Travel Health Insurance: Benefits and Conditions

Travel health insurance as the name suggests is a kind of insurance which provides health coverage while traveling, often in case of foreign country. Similar to other health insurance policies, traveling health insurance too requires the insurer to pay a certain amount as premium to the health insurance company. The company thereafter, provides coverage for medical expenses incurred during traveling. Some health insurance companies also cover medical evacuation under their travel health insurance program.

Premium and General Benefits

Travel health insurance quotes primarily offer trip interruption/cancellation insurance, travel accident insurance, baggage loss, medical expenses coverage and emergency evacuation. The premium amount largely depends upon the age of the insurer, cost of trip(in case of single trip insurance coverage), the country which is being visited, the distance of the trip, other pre-existing health conditions etc. Certain travel health insurance plans also include flight accidental deaths and other accidental deaths.

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Medical Benefits

Since it is a health insurance policy, the medical cost that it covers include, medical expenses made on the trip, dental expenses, expenses incurred on medicines and treatment. However, there are certain terms and conditions applied on these covers as well. For example, the health insurance company would not reimburse any amount for unconventional medical treatments and medicines like ayurvedic treatment and the services of an acupuncturist.
In case you already have a medical insurance policy, it is wise to check beforehand that whether or not it covers travel health insurance.

Understanding the Terms 'Medical Evacuation', 'Medical Repatriation', 'Repatriation of Remains'

Medical Evacuation

Medical evacuation is a key term associated with travel and health insurance. The phrase 'medical evacuation' explains that the health insurance company would bear the charges of shifting the insurer to the local hospital.

Medical Repatriation

In case the medical evacuation is offered along with 'medical repatriation', then the insurer would also be paid to get admitted to his local hospital back in his country. Though, only few insurance companies provide both medical evacuation as well as medical repatriation.

Repatriation of Remains

Travel health insurance policies also provide a clause of 'repatriation of remains' wherein, if the insurer dies during his trip, the company pays for the transportation of the mortal remains i.e. the body of the insurer to the city where he would be buried.

There are lots of other conditions like deductibles, co-insurance, benefit period, exclusion, pre-existing conditions etc which should be carefully studied prior to getting a travel health insurance policy.