out of the country, Medjet will return the remains to the person's home. Travel Gap charges $25,000 for this service and Worldwide includes this in emergency evacuation. Having family around you when you are ill in a foreign country is important, which is why Medjet will allow those travelling with you to return home on the same flight. This is not part of the policy in the other companies.
In some cases injuries sustained in sporting activities are covered under the policy or you may have to pay extra for the coverage when you take out the policy. It is up to you to decide which one is right for you, but at first glance it appears that Medjet is the choice most consumers make.
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