Medical Evacuation Insurance

Medical evacuation insurance may seem like a dramatic policy to purchase, but getting evacuated from an accident scene can be extremely expensive, especially if you want to choose what medical facility you will be evacuated to.

Medical evacuation can be expensive.

This type of insurance may be included in your regular health insurance policy. In many instances, however, evacuation is either not included at all within the policy or there is a monetary cap as to how much money the insurance company will cover for this expense. Buying a medical evacuation policy separately will either augment your existing coverage or will supply you with coverage you don't have at all through your health insurer.

This coverage covers the costs associated with a medical evacuation. What exactly is a medical evacuation? This event comes in different forms:

• Emergency evacuation: If you are involved in an accident, such as an automobile collision, hiking accident or anything else that may merit an airlift or some other transportation to a medical facility other than an ambulance, this is considered an emergency evacuation and may not be fully covered by a standard health insurance policy.
• Medical transport: If you are traveling away from home, whether for business or on vacation, and you become hospitalized, your health insurance policy probably will not cover the cost of transporting you to the hospital of your choice. You will either have to stay at the hospital in the local area, which may be substandard, or you will have to pay for your own medical evacuation to an acceptable medical facility.

A medical evacuation insurance policy will cover the cost in both of the above instances. Considering how much a medical evacuation can cost (in some instances, tens of thousands of dollars), an evacuation policy can make a lot of sense.

The cost of this type of insurance depends largely on what company you purchase the policy from and the amount of coverage you select. Examples of the various policies typically offered by insurers include:

• International coverage: This policy is designed for people traveling away from home either for business or on vacation. Policies can be purchased for a specific length of time. The average cost for this coverage is around $5 a day with a minimum monetary obligation for each policy.
• Frequent traveler coverage: This policy is ongoing, designed for people who frequently travel to a variety of locations either for business or on vacation. The cost of this policy varies, depending on the needs of the traveler.
• Student coverage: This policy is designed specifically for students who are traveling abroad. The coverage covers students who travel abroad for studies or for recreation. Costs are usually on a monthly premium basis. Policies are typically available to students as long as they are enrolled in school.
• Single trip insurance: This coverage is specific to one trip and is usually bundled in a package along with trip cancellation insurance and lost baggage coverage.
• Group plans: These plans are offered to groups, either for tourist travel or for companies that frequently send travelers abroad. Discounts are usually offered for these policies, but they may not be as customizable as an individual policy.

Some premium credit cards or association groups offer this coverage to members at no extra charge. Credit card companies may offer this feature when the travel is booked using the credit card. Check with your credit card company or association group to find out if this coverage is included in your membership.

Check with your existing insurer to find out what coverage you already have before purchasing additional coverage. If your insurer does not offer this type of policy, check out the offerings from companies like these listed:

• USI Infinity
• MedJet Assist
• Travel Guard
• HTH Worldwide
• NRIOL.net

You may want to also consider using an insurance broker website to compare several policies at once.

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