Minimizing Risk During International and Domestic Travel

Posted on October 1, 2008

Health & Safety Tip

By: John Gobbels, Medjet VP/COO

Accidents or illnesses can happen to anyone, anywhere, here at home or overseas. The key to being prepared is remembering that safety begins before you leave for your trip.  Being prepared means making sure you have the proper travel insurance and the proper air medical evacuation protection so that you can come back to your hospital of choice in the event of a medical emergency.

As simple as this sounds, the United States Travel Insurance Association (USTiA) recently released a study showing that less than 50% of U.S. citizens traveling abroad purchase travel insurance and/or travel protection. However, according to the same USTiA study over 50,000 Americans had to seek medical treatment overseas last year. So what happens to those who are not prepared?

For those who do not have air medical evacuation protection, the bullets below illustrate typical air-medical evacuation costs they could possibly incur if ill or injured while traveling. The numbers below are based on actual costs of past transports for Medjet members and represent what that traveler would have had to pay were they not Medjet members.

Cancun, MX – New York, NY: $30,000

Naples, FL  – Minneapolis, MN: $25,000

Quito, EQ – Chicago, IL: $50,000

London, UK – New York:  $75,000

Paris, FR – Atlanta, GA:  $70,000

Sydney, AU – New York, NY:  $155,000

So what can you do to be prepared? First, educate yourself on the difference between Travel Insurance Plans and Travel Assistance Memberships. Then make sure that you properly protect your family and the financial investment of your trip. Here is a good side by side comparison of the two and why each is important to have.

Travel Insurance Coverage – A pure insurance policy generally purchased per trip for:
•    Protecting the financial investment through trip cancellation/interruption
•    Providing limited medical evacuation benefits if any
•    Providing replacement of lost/stolen luggage

Travel Assistance Membership – A membership such as Medjet that is purchased generally on an annual basis for:
•    Medical evacuation & repatriation
•    Medical consultations, medical referrals and return of mortal remains
•    General travel assistance

Before your next trip make sure that you plan properly. Spend just as much time, if not more, making sure you are protected as you do planning where you are going to eat dinner or what sights to see. If the unexpected happens you do not want to get caught unprepared. You need to have a plan in place so that you can relax and enjoy your time away because you have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are ready for anything.

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3 Comments so far
  1. Dot Burdette October 19, 2008 4:12 pm

    How do I get the prices for this insurance?

  2. World Wide Will October 20, 2008 7:58 am

    Dot –

    First let me point something out. Medjet is actually a membership program and not an insurance product. We are modeled more like AAA. with AAA if your car goes down they come and get you as part of your membership. No co-pay no deductible. With Medjet, if you go down then we come get you and all costs from bedside to bedside are covered by your membership. you pay nothing extra for our service.

    Now, on to your question. There are various memberships based on an individual’s needs. The basic costs are $225 for an individual and $350 for a family. NOTE These rates are 2008 rates and there will be a slight increase in 2009.

    You can get more pricing information if you click the ENROLL NOW button on the lower left hand side of the page.

    Thanks and Safe Travels

    Will

  3. Dennis Fischer November 2, 2008 9:56 am

    I want to thank you for your excellent service last July in transporting my wife and I from Liverpool, England to Naperville, Illinois after I became ill on a cruise when we were in the port of Liverpool. Everyone did an excellent job and Jeff even called me after a couple weeks at home to check up and see how I was doing. My response: Fine, thanks to you folks. Keep up the good work….I recommend you to anyone that travels.

    Dennis Fischer
    Naperville, IL