Many travelers worry about losing their luggage or their passport while traveling, and while these are definitely bothersome events, they pale in comparison to someone in your party getting injured or becoming very ill on your trip. No matter what your destination is this summer, take a few minutes and review your current coverage and understand its limits.
If you are traveling outside the U.S., you can pretty much guarantee you won’t have medical coverage, so you’ll be footing the bill yourself. If you’re traveling to a remote or exotic location and pick up an unfriendly parasite or virus, you could be in serious trouble without travel health insurance. In the worst of cases, if you or someone traveling with you is badly injured or dies and must be evacuated out of a remote location, those costs could run into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Don’t assume your credit card’s travel protection covers medical needs either. We haven’t (yet) found a credit card that covers medical care – although they’ll raise your limit if you need to charge your care to your card. Travel protection on most credit cards is quite limited.
