What do you do when you get sick while traveling? Or get in an accident? There really is no stock answer to that question - it all depends on the individual situation and the traveler can't predict what the situation will be. What you can do to be prepared for that day is to make sure you have travel insurance.
Most travelers that are reasonably healthy will never need insurance. I suggest looking at it as asset protection - you could lose everything and be in debt for the rest of your life if something big were to happen. One trip in an air ambulance could leave you paying for the next 50 years. The risk simply isn't worth it.
It won't be hard to find a company to sell you insurance - just do a quick internet search. However, be sure to read the fine print and know exactly what your policy covers. Some policies will only cover you in certain countries or will have high deductibles. Depending on your plans, you may need to find a company that will cover that activity.
After searching around quite a bit, we finally settled on a high-deductible policy from IMG. Our pollicy stipulates that we be out of the USA for at least six months each year, but we are covered when we go home for a visit. We also were not able to start the policy until the day we planned to leave the United States.
We look at the insurance as exactly that - insurance. We don't use it on a regular basis - we've opted for the $5000 deductible so have never had the opportunity to use it. All the small stuff we'll pay for out of our own pocket - but in most parts of the world health care is quite reasonably priced. It would take a major accident to rack up a bill of more than $5000.
It's tempting to forego the insurance when medical costs are so low in other countries. However, don't dismiss the possibility of some fluke accident which leads to you being evacuated in an air ambulance. That plane could cost up to $100,000! Is it really worth not getting insurance when you could be facing
Traveling long term is Nancy Sathre-Vogel's passion. She has traveled widely and has experienced her share of medical issues.
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