I like journey planning: studying books, researching routes, attempting to find flights. These are the enjoyable components of journey planning as a result of they get you excited to your upcoming travels.
However there’s one very important element of journey planning that’s far much less pleasurable: researching journey insurance coverage.
As boring as it’s, it’s one of the vital (and most ignored) steps for any traveler.
Everyone knows it’s no enjoyable to be unprepared when life throws sudden curveballs at you. That’s very true in the event you’re overseas when it occurs.
Over the previous 14 years of backpacking the world, I’ve had all types of sudden conditions come up, from minor inconveniences like delayed and canceled flights to getting stabbed in Colombia.
Whereas dangerous issues don’t occur typically on the highway, they will — and do — occur. And as disagreeable as they’re to consider, it’s vital to be ready for these conditions.
That’s the place journey insurance coverage is available in. For only a few {dollars} per day, you not solely get protection for emergencies however peace of thoughts, permitting you to journey confidently and with out fear.
Whereas I’ve talked about my favourite journey insurance coverage corporations earlier than, right now I’d prefer to delve right into a barely completely different form of journey insurance coverage: medical evacuation protection.
This kind of coverage kicks in when the worst occurs and also you want emergency medical evacuation whereas touring.
You fall and break your leg on a distant mountain. A sudden pure catastrophe impacts the tropical island you’re visiting. Political turmoil overwhelms the nation you’re in. These are all conditions when an evacuation is likely to be required.
But not all journey insurance coverage corporations deal with them equally — and plenty of corporations gained’t really evacuate you all the way in which house, however somewhat to the closest “acceptable” location.
There’s one firm, nevertheless, that ensures you get house each time: Medjet.
Medjet is a membership service providing medical transportation that ensures you get all the way in which house ought to catastrophe strike.
However what’s a “membership service?” And the way do you assure you get house ought to one thing occur?
On this evaluation, I’ll go over what precisely the corporate provides, the professionals and cons of utilizing it, and its COVID coverage that can assist you resolve if Medjet is for you and your journey, finances, and journey fashion.
Do you even want medical evacuation protection?
First off, you’re most likely questioning whether or not you even want medical evacuation protection. To many, it seems like overkill. Odds are you’ll be positive, proper?
Certain.
But each yr, over 10 million vacationers are hospitalized overseas — and a pair of million of them require medical transport.
Opposite to standard perception, journey insurance coverage corporations like World Nomads or Security Wing don’t provide a lot in relation to emergency evacuation. This isn’t by any failings on the a part of these corporations (they’re nice, and I by no means go away house with out journey insurance coverage). It’s simply that they’re targeted on complete journey protection, and there are limitations to what that features.
Most journey insurance coverage corporations merely transport you to the closest acceptable facility — which could not be very acceptable in any respect (although it’s nonetheless higher than nothing).
I realized this firsthand once I obtained stabbed in Colombia and went to the closest medical facility. Whereas I did get primary medical care, a few of what I skilled there was a bit regarding. It was additionally difficult to navigate the state of affairs with the little Spanish that I knew, so I shortly headed house to obtain extra complete care.
In brief, you don’t suppose you want medical evacuation protection till you do.
So, what’s Medjet?
Medjet is the reply to getting house. The corporate is cautious and fast to level out that it’s not an insurance coverage firm however somewhat a membership program.
In case you’re hospitalized 150 miles or extra from house, Medjet arranges, and pays all prices for, medical switch to a hospital that you select inside your private home nation. Once more, that is completely different from different journey insurance coverage insurance policies, below which you can not select the place you find yourself (and also you aren’t even assured to finish up in your house nation!).
Moreover, Medjet doesn’t require the transport to be medically obligatory. For many medical transfers, you’re solely moved if the ability that you simply’re at present at can’t present enough care. With Medjet, even in case you are in a facility that can care for you however you wish to go house or to a distinct facility, Medjet will transport you.
In brief, Medjet is a white-glove medical transport service for vacationers who need care above and past what is usually provided by journey insurance coverage corporations.
What does Medjet cowl?
Since they focus solely on medical evacuation, Medjet’s protection is fairly simple.
Its base plan known as MedjetAssist, which gives complete protection and every part that almost all vacationers will want. So long as your attending physician determines it’s protected so that you can be transported, Medjet covers your switch to the ability of your selection in your house nation. It additionally covers transportation for one journey companion.
In case you’d like expanded protection, you’ll be able to go for the MedjetHorizon plan, which incorporates an emergency medical money advance (some international hospitals demand money funds upfront), and medical switch in the event you’re below 150 miles from house however your native hospital isn’t able to treating you. MedjetHorizon additionally contains safety and disaster responses, similar to within the case of kidnapping, evacuation on account of pure disasters, and extra.
Right here you’ll be able to see MedjetAssist as in comparison with MedjetHorizon:
As you’ll be able to see, MedjetAssist is often sufficient for many vacationers’ wants, however in the event you’re involved about further safety and disaster responses, you’ll be able to add MedjetHorizon to your coverage for added peace of thoughts.
As well as, you’ll be able to select quite a lot of choices, similar to who is roofed, size of time, home or worldwide protection, the kind of coverage (MedjetAssist or MedjetHorizon), and different add-ons.
Right here’s an outline of the sorts of plans which you could select from:
When you’ve determined what plan fits your wants, it’s very simple to enroll, with a flowchart to stroll you thru the method.
Right here’s what the sign-up course of on the web site appears to be like like:
A one-year MedjetAssist coverage for a person touring each internationally and domestically prices simply $295 USD. That’s simply $0.80 cents per day.
There are additionally vital quantity reductions for longer insurance policies, so that you pay much less per day on annual and multi-year plans.
Multimember insurance policies are also fairly inexpensive. For instance, a household membership prices simply $399 USD and should embrace a main member, a home associate or partner, and as much as 5 dependent kids as much as age 19 (or as much as age 23 for full-time college students).
What’s not coated?
Medjet is primarily for medical evacuations, that means that the plans don’t cowl journey cancellations or delays, misplaced or stolen baggage, or some other extra minor mishaps that may occur on the highway.
Because of this along with a Medjet membership, you’ll additionally wish to buy normal journey insurance coverage. You may examine my favourite journey insurance coverage corporations for extra info and strategies.
How does Medjet work?
Utilizing Medjet is straightforward and easy — appropriately — because you’d solely be utilizing it in an absolute emergency. When you’re admitted to a hospital overseas, you (or a journey companion) contact Medjet, the place employees is obtainable 24/7/365. They then talk with hospital personnel to find out in the event you’re steady sufficient to be transported.
In case you’re decided eligible for switch then Medjet will attain out to your hospital of option to see if there will probably be area for you upon arrival. Assuming that’s additionally a sure, then medical transportation is organized, and also you’re in your approach.
One other beauty of Medjet is that one journey companion can include you in your flight house, at no additional value to you.
There are not any declare types to fill out after the actual fact — Medjet handles every part proper up entrance.
Right here’s a useful overview of the method:
Medjet’s COVID coverage
Medjet contains COVID-19 protection, so in the event you’re hospitalized overseas for COVID-19 and must be repatriated, Medjet has you coated.
Remember that there are some restrictions. For instance, in the event you’re ordered to be below quarantine both by a hospital or the federal government, you can’t be moved.
One other distinction between protection for COVID-19 and transport for different sicknesses or accidents is that transportation for a journey companion is not coated if in case you have COVID-19. And your hospital of selection should agree to simply accept you as a affected person with COVID-19 (similar to with any medical switch).
You may learn Medjet’s full COVID coverage right here for extra info.
Execs and cons of Medjet
Execs of Medjet:
- Will get you house (not simply to the closest “acceptable” medical facility)
- Doesn’t require government-issued warnings or medical necessity to provoke evacuation
- Provides international protection for COVID-19
- Provides protection for these as much as age 74 (with prolonged protection for these as much as age 84)
- Provides short- and long-term protection choices (8–12 months)
- Has no pre-existing situation exclusions
- Provides language translation help
- Has no restrictions on the variety of journeys (for an annual coverage)
- Covers one journey companion’s transportation too
Cons of Medjet:
- Is barely obtainable to vacationers from North America (US, Canada, Mexico)
- Doesn’t cowl journey cancellation, journey delay, or baggage loss
- Is proscribed to 2 transports per yr
- One can’t begin a membership whereas on a visit
- Doesn’t cowl transportation from the positioning of an accident (strictly hospital-to-hospital switch)
Who’s Medjet for?
Medjet is for anybody who desires to have each base coated whereas touring. Whereas Medjet has traditionally appealed extra to vacationers aged 55 and over, with so many individuals caught overseas in the course of the top of the pandemic, youthful vacationers are extra conscious of the advantages of with the ability to return house if the worst occurs.
So, in the event you don’t wish to navigate a international medical system if hospitalized overseas, then Medjet is for you, irrespective of your private circumstances.
That stated, Medjet particularly appeals to:
- Vacationers who need care that goes above and past
- Anybody going to distant areas, politically unstable nations, or locations with common pure disasters
- Vacationers who need peace of thoughts (nice for appeasing relations, particularly these with school college students learning overseas)
- Folks with pre-existing situations which can be involved about being hospitalized overseas
- Digital nomads and expats that will probably be overseas for prolonged intervals of time
- Retired vacationers (Medjet covers these as much as age 84 with a Diamond membership)
- Motorcyclists taking their very own bike on an prolonged journey (further protection will ship their bike house in occasion of an accident)
