In this guide
"Travel insurance" usually means three different things: trip cancellation, travel medical, and medical evacuation. For any trip that involves medical care, you want travel medical and evacuation cover. And read the exclusions: many travel policies don't cover treatment that's the reason for your trip, or complications from it.
The three products
| Product | What it pays for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Trip cancellation / interruption | Prepaid costs if you can't go, or have to come home early, for a covered reason | Protects your money, not your health |
| Travel medical | Emergency medical care while you're abroad | Your US coverage may not apply abroad |
| Medical evacuation | Transport to a suitable hospital, or home, when medically necessary | Can cost far more than the treatment itself; often skipped |
Why your US coverage may not be enough
- Original Medicare almost never pays abroad. Medigap's foreign-travel benefit covers emergencies only, at 80% after a $250 deductible, up to $50,000 for life. (See our Medicare guide.)
- Private plans vary. Many cover only emergencies abroad, at out-of-network rates, and often you pay first and claim later.
- Evacuation is rarely included in regular health insurance.
The exclusions that catch medical travelers
Read the policy wording, not just the summary. Common exclusions to check for, with examples from real policies:
- Planned treatment: care that's the purpose of your trip is often excluded. iTravelInsured's Travel SE plan won't pay medical costs from "traveling for the purpose or intent of securing medical treatment," and GeoBlue excludes costs when treatment is the original or a secondary purpose of the trip.
- Complications from that planned treatment are often excluded too. One IMG plan excludes any care needed because of complications of something the plan doesn't cover.
- Pre-existing conditions, unless you buy a waiver within a set time after booking. Allianz, for example, usually requires you to buy within 14 days of your first trip payment.
- Age limits and lower benefits for older travelers. IMG's Patriot International Lite caps medical cover at $50,000 from age 70, and $10,000 from 80.
- Who decides when evacuation is "medically necessary," and where you're taken. Usually the insurer's assistance company must agree and arrange it, often to the nearest suitable hospital rather than home.
If you're having a procedure abroad, ask specifically about medical travel complication insurance, a separate product sold for this purpose.
A checklist before you buy
- Travel medical limit high enough for a hospital stay abroad
- Evacuation cover, with a high limit, including return home
- Wording on planned treatment and its complications
- Pre-existing condition terms, and any waiver deadline
- Whether you pay first and claim later, or the insurer pays the hospital directly
- A 24/7 assistance number you've saved in your phone
For a checkup trip
A checkup is low-risk, but things still happen: a fall, an infection, a reaction to sedation, or an unexpected finding that needs care. Travel medical plus evacuation cover is the minimum we require before any trip we help arrange.
Sources
- Medicare.gov: travel outside the US medicare.gov
- AARP: does Medicare cover me outside the US? aarp.org
- VisitorsCoverage: exclusions in iTravelInsured Travel SE visitorscoverage.com
- VisitorsCoverage: exclusions in IMG Patriot America Platinum visitorscoverage.com
- InsureMyTrip: IMG Patriot International Lite insuremytrip.com
- Allianz Travel Insurance: cover for pre-existing conditions allianztravelinsurance.com
Please note. General information, not insurance advice. Read the policy wording before you buy.
Reviewed at least every three monthsNo paid placementsInformation, not medical adviceOur editorial standards
Joe Yang, PhD, Economics. Joe Yang holds a PhD in economics from the University of Washington. For four years Joe evaluated the costs and savings of US health programs for insurers and employers at a health-analytics company, and before that studied pricing and demand as an economist at Amazon and a data scientist at Oracle. These guides apply the same discipline to a simpler question: what care really costs, and where.
