Emergency evacuation is often the most expensive part of the bill if you are hurt overseas and is often considered the most important part of any emergency travel health insurance. As a layperson, I’ve been learning that it is much more than a simple helicopter coming to get you and taking you to the nearest medical facility – Emergency evacuation also entails contacting foreign embassies for permission to come get you, to depart the country, working with border patrol/customs, quickly finding a plane, crew, and medical professionals that can evacuate you from wherever you are, filing flight plans for the fastest route and getting permission from air control, letting the receiving hospital and a ground ambulance know you are on the way,…it’s a complicated process!
On top of all those costs and details, the hospital bill by itself could be huge, and your typical U.S. health insurance won’t cover you all the way over there. For sure, they won’t pay if a commercial airline has to pull out and remove three rows of seats to fit your stretcher! (Hint: It will cost quite a bit more than the cost of the 6 seats at the last minute!) The easy alternative is a travel insurance policy with $250,000 to $500,000 in emergency evacuation coverage for under $2.00 per day on average.
What is Emergency Evacuation Insurance?
If you experience a medical emergency while you are overseas and are taken to a nearby medical facility, and that facility is not equipped to save your life or treat your condition, emergency evacuation insurance international will cover the cost to transport you to the nearest facility that is equipped to handle your care. Some plans will even transport you to the medical facility of your choice in your home country.
Emergency evacuation transportation is usually done by air, which is expensive. But it’s not just the cost. The emergency evacuation service includes arranging the air transportation and ground ambulance. It involves getting proper authorization from foreign embassies, air control, border patrol and customs. It also includes filing flight plans and notifying the receiving hospital that you are on the way. An emergency evacuation service will take care of all of that for you.
Learn more about emergency evacuation (also called “emergency medical transportation”) here: https://www.gninsurance.com/documents/GNI-Primer-on-Emergency-Evacuation.pdf
Why is Emergency Evacuation Insurance Important?
Accidents and illnesses happen while people are overseas more often than many people realize. If that happens to you, the last thing you want is to end up in a primitive hospital being treated by someone with questionable medical qualifications. Or unable to understand the language being spoken while discussing a complex diagnosis.
Imagine your relief knowing that medical transportation experts will take care of all of the arrangements necessary to move you to a modern medical facility. And most travel policies include translation assistance over the phone and include emergency reunion – which means a loved one can fly to be with you if you are going to be in the hospital for a while.
Now, imagine the relief you experience knowing these medical transportation costs are covered by your insurance policy. The unexpected cost of rushing you back home or being treated at a hospital overseas would be a major burden on your family. Paying an emergency helicopter ride and overseas hospital bill could wipe out a senior citizen’s retirement. Or in one case we heard about, the three children each had to borrow money to get their dad home after a nasty fall while helping build homes in South America.
Medical transportation by air can typically cost about $30,000 and can rise to $100,000 in some circumstances. It would be foolish to risk a huge financial loss like that when emergency evacuation insurance – international travel can be purchased for less than $2/day.
Do Travel Medical Plans Include Emergency Evacuation?
If you’re purchasing travel medical insurance for your overseas trip or stay, there’s a good chance your policy will include emergency evacuation. In fact, all of the short-term (2 days to 12 months) and long-term (more than a year) travel medical insurance plans offered by Good Neighbor Insurance cover emergency evacuation.
Often a regular short-term travel insurance plan (with $250,000 included emergency evacuation) will be cheaper than emergency evacuation by itself! The short-term plan won’t bring you all the way back to the U.S. if there’s a closer hospital for you to go to, but you’ll be covered by that short-term travel plan’s international medical coverage anyway.
Why Would Someone Get an Emergency Evacuation Only Plan?
People who have medical insurance in the U.S. may want to purchase an “Emergency Evacuation-only” plan that would fly them back to the U.S. where their medical expenses will be covered. These plans are a particularly good fit for seniors on Medicare, minors on their parents’ insurance and people on a medical share plan. They are also used by long-term overseas workers, frequent fliers and international students. Good Neighbor Insurance offers several “Emergency Evacuation-only” plans and are happy to help you find the one that fits you best.
Why Should I Choose a Medjet Evacuation Plan?
The Medjet Evacuation-only plan offers the most comprehensive travel protection and medical transport memberships available for your health, safety and security. If a Medjet evacuation member becomes hospitalized more than 150 miles from home and meets transport criteria, Medjet medical evacuation will arrange medical transport to the hospital of their choice within their home country at no additional cost. Medjet evacuation members have access to premier air-medical transport-virtually anywhere in the world; U.S. domestically or internationally, for business or pleasure.
Medjet Evacuation is one of the best emergency evacuation insurance – international travel plans because it allows you to be flown back to any medical facility in the U.S. or anywhere in the world. It won’t force you to go to the nearest hospital, which is usually located in a nearby foreign country. This plan is the top of its class when it comes to transporting you to a medical facility.
Here are some key benefits of the Medjet Emergency Evacuation Insurance – International Travel plan:
- No limit on the cost of a medical transfer.
- Provides telephone interpretation services, which are extremely helpful when you’re in another country and the doctors are trying to explain to you what’s wrong, or what they want to do to you.
- Includes the return of mortal remains. You can learn more about the importance of this benefit in a GNI article on this topic.
- You may add motorcycle coverage
- This plan is not intended for pre-planned travel for medical treatment/surgery.
Please note that you must have U.S., Canadian or Mexican residence to enroll/purchase. You can renew from anywhere in the world. If you are already residing in another country, call Good Neighbor Insurance at 480-813-9100 or email one of their licensed international insurance brokers at [email protected] about eligibility. This plan will medevac you back to a hospital in your current country where purchasing from, not to a hospital in the U.S., unless it was purchased while in the U.S.
Read this to learn more about why Good Neighbor Insurance likes the Medjet Evacuation plan: https://www.gninsurance.com/about-us/carriers/medjet/.
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Some of the information in this article is part of our larger, free 40-page travel safety guide. It covers how much coverage you need, some helpful tips and explanations. You can get the entire guide here: https://www.gninsurance.com/resources/guides/travel-safety-overseas/.
Please call one of our Good Neighbor Insurance licensed agents at 866-636-9100 or locally here in Arizona at 480-813-9100. You may also reach us via email at [email protected].
Good Neighbor Insurance has been in business for over 24 years! Every one of our international trained agents has a heart to serve you, our guests. It is a joy to know that we can provide a peace of mind with one of our many overseas medical insurance options or evacuation only memberships to safeguard from financial calamity as well as providing you the best medical care (our travel insurance medical insurance options) and also evacuation plan while on your travels.
We thank you, our guests, for giving us the privilege of serving you as you fulfill your dreams!
Have amazing and safe travels!
