Let’s Take a Trip!

Let’s take a vacation! Planning a vacation can be so exciting be it a cruise, an all-inclusive resortor an international destination!  So exciting that we forget to read the fine print. Do Not Over Look the opportunity to purchase Travel Insurance.  Did you know that if you were to get a stomach bug while on your cruise that your bill for the IV could be $4,000?  Imagine what a band-aid cost?  True story.  You do not even want to know what happens if you have to be seen at a facility off ship.  Your U.S. purchased health insurance does not go very far whether you are on a Cruise line, a Caribbean Island, or a European Vacation. Travel insurance saves more than the insurance costs in the long run.

Megan’s Story

We’ve had many clients over the years who have, and have not purchased travel insurance – one of our clients (she shall be known as Megan) religiously purchases travel insurance whether going on a Caribbean cruise or spending time out of the country at a resort, came home just last week with this story.  

Megan and her husband were on a cruise through the Caribbean with their friends when the husband came down with a fever, chills, vomiting- the works.  The couple had purchased trip protection through the cruise line but not a separate travel insurance policy.  The husband was so severely sick that he needed to get an IV on the cruise ship – he was most definitely NOT going to a small-town clinic in Jamaica.  The cost for the fluid IV was over $4,800 and had to be paid in full before it could be administered.  

Without the IV fluids, he would have been unable to leave his stateroom the rest of the trip, and been severely ill, unable to seek further medical help until the cruise ship returned to port in Florida.  When Megan returned home, she called to purchase travel insurance for herself for a separate trip and told us about the couple’s experience, adding that “She would never travel without travel insurance.”

What is Travel Insurance?

Insurance is “peace of mind,” allowing you to enjoy your well-earned vacation, be it domestic or international, single stay or multi-trip, whether you are traveling on a cruise, tour, or self-directed abroad.  With travel insurance you can recover unused payments and deposits when a trip is cancelled or interrupted for a variety of covered reasons, as well as provide benefits for travel delays, delayed or lost luggage, and emergency medical treatment while you are away from home.  It can also assist with emergency travel arrangements, medial referrals, lost passport/travel documents assistance, emergency prescription replacements, emergency translations, legal referrals, and more.  

You can’t plan when you get sick, and traveling the world isn’t free; travel insurance can help reimburse you for some of those non-refundable payments paid to book your trip, and in some cases, save your life savings.  

Who Needs Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance is for everyone at every age.  Whether you are on Medicare, State Medicaid, an ACA healthcare plan purchased through your Marketplace or direct from the carrier, or even a plan through your employer – travel insurance isn’t an option or a luxury, it’s a must-have.  If you are under 65 and on a healthcare plan either through the Marketplace (ACA), or through an employer, you most likely have not read the fine print that your plan will allow you to usually be seen at Urgent Care Clinics and Emergency Rooms across the United States, either for a co-pay or the cost of your deductible and then additional co-insurances depending on your plan-but you have absolutely no coverage when traveling outside our borders.  

Whether you are planning a few weeks away in the Vineyards of California or preparing to spend three weeks traveling through Italy, purchasing travel insurance can cover you wherever you go.  

If you are on Medicare, generally age 65 and older, and traveling within the U.S., covered healthcare depends on your plan; if you have a Medicare Supplement such as Plan F, G, or N, you can see any doctor and go to any facility in the U.S. as long as they take Medicare.  If you are on a Medicare Advantage Plan (also known as Part C), you are generally kept to a local network, making falling ill or slipping and falling while traveling costly.  Even with a PPO Medicare Advantage Plan, you will still incur usually about 60% of the cost.  Medicare absolutely does not cover you when you travel outside of the United States.  Coming down with COVID and needing hospitalization, falling and breaking a bone, these situations will become costly without travel insurance.    

Charles’s Story

Charle’s story is truly horrifying.  Charles, his wife, and several friends were on vacation in the Dominican Republic when he slipped on a rock, fell, and broke his hip.  No one in Charles’ party had purchased travel insurance.  Charles was of course, rushed to a local hospital, but his hip needed reconstructive surgery and for that, he needed to be air-lifted home to the United States.  

The cost of the emergency room visit, overnight hospital stays, and then transporting both Charles and his wife home was over $300,000.  Had Charles and his wife been covered under travel insurance, they would have been covered under the Accident and Sickness Medical, and Medical Evacuation Coverage part of their plan.  Not only did Charles and his wife lose the cost of the rest of their trip, they incurred over $300,000 in foreign medical bills, and then had to come home for the reconstructive surgery and any medical bills incurred at home along with months of rehabilitation.  

These are both true stories and there are more.

How Travel Insurance Can Help You Save- Example

I’m Not Traveling to Expensive Countries- Do I still Need Travel Insurance?

An inexpensive country does not mean affordable medical care. If you get sick in some remote part of South East Aisa, the chances are high that you may need to be airlifted to Bangkok or Singapore for proper treatment – and that is costly.  In some countries, such as Japan, they can refuse to treat you at their hospitals unless you show them valid travel insurance at the time of admittance!

Travel Insurance also provides a peace of mind that there is either a live person whom you can call, or an app that can tell you which hospital to go to, or which one you should avoid when traveling in the Rain Forests of Costa Rica and come down with bacterial infection you got fromeating contaminated local produce, but you have no idea of knowing that, and the closest “hospital” is a three bed clinic where English is not even spoken.  It’s not even a “let me check and see if I need it” type of situation anymore.  Travel insurance has become a necessity when traveling both at home and abroad – the cost of traveling without it is far too risky.  

Travel Insurance Is an Investment in Your Future

Many people ask “why purchase insurance that hopefully will never be used?”  One answer is, foregoing travel insurance can potentially lead to much higher loss and higher costs.  What is the cost of your peace of mind? One night in a hospital can cost around 1,500 Euros, or about $1,575, while a basic Emergency Room Visit in the Bahamas can cost several thousand dollars.  What if you needed to be airlifted home?  Are you prepared to burden expense if an emergency were to arise while traveling?  How badly would it hurt your pocketbook?  Your emergencyfund?  Your retirement savings?  

Traveling is supposed to be a stress-free, fun time.  Purchase travel insurance so you can enjoy your vacations.  Call us at Landmark Insurance today and vacation worry-free!