When most travelers think about trip insurance, they may think about trip cancellation protection, trip interruption protection, and lost baggage coverage. While it’s true that these are benefits of trip insurance, there’s much more trip insurance has to offer.
If you are searching for a travel insurance plan, you may wonder whether or not trip insurance covers medical care, and the answer is yes! Trip insurance can offer accident and sickness medical coverage for unexpected incidents that occur abroad.
What Is Trip Medical Insurance?
Trip medical insurance is also referred to as accident and sickness coverage, and is a benefit of trip insurance plans that can provide coverage for medical costs in the event that you become ill or are injured unexpectedly during your travels abroad.
This accident and sickness benefit covers new injuries or illnesses and any eligible medical costs related to their treatment during your trip.
What Does Medical Trip Insurance Cover?
The medical benefits of a trip insurance policy will vary from plan to plan, but typically coverage can include:
- Accident & Sickness Benefit: Coverage for eligible medical care related to any new injury or illness that occurs after the effective date of your policy, up to the stated benefit maximum.
- Emergency Medical Evacuation: Coverage related to evacuating an injured or sick traveler from a remote area, usually involving an airlift, and transferring them to the nearest medical facility.
What Is Accident & Sickness Coverage?
Accident & Sickness insurance is a benefit offered in most trip insurance plans that can protect you financially in the event that you need to seek medical care during your trip.
This coverage can include any eligible emergency medical care you need in order to treat your new injury or illness, so long as it occurs during your trip and after the effective date of your policy.
Trip Insurance Medical Coverage vs. Travel Medical Coverage: What Are the Differences?
Travel medical insurance is popular coverage that offers medical coverage for U.S. citizens or residents traveling abroad or foreign visitors traveling to the U.S. However, U.S. travelers also have the option of trip insurance when traveling abroad, which can also offer medical coverage.
Most, if not all, trip insurance plans offer Accident & Sickness coverage. Travelers should take a look at the coverage maximum amounts on a trip insurance policy to determine if it might be more beneficial to them than a travel medical insurance policy.
Trip Medical Insurance Pros
Unlike travel medical insurance, trip insurance offers major trip coverage benefits unrelated to medical care, such as coverage if you need to cancel your flight or change trip plans for a covered reason.
Trip insurance also offers valuable add-on coverage, such as Cancel For Any Reason coverage, which allows the policyholder to cancel their trip for any reason not typically covered by a trip insurance plan and still receive back a portion of their nonrefundable expenses.
Trip Medical Insurance Cons
Trip insurance may not be the best option for some travelers as opposed to travel medical insurance plans, such as those who are older or more susceptible to illness.
Here are some of the limitations of trip insurance medical coverage as compared to travel medical coverage:
- Trip insurance medical care may be more limited in its coverage.
- The insured’s costs are not as clearly defined in trip insurance plans as they are in travel medical insurance plans.
- Because there’s no PPO network associated with trip insurance plans, there’s no outline of coverage percentages and copayments.
- With trip insurance medical coverage, travelers may have to pay out-of-pocket for medical care and may not have the option of direct billing.
Top Trip Insurance Plans Offering Medical Coverage
There are a lot of options when it comes to trip medical insurance coverage. So how do you know which one to choose?
We recommend comparing trip insurance plan options through VisitorsCoverage to find a policy that best fits your individual needs and budget. When comparing, look at offered benefits and eligibility to find the best fit.
Secure Trip Insurance Through VisitorsCoverage
The next time you’re looking into travel insurance for your next trip, remember that if you’re a U.S. resident or citizen preparing to travel abroad, both travel medical insurance and trip insurance offer medical coverage. However, trip insurance can offer added benefits related to your travel plans, such as trip cancellation coverage or protection for lost luggage.
If you have any questions or need help deciding on your travel insurance options, our team of licensed travel insurance experts are happy to help.
