Travel plan idea blog

Skiing accident, medical helicopter bill, and travel / medical insurance question

The following is an email I received from a reader who wants to remain anonymous. Any helpful comments would be appreciated:

So one of my wife's classmates went snowboarding with her boyfriend this last weekend. Her boyfriend had some kind of mishap and fractured his cheekbone against a tree. They took him down to the bottom of the mountain and elected to send him to Reno via helicopter. 5 days later he gets the bill -- 30,000 dollars.

What the hell!??! The total time that thing spent in the air couldn't have been more than an hour. I hope the dude has insurance, though they probably won't cover all or even much of that cost.

Pretty outrageous. The reason I am writing in is to see if any of your readers know about this stuff. Travel insurance, medical insurance, travel medical insurance, medical evac (domestic) insurance, etc. What do we do to protect ourselves from these $30,000 bills? What should my wife’s classmate’s boyfriend do if he doesn’t have the right insurance?

Who do you trust for travel insurance?

I've never had travel insurance, and luckily I've never needed it. However, we see many travel writers strongly recommending travel insurance. Perhaps if we knew which insurance company to trust...

Here's a story about a couple who couldn't travel because their passports arrived to slowly. Their travel insurance didn't cover anything - quite a shock to the couple who spent money on insurance, couldn't travel, and couldn't collect from insurance.

I can probably afford to lose some money on a flight or something, but what really scares me is emergency medical evacuation because that can cost a fortune.

We do have a little British advice - I wish I knew of an American company that offered an annual travel insurance policy that covered me every time I travel.

While everyone in England recommends it, in America we don't see that so much. Speaking of England, I read that "47 per cent of UK holidaymakers still did not bother to take out any travel cover before their trip" which leaves 53% of the people buying travel insurance. I wish I had a statistic for America, but I'm willing to bet it's much much lower than 53%.

According to this article Consumer Reports isn't a big fan of travel insurance.

That same article reinforces what I said before about medical evacuation though:

Dr. Leon Reinstein of Baltimore says he has been buying travel insurance for overseas trips ever since one of his patients needed to be evacuated 10 years ago from the Bahamas after breaking her hip. That 90-mile ambulance evacuation to Miami cost $25,000.

They did also mention one family that had a good experience with Travel Guard insurance when a hurricane hit their vacation spot.

So basically they say buy travel insurance when:

1. You're spending a lot of money on your trip and losing sleep about something happening
2. You're traveling when there's a risk of bad weather
3. If you're afraid of spending tens of thousands of dollars on medical evacuation

I guess #3 would be especially important to people who are going rafting or something similar - something where there's a better than average chance of getting injured. Also with #3, you don't necessarily need travel insurance to get medical evacuation coverage.

More on the lawyer with TB + a note on medical evacuation insurance

Here's a little more on the honeymooning lawyer with TB. Apparently the US border guard dropped the ball. It amazes me that they give my wife (who has a green card) a hard time at JFK (sometimes, not always - usually it's pretty smooth) but the guy with TB that they are specifically told to detain gets into the US in under a minute.

At least the TB patient, Andrew Speaker, says he has proof that he was never told not to leave the US. It's not hard to believe him either seeing how the government is capable of making errors...

Also worth noting is the part on his health insurer covering air ambulance costs from Atlanta to Denver - $12,000 for a domestic flight! Can you imagine if he had been evacuated from Europe and his insurance had not covered it? I'm not saying that excuses his actions, knowingly putting other passengers at risk for TB - the guy is clearly a selfish ass - but I am saying that if you don't have medical evacuation insurance, I certainly see the temptation to risk other people's health.

Self travel insurance - when trip insurance is too expensive

Here's an article on how travel insurance gets expensive, particularly for senior citizens. When travel insureance is no longer reasonable, what options do we have?

A lot of the advice hinges on making arrangements last minute because when you pay in advance there's more time for something to go wrong. With airline tickets you have to buy reusable tickets, ones that you can use again if something forces you to cancel.

Travel Troubleshooter vs. Access America travel insurance

Americans buy travel insurance less often that Europeans; is that because we have no reason to trust the insurance companies?

This traveler called Access America twice and asked if she would be covered for a missed connection. Both times the agent on the phone answered yes, you'll be covered. But the troubleshooter reminds us we need to read the contract:

Check out Part 6, Section H of your contract for what is -- and isn't -- covered in the event of a missed connection. You would have been covered for up to $300, if you were delayed by a traffic accident or bad weather.

In other words we can't trust the agents we speak to on the phone. They say "yes" when they should say "yes in very rare cases but most of the time we'll deny your claim".

''It was a confluence of events that caused Ms. Wolf's delay,'' a spokeswoman for Access America said. "None of them were covered under her policy.'' I have no problem with this in general, but the fact that we can't trust Access America phone agents tells me that this is a company I'll never trust to insure my vacation.

Back to my original question. I think Americans don't buy travel insurance because we don't want to hire a lawyer to figure out what the contract means. And since we don't trust the insurance companies to give us a straight answer we risk vacationing without insurance.

Saving money on travel insurance

To determine how much medical insurance you need, check with your provider to see if things like hospital visits abroad and emergency medical evacuation costs.

Also check with your credit cards: American Express says that "American Express Centurion and Platinum cardholders are automatically entitled to free emergency medical evacuation coverage."

Regarding car insurance and rental cars:

Most of the liability and collision damage coverage needed while driving a rental car, Perkins said, may already be provided through regular automobile, household or other insurance policies. While credit card issuers typically don't include any liability coverage, many do provide extensive collision coverage. Usually offered under the auspices of premium Gold or Platinum cards, credit card companies will offer collision coverage at no extra cost assuming the rental is paid for with the card.

All in all the article I linked to above was a very interesting read and should be worth your time.

Travel insurance for work-related cancellations and changes

Interesting news about a new type of travel insurance that covers you in cases where your boss asks you to change vacation plans.

Richmond, Va.-based travel insurance provider Access America calls its new product BizPack. It essentially provides coverage for work-related cancellations and changes, focusing on travelers who fear they'll be called into the office just before or at some point during their vacations.

Beofre, travelers who wanted this type of coverage had to have a plan that covered everything and those plans are expensive.

Examples showing why Americans should buy travel insurance

The Witchita Eagle asks why Europeans buy travel insurance while Americans often don't. They have a long list of things that can go wrong:

We Americans, by contrast, are the eternal optimists. We fling ourselves to Italy and France without the slightest premonition that a transportation strike might hinder our ability to come home on time, as those work stoppages so often do. We clamber over the wet stones of Roman ruins without considering that we might slip and injure ourselves (as so many tourists do). We traipse to Mexico, Egypt or China sensing that we might get sick from the food, but take no steps to assure ourselves of medical care or even emergency evacuation home. And we remain oblivious, in general, to the real possibility that a business or medical emergency, suffered by us or a relative, may require that we either cancel or interrupt a trip, incurring heavy penalties or costs.

The article certianly makes a strong case for travel insurance although the one about slipping on some steps in the Roman ruins might not be too bad. My wife cut her finger in Assissi and we went to the Emergency room. The bill came to something lik 17.00 but there was no one there to collect our money (it was late at night) so the doctor sent us to a machine that didn't work. Even if we had been able to pay, it would not have been too bad. Of course it was a very minor injury.

American Express Travel insurance urges cruisers to buy insurance

American Express Travel Insurance urges people going on a cruise to buy travel insurance before sailing off.

Joanne Field, marketing manager at American Express Insurance Services, said: "When people are taken ill at sea and need urgent treatment, transportation from the cruise shop to the nearest hospital can be an added complication." She added that an emergency medical transportation service could cost "four if not five figures".

American Express Travel Insurance has a "Premier Plus Policy", which offers overseas cover for travellers for up to 120 days. "By opting for a cruise, your holiday begins the moment you board, so make sure travel insurance is something that you never set sail without," concluded Ms Field.

Medical evacuation is certainly rare, but it is expensive. Make sure that wheatever travel insurance you use covers emergency medical evacuation.

Where do you buy travel insurance?

A British article about Travel Insurance reveals that buying travel insurance through a travel agent means paying more than buying insurance direct from a company:

Produced together with the Centre of Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the report reveals that just under a third (30 per cent) of travellers are paying double the price they could find elsewhere.

While I see the attraction of buying direct to save money, most consumers simply don't know where to buy travel insurance. You need a reliable company but which companies are reliable. You need the right coverage, but which plan would that be? A good travel agent will know these things and unless shoppers are willing to take the time to really learn how travel insurance works, what they need, and who to get it from, buying insurance from the travel agent is going to remain common.

Types of travel insurance

The ads are a bit irritating but the information in this article about different types of travel insurance is worth reading. Here's a sample:

Comprehensive Coverage
A travel insurance policy usually offers two types of coverage: trip cancellation and/or interruption and emergency medical evacuation. Reimbursements for lost baggage or trip delays are nice if they come bundled with trip cancellation/interruption or emergency medical evacuation, but they're usually not good buys on their own. Generally, a comprehensive travel insurance policy will cover every need you can anticipate and costs 5 to 7 percent of the price of your trip, so a vacation package valued at $US5,000 can be insured for $US250 to $US350, and is well worth the piece of mind.

It's also possible to buy year-round policies. Frequent travelers can buy insurance for a length of time, rather than for a certain trip. I'm told it can be quite inexpensive (sometimes less than $100 USD per year). Always read the policy for any limitations and exclusions that may apply.

Travel insurance

The Miami Herald lists some good reasons to buy travel insurance, but only when you're booking an expensive vacation. There are a number of good travel insurance tips. Here are two:

Take care that your travel insurance purchase is complete and the policy is in place before you go. Another tip from Harvey is to be sure to get a policy number before you go away. If your travel insurance company says they'll send it to you later, you may find out that coverage doesn't begin until after your departure.

Don't buy travel insurance from the same company that's providing you with a vacation package, says John Hawks, executive director of the nonprofit Consumer Travel Rights Center. Two years ago, a travel supplier called Far & Wide Travel went out of business, leaving 15,000 people holding the bag. You want to buy what's called supplier default insurance.