Americans are all too versed in insurance needs. Most insurances feel like a necessary Ponzi scheme we must all partake in while living our everyday lives. Health insurance is the one we know the most. Health insurance allows us to access various medical services, from Doctor's office visits to stints in the ER at your local hospital for a broken bone or other more urgent ailments. This is typically limited to our travels within the United States of America. Car and life insurance are a couple of others we know well here in the U.S.
One thing we don't typically think of is, however, travel insurance. I am not talking about insurance that allows money back when booking a flight or hotel if you cannot make the trip. No. I am speaking about insurance that covers you or your companions if any of you has a health emergency while you're outside of the country and supposed to be having the time of your life.
We don't think of travel insurance when planning our journey. Still, when faced with a medical emergency while out of the country, it can mean the difference between forking over hundreds of dollars versions tens of thousands of dollars.
Last summer, while on a trip to Mexico City with my daughter and my wife, my mother-in-law took a nasty fall at a restaurant on the last night before they were to leave to go back home. The ambulance took her to one hospital, which according to my wife, was the biggest healthcare scam she became a victim of. The ambulance took them to what my wife described as a makeshift hospital which was able to perform X-rays but would not be able to perform any surgery. After paying $1000, they were released and got into another ambulance. They were taken to another hospital that could more adequately provide care for my mother-in-law's situation.
At this new hospital, before they would even treat my mother-in-law, they needed payment that would cover the services the hospital would be providing. This, unfortunately, came to approximately $30,000.00. My wife did what she felt was best in the situation that they were in. She needed to get her mom care and ensure they would be able to leave when the time came. No U.S.-based health insurance, not even medicare, would cover this situation. The only option was to call the credit card company and request an increase in our limit. We have one of the best travel cards out there, the Chase Sapphire Reserve, and while this card comes with many benefits, including some limited travel insurance, this travel was not booked with that card, nor would it be enough benefit to cover the full expense.
Had we purchased travel insurance that would cover emergent medical expenses, it may have only been a few hundred dollars, maybe a little more, but we would not have had to come out of pocket $30,000.00.
I know some countries in this new pandemic era, like Argentina, require visitors to have adequate coverage before being allowed into their country. This insurance must include coverage for COVID-19 in case one is hospitalized and requires intensive care or other treatment.
My wife and I are not getting any younger, and medical situations like this are more likely. As we continue traveling outside the country, we will obtain insurance to provide adequate coverage for ourselves on our upcoming journeys.
If you have experience with travel insurance, please comment here and let us know your experience and who we should work with.
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