What Is Travel Medical Insurance and How Does it Work?

What Is Travel Medical Insurance?

Travel medical insurance is a short-term policy that helps reduce out-of-pocket medical costs if you get sick or hurt while traveling. It doesn't cover routine medical expenses or replace primary health insurance coverage.

When traveling abroad, travel medical insurance may be the only coverage that helps pay for health care because most U.S.-based health insurance plans don't cover you when you're out of the country. Without a supplemental plan, you could be stuck paying for medical bills if you become ill or injured on your trip.

Even if you're not traveling internationally, purchasing a travel insurance plan may be worth it because it can help pay for care if you're heading to a part of the country without in-network medical providers. Many travel medical insurance plans also pay for emergency transportation to a hospital if the local facilities aren't equipped to provide the care you need or you're in a remote location without access to medical care.

What Does Travel Medical Insurance Cover?

Here's an overview of some common injury- and illness-related expenses travel medical insurance can help pay for.

• Emergency medical expenses: If your trip gets interrupted by an unexpected illness or injury, travel medical insurance can help pay for your medical bills.
• Emergency evacuations: Planning a trip to a remote location or an area without quality health care? This benefit covers the cost of getting you to a hospital that can provide the care you need.
• Remains repatriation: If the unthinkable occurs and an accident or illness results in your death while traveling, your plan will pay for your remains to be returned home.
• Preexisting conditions: Some plans provide coverage if you need treatment related to a medical condition that popped up before you left for your trip. Other plans exclude preexisting condition coverage. Check the plan for details.
• Accidental death and dismemberment: Your provider will issue you or your beneficiaries a payout if you're severely injured or die on your trip. Check your plan for qualifying injuries and payout amounts.
• Emergency assistance: Finding the care you need can be challenging when traveling to an unfamiliar location or area where you don't speak the language. Many plans have emergency assistance benefits in your native language to help you find health care services, arrange transportation, communicate with family back home and more.
• Trip cancellation or interruption: Depending on the type of plan you have, the insurer may reimburse you for prepaid, nonrefundable travel-related expenses if you have to cancel or miss part of your trip due to an injury or illness. Trip cancellation and interruption benefits are typically only available with comprehensive travel insurance plans.

Learn more: Does My Car Insurance Cover Me in Mexico?

Types of Travel Medical Insurance

Multiple types of travel medical insurance provide coverage when you're traveling, but benefits vary by plan type.

• Comprehensive travel insurance: Covers expenses for emergency medical treatment and evacuation. This type of plan also provides reimbursement for non-refundable prepaid travel expenses if you have to cancel your trip, come home early or experience an interruption because of an illness, injury or other covered event.

• Medical travel insurance: Helps cover the cost of treating injuries and illnesses you experience when traveling. Medical travel insurance generally pays for emergency medical and dental bills; evacuation expenses; accidental death and dismemberment; and delayed, lost and damaged baggage. Some plans exclude coverage for preexisting conditions, and others may cover them if you meet certain criteria.
• Medical evacuation: Pays for transportation to a hospital to get the care you need and back home when you're ready. It may also pay for a family member's expenses to travel to be with you in the hospital. Plan representatives will also coordinate transportation efforts with your medical team.
• Single-trip travel insurance: Provides coverage for one trip. If you're planning multiple trips and want coverage for each journey, you must buy a separate policy for each trip.
• Multitrip travel medical insurance: Some insurers offer multitrip options that cover you for all the trips you take within a certain timeframe—often one year. Multitrip insurance may be a good option for frequent travelers who go abroad or travel domestically to areas with limited in-network health insurance benefits.

How Much Does Travel Medical Insurance Cost?

The cost of a travel medical insurance policy depends on the type you buy. Comprehensive travel insurance generally costs about 4% to 8% of the price of the trip, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association. Standalone medical travel insurance averages around $4.60 a day, according to travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth.

Here are some other factors that may affect the price of your plan.

• Age: Older people are more likely to need medical care, whether they're traveling or not. Plans typically increase in price as you age.
• Insured costs: The total cost you're insuring affects the plan's rate. The more expensive your trip is, the more it'll cost to insure.
• Policy limits: Plans have different features and coverage limits. Plans with more features and higher policy limits cost more.
• Number of trips: A multitrip policy generally costs more than a single-trip plan, but multitrip plans often have a lower per-trip cost than insuring multiple trips separately.
• Trip length: The longer you're away from home, the more likely it is that something will go wrong. Longer trips cost more to insure than shorter ones.

Some factors that don't affect the price of coverage include your health history and where you're going. Unlike other types of insurance, your travel insurance claims history won't affect your premium either. If you've had to file a travel insurance claim for a previous trip, it won't affect the pricing of future plans.

How Much Travel Medical Insurance Do I Need?

Different plans often have different policy limits. To select an adequate amount of coverage, consider the following.

Your Destination

If you're staying close to home, low limits may be sufficient—you might even be able to skip the coverage altogether. If you're traveling abroad where your U.S.-based health insurance isn't accepted or to an area that may require evacuation (whether domestic or international) to get adequate care, higher policy limits may be worth it.

The cost of a medical evacuation within North America is about $25,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you're headed farther from home or to a remote location, that cost can balloon to over $250,000—and that's just to get you to a hospital. It doesn't include the cost of care once you're there.

Planned Activities

Are you planning to skydive or hike Mount Everest? Many plans exclude coverage for adventure sports and other activities the insurance company considers dangerous. If you're heading off for a trip filled with excursions designed to awaken your inner adrenaline junkie, such as hang gliding, bungee jumping or parasailing and you want coverage, look for a plan that explicitly covers activities that satisfy your adventurous spirit.

Your Age and Health

Young and healthy people are typically less likely to need medical care than older folks and those with health conditions. If you fall into the young and healthy category, you may opt for lower limits than someone who is older or in poor health. But keep in mind that accidents and injuries can happen at any age when selecting policy limits.

How to Get Travel Medical Insurance

Travel medical insurance is easy to obtain. If you have a credit card, you may already have some benefits without realizing it. While many travel credit cards provide trip insurance, most don't provide medical benefits for travelers. Those that do typically offer a low coverage amount. Check yours to see what, if any, benefits are available.

You can also purchase a plan from travel insurance companies or online marketplaces that allow you to compare plans from multiple providers. Online marketplaces make it easy to evaluate multiple plans to find one that meets your needs at a price you can afford.

Do Credit Cards Have Medical Travel Insurance?

It depends on the credit card. Some credit cards offer medical travel insurance to cardholders, but benefits may be limited and policy limits low. Cards that offer medical coverage typically have policy limits of around $2,500 to $5,000. Other benefits may include emergency evacuation, accidental death and dismemberment and emergency assistance services. Check your card's terms and conditions to find out what, if any, benefits you have before deciding to forego a third-party policy.

Third-party policies typically provide better coverage and higher policy limits that offer greater protection when traveling.

Learn more: How Your Credit Card Can Protect You When Traveling

The Bottom Line

Travel medical insurance is an affordable way to protect yourself from unexpected medical expenses and the potential for an emergency evacuation when traveling. For just a few dollars a day, on average, you can purchase a plan that helps pay for emergency medical and dental treatment and medical evacuation if there are no facilities near your location that can provide the care you need.

If you have a larger budget for travel insurance, a comprehensive plan can provide added benefits including trip cancellation and interruption coverage if you need to cancel your trip or return home early.