Health insurance for trip abroad - 65+ edition
April 6, 2018 12:41 PM Subscribe
We live in the U.S. and are traveling to Turkey next month to visit family. My mom is 65 and on Medicare, but Medicare does not insure patients abroad. Where can we find her legitimate health insurance to cover her for the trip?
We've searched online, but it's difficult to determine if the companies offering travel medical insurance for senior citizens traveling abroad are scams or not. Have you used travel medical insurance before? What companies would you recommend? How can we determine which companies are scams and which are legit?
We've searched online, but it's difficult to determine if the companies offering travel medical insurance for senior citizens traveling abroad are scams or not. Have you used travel medical insurance before? What companies would you recommend? How can we determine which companies are scams and which are legit?
Travel Guard and World Nomads are real companies with actual travel insurance. WN will cover a 65 year old traveler; I'm not sure about TG.
Your mother should call her credit card company and her bank to see if they already include cover for her as a benefit; it's common to do so.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:11 PM on April 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Your mother should call her credit card company and her bank to see if they already include cover for her as a benefit; it's common to do so.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:11 PM on April 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Sierra Club uses Global Underwriters, https://www.globalunderwriters.com/
posted by gloturtle at 1:24 PM on April 6, 2018
posted by gloturtle at 1:24 PM on April 6, 2018
There are different sorts of policies at different price points. Some will pay for extraction from your mom's destination and flight back to the US, including medical flights that might require, for instance, lying flat. If she had a stroke she would need a different sort of medical travel care. Other policies have much more limited coverage. I suggest you and your family talk about what might be the best coverage for her considering her medical history and the length of her visit so you can make some comparisons among the insurers out there.
I would also suggest trip cancellation insurance, which I have had occasion to use based on the illness of one of my traveling companions. We got insurance that cross-covered all in our party. The policy we purchased included travel home if we had to cancel the remainder of our trip if illness or injury occurred while we were away.
Whatever insurance she purchases, make sure to read the small print. I believe my father's insurance required a phone call to the insurance company(from abroad) within a certain interval (24 hours I think) after an overseas illness or injury occurred to have the injury covered by them.
Abusing edit feature to mention we got our insurance through a travel agent, so that might be one resource if you need some professional assistance. They do this all the time.
posted by citygirl at 1:27 PM on April 6, 2018
I would also suggest trip cancellation insurance, which I have had occasion to use based on the illness of one of my traveling companions. We got insurance that cross-covered all in our party. The policy we purchased included travel home if we had to cancel the remainder of our trip if illness or injury occurred while we were away.
Whatever insurance she purchases, make sure to read the small print. I believe my father's insurance required a phone call to the insurance company(from abroad) within a certain interval (24 hours I think) after an overseas illness or injury occurred to have the injury covered by them.
Abusing edit feature to mention we got our insurance through a travel agent, so that might be one resource if you need some professional assistance. They do this all the time.
posted by citygirl at 1:27 PM on April 6, 2018
We usually get one of the options available through tripinsurance.com. I know the owner of the website so I have some confidence that he has vetted the insurance companies that he works with and this is not a scam. I appreciate that they make it very clear what is included and they offer several different price points depending on your concerns.
Two other thoughts:
Do check your credit card although that only applies if you pay for the cost of the trip using the card.
Make sure you understand the rules about pre-existing conditions. Also, some things may be covered only if you buy the insurance within a short amount of time after you buy the tickets so plan ahead as much as you can.
posted by metahawk at 1:57 PM on April 6, 2018
Two other thoughts:
Do check your credit card although that only applies if you pay for the cost of the trip using the card.
Make sure you understand the rules about pre-existing conditions. Also, some things may be covered only if you buy the insurance within a short amount of time after you buy the tickets so plan ahead as much as you can.
posted by metahawk at 1:57 PM on April 6, 2018
You might try insuremytrip.com which we have used on vacation trips in the past. We typically focus on ‘medical evacuation’ coverage. They do offer policies with a ‘cancel for any reason’ component, but they are obviously more pricy. Make sure to read the fine print on pre-existing conditions look back.
posted by kittygrandma at 2:43 PM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by kittygrandma at 2:43 PM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I use Squaremouth - Compare 112 travel insurance policies from 23 providers with 55,209 reviews
posted by Homer42 at 8:45 PM on April 6, 2018
posted by Homer42 at 8:45 PM on April 6, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Nerd of the North at 12:50 PM on April 6, 2018 [1 favorite]