How To: Travel Medical Insurance Saved My Bank Account

No one likes to think about what can go wrong while travelling, but it's always best to be prepared for the worst. My sister and I went backpacking through Europe one summer and purchased rail passes for Spain, Italy & France with our month's long rough itinerary all mapped out. We also purchased travel medical insurance and a trip cancellation policy, just in case. This was my sister's first time adventuring outside of North America and neither of us could have predicted the unfortunate turn of events that spoiled half of our trip.

You can be in tip-top physical shape before leaving for a vacation and believe that you could never be susceptible to getting sick. An inconsistent or poor quality water supply, new foods or preparations that your stomach is unaccustomed to, jetlag, and over exertion can all leave even the healthiest immune system vulnerable.

10 days into our journey while in Madrid, I came down with a sudden onset of nasty stomach and intestinal problems. After an uncomfortable night's rest, we continued our travels to Barcelona the next day, assuming that I just needed a few more days to recoup and would be able to emerge as good as new to explore the amazing city. Unfortunately, my symptoms had only worsened and I now also had a high fever. After a visit to the emergency room at the local hospital, the Spanish doctor assured us, with broken English, that I probably just had a gastro-intestinal infection. He prescribed something for my temperature and gave me a list of foods to eat to ease the "infection". After 4 more days of failed attempts at getting these meals to settle in my stomach and 4 days of staring at the ceiling of our room instead of the architecture of Gaudi or strolling down La Ramba, it was time to continue our travels to Nice, France.

The day after our arrival in Nice, I decided to visit the emergency room again, hoping that the French doctors would have more insight. I was subjected to a whole palette of different medical tests and questions about where we had been travelling. A few months prior to this trip I had been in Africa on an adventure tour and, in the light of this new information, the doctor jumped to the conclusion that I must have some type of contagious tropical disease. I was taken by ambulance to the Nice University Hospital, hooked up to an IV and put on a strict liquid diet. Needless to say, my first taste of true French cuisine left a lot to be desired.

Being hospitalized in your home country is one thing, but when you're overseas and in a country where they speak a foreign language and an ocean away from your family, it takes a toll emotionally. My doctor spoke broken English and some of the nurses knew no English at all. I tried my best to communicate with my high school Quebecoise French, but it ultimately resulted in a lot of unanswered or misunderstood concerns. And when your health is what is in question, concise answers and smooth communication are vital. The consequences of becoming ill during vacation can run so far as affecting the plans and emotional state of your travel companions. My sister was left to fend for herself on her first international excursion in a country where she knew no one and very little of the language.

It was another 6 days before the doctors determined that rather than some exotic tropical disease, I had a very serious case of Salmonella, parasites, and E. Coli poisoning (likely from an undercooked egg I had eaten in Madrid). It was a full 10 days of hospitalization before I was finally released. After struggling with being ill for a full 2 weeks (half of our trip), we had to completely bypass Italy and go straight to Paris which was to be the final stop on our travels.

The moral of this story: do not overlook the importance of purchasing travel medical insurance. Comprehensive coverage can be obtained for a very small fee - coverage for the full month for both my sister and myself only cost us around $75.00. Considering that without it, I would have gained tens of thousands of dollars of debt, this nominal charge turned out to be priceless. The insurance company fronted all of the hospitalization bills and promptly reimbursed me for the few hundred dollars I had to pay out of my own pocket for prescriptions that were filled after I was released from the hospital.

Some important dos and don'ts to consider:

1. Don't overlook purchasing a stand-alone health insurance policy because you think you are already covered under your credit card cardholder agreement. The insurance benefits offered by your credit card are only applicable if your travels costs were paid for on the same credit card.

2. Don't be fooled by what benefits your credit card company actually provides. Common misleading terms that policies use are "Emergency Travel Assistance" or "Travel Accident Insurance". Neither of these benefits classify as medical insurance and will not cover medical expenses incurred from an illness.

3. Do investigate the details of your Employee Health Insurance Plan. These employee benefit packages sometimes include travel medical insurance but do not always provide comprehensive coverage or include family members. Read the fineprint to clarify before you risk travelling unprotected.

4. Do ask questions when purchasing your insurance plan. Be sure that what you are purchasing is comprehensive coverage which should provide at least $1 million in medical emergency coverage, emergency transportation for your entire family back to your home country, and trip interruption coverage which will reimburse you for any lost portion of a pre-paid trip such as a cruise or a railpass.

5. Do make sure that the plan you choose features direct payment of your medical bills. Typical hospitalization charges can be as great as $5000/day in some countries and most people don't have the means or the credit to front this kind of expense until they return home.

6. Do bring contact information for your family doctor. There will be multilingual insurance agents available to speak with the hospital administration and most will be willing to speak with your family doctor back home to explain the situation if there is a language barrier.

7. Don't overlook the importance of purchasing a trip cancellation policy. An unexpected event or illness before you depart could result in you having to pay in full for a trip you couldn't even take.