Trip Interruption
The following is a description of the Trip Interruption benefit found in the Outreach certificate. Based on this wording, IMG would consider the expenses for a return trip home even though the insured may have not purchased a return ticket, but would not cover a re-return trip back to the country that the insured is currently in.
P. TRIP INTERRUPTION – Subject to the limits set forth in the Schedule of Benefits/Limits, in the event of the Unexpected death of a Relative of the Insured Person, or in the event the Insured Person’s trip or travel plans must be cancelled or interrupted as a result of the substantial destruction of an Insured Person’s principal residence in his/her Home Country, the Company will reimburse the Insured Person up to US $5,000 for the costs of a one-way air or ground transportation ticket of the same class as the unused travel ticket to return an Insured Person from the International airport nearest to where the Insured Person was located at the time of learning of such death or destruction to the International airport nearest to: (i) the location of the funeral or place of burial in the case of the Unexpected death of a Relative, or (ii) the Insured Person’s principal residence in the case of substantial destruction thereof; subject to the following conditions and limitations:
- The Insured Person must be outside of his/her Home Country at the time of the Unexpected death of the Relative or the substantial destruction of the principal residence; and
- he Unexpected death of the Relative or the substantial destruction of the residence must have occurred during the Period of Coverage; and
- The Company will deduct from the Trip Interruption benefits payable hereunder the value, if any, of the unused return ticket held by the Insured Person at the time of the death or destruction, which value the Insured Person must attempt to receive credit for or apply towards the costs of the return trip. The Company will not provide any benefits, reimbursements or coverages for any of the costs or expenses incurred by the Insured Person for a re-return trip, if any, to the original location of the Insured Person at the time of learning of such death or destruction.
Question: What is the evacuation plus rider?
Answer: Without this added rider, under the Outreach or Patriot plan, the medical condition must threaten loss of life or loss of limb to be considered for medical evacuation.
With this added rider, it has an added evacuation benefit, the medical provider must be approved by the attending physician who certifies the need for continued hospitalization and the condition is not life threatening.
Question: What do I do if I need medical evacuation coverage?
Answer: All evacuations must be approved in advance and coordinated by the Company IMG. Please call or have your doctor(s) call IMG.
Question: One of our clients signed up for a year’s worth of Outreach Travel plan. He did not realize there was an exclusion for coverage when injured playing sports. He is in an adult soccer league. Could he add on the Sports Rider to have coverage for this sport?
Answer: Under the exclusions on the Outreach policy it lists Injuries sustained while participating in amateur or professional sports or other athletic activities which is organized and/or sanctioned, or which involves regular or scheduled practices, games or competition. This would not be covered under, with our without, the adventure sports rider.
Question: Does the Outreach International plan include the Universal Rx prescription drug discount card
Answer: Yes, it does include this benefit.
Question: What is the benefit period?
Answer: The benefit period is a six month period after the initial treatment is received overseas where the insured person can continue to receive necessary continuing treatment for that issue. If your policy is active, there is no benefit period, but if your policy has expired, the benefit period can continue to cover you, even when you return to your home country.
Pre-existing medical condition coverage
Question: What kind of coverage does the outreach have for pre-existing conditions?
Answer: Pre-existing conditions are excluded. However, there are some coverages for sudden, unexpected recurrences of pre-existing conditions.
Question: What is a sudden, unexpected recurrence of a pre-existing condition?
Answer: There are five requirements:
- Must not be traveling against doctor’s orders.
- Must not be traveling in order to seek treatment.
- Must not have any new or modified treatment within the last 30 days.
- Must be stable for at least 30 day
- Must be U.S. citizens traveling outside the U.S.
Question: How much coverage is there for sudden, unexpected pre-existing conditions?
Answer 1: If you are over age 65, there is $2,500 coverage.
Answer 2: If you are under 65 and not on a primary U.S. plan, there is $20,000 coverage.
Answer 3: If you are under 65 and on a primary U.S. plan, the coverage is up to the maximum limit.
Natural Disaster coverage
Question: The benefit states that it will be $100/day maximum 5 days if they have to leave their planned, paid accommodation due to natural disaster.
The question is, what if they stay in the same accommodation but have to stay longer because of the natural disaster. Would the policy still pay the $100 day natural disaster benefit?
Answer: The Natural Disaster benefit will pay the Insured Person up to US$100 per day for a maximum of 5 days only if the Insured Person is displaced from planned, paid accommodations due to an evacuation from a forecasted Natural Disaster or following a Natural Disaster event.
If they are not displaced and stay longer, it would not apply.
Additional questions about coverage
Question: Why can’t I apply if I am from…
Answer: Anyone who is a citizen of or who is traveling to Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Gambia may not purchase the Outreach International and Patriot International online. We recommend Tokio Marine HCC Atlas as an alternative: https://www.gninsurance.com/travel/supplemental/atlas-international/. If you really want the Outreach or Patriot, please give us a call at 480-813-9100 or e-mail us at info@gninsurance.com
Question: Keeping U.S. Domestic insurance and adding an international plan
Answer: If you will be keeping your U.S. domestic health insurance coverage and getting Outreach for your international travel, or the Patriot international plan, preferring to buy a year at a time, the international plan. If you visit the U.S. for more than 2 weeks out of that 12 Month travel policy period (Coming back for a quick visit to the U.S.) and not using your international travel plan in the U.S. (Using your continuing U.S. health coverage instead) your travel insurance policy would not become void.
As long as the policyholder intends to return overseas, outside the U.S., then this is not a problem. One may keep their Outreach International or Patriot International policy. Again, the key is they are going to be going back overseas during that policy period of their international travel plan that is currently effective / active.