What is Medical Travel Insurance?
Before we introduce medical travel insurance, let us start with medical travel itself. Medical travel is a trip abroad for medical treatment, often it may be a combination of holidays and treatment. However, the main point of such a trip is medical service in another country. Yearly, there are millions of medical tourists traveling abroad to have dental work done, plastic surgery, obesity treatment, orthopedic surgeries, hair transplant, or more serious procedures, e.g. in the field of cardiology or oncology.
A medical trip bears more risk than a travel for business or pleasure, yet the protection of such a travel is very limited. Medical insurance for travel is a relatively new product which is offered by a few Insurers only.
Get the insurance for treatment abroad:
What exactly is travel medical insurance or medical holiday insurance and do I need travel insurance at all? Travel abroad medical insurance is an extended travel insurance dedicated specifically to medical tourists, i.e. people who go abroad for medical treatment. The coverage of medical insurance for overseas varies depending on an Insurer, yet it always includes typical trip issues e.g. lost baggage or flight delay as well as aspects related to the planned treatment, e.g. complications, death or repatriation coverage, extended stay coverage or deposit return in case of trip cancellation. What needs to be noted, the planned surgery or treatment is not covered here.
The decision about traveling abroad for treatment is always difficult and entails considering all pros and cons. The possibility of health complications in a foreign country may be really overwhelming, so getting protected by e.g. travel insurance to Turkey, travel insurance Poland, travel insurance to Cyprus, travel medical insurance UK, etc may eliminate much stress before and during the trip. Below, we present reasons why medical travel insurance is worth considering.
Medical travel insurance is worth considering when traveling abroad for health or aesthetic reasons.
Reason 1 – Fusion of Travel and Health iIsurance
Travel health insurance allows for a complex medical trip coverage as it is a combination of travel insurance and health insurance. Hence, it may be referred to as holiday insurance with medical conditions.
Regarding the travel, the insurance may include baggage damage or lost baggage, flight delay, flight cancellation, alcohol-related incidents or personal liability.
As for the health, any unexpected, accidental health conditions and injuries are covered, it usually includes emergency medical treatment and emergency medical evacuation, dental cover, and accidental medical treatment / hospitalization. What is more, there is also death coverage and repatriation included in case the worst happens. People getting weight loss surgery abroad, dental treatment abroad, cosmetic surgery abroad, etc are particularly worried about their health condition after the treatment, so finding the best travel insurance for medical conditions and a trip abroad is a great solution.
To give an example, there is a trend of getting medical travel insurance for Turkey among Europeans traveling to this country for medical treatment. Turkey is a country famous for its prestigious and top-rated clinics, it is e.g. a leader of hair transplant procedures in the world. At the same time, the media time and again report worst-case scenarios, e.g.death after gastric sleeve abroad or serious complications after BBL procedure from this country. Here, many health complications and problems could be avoided when people get medical travel insurance for surgery abroad.
Travel health insurance allows for complex medical trip coverage as it is a combination of travel insurance and health insurance.
Reason 2 – Protection from Trip Cancellation
Another significant reason to have medical travel insurance is to protect from trip cancellation. Travel plans can change due to various reasons, such as illness, family emergencies, and weather conditions. If a traveler cancels their trip, they may lose a significant amount of money paid towards flights, hotels, and other reservations. Medical and travel insurance can provide coverage for trip cancellation due to medical reasons, ensuring that travelers do not suffer financial losses. Of course the covered reasons for trip cancellation and amount of money that can be refunded differ between each insurance company, but clients should be satisfied anyway.
Besides, there is an insurance policy which is also strictly related to medical trips. Here, the coverage may also include the return of deposit paid to the clinic in case of trip cancellation. In general, clinics require deposits from international patients as a booking fee. It may vary from 10% to 30% of the total treatment cost. So, sometimes it may be even over a thousand pounds paid in advance. With insurance, you will get it back in case you would not be able to come for the treatment.
Another aspect of the medical travel health insurance UK is the risk of stay extension. It may happen that patients need to cancel the return flight and get another one or re-book the flight for a later date and extend the hotel stay due to worrying health conditions after the planned treatment. This risk is hard to predict, usually it is a surgeon / doctor who allows for a planned return or not after an examination and control of the health condition of a patient, so insurance policy which covers extended hotel stay and flight cancellation and rebooking is ideal.
Medical travel insurance could save you from trip cancelation, deposit loss, or an unexpected extended stay in a foreign country.
Reason 3 – Assistance in a Foreign Country
Traveling to a foreign country can be challenging, especially when it comes to medical emergencies. It can be challenging to navigate a foreign healthcare system, and language barriers can make it even more challenging. Medical tourism insurance can provide assistance in a foreign country, including arranging medical transportation, finding healthcare providers, and translating medical information.
Health insurance for holiday and treatment abroad usually contains a 24 hours line of the insurance company which can be reached at any time. It is a great help for medical tourism clients who are at a greater risk of need than normal tourists. It is also important to say that products of health insurance for travel and treatment are international, so they can be used for medical tourism insurance UK, medical tourism Turkey or medical tourism Poland. The language used for policy, contact and helpline are also universal, it can be English, German, French or other commonly spoken language.
Reason 4 – Peace of Mind with Medical Insurance for Overseas
Traveling abroad can be exciting, but it can also be stressful, especially when it comes to health-related issues. Medical insurance for overseas can provide peace of mind, knowing that travelers are protected against unforeseen medical emergencies, travel-related issues and planned treatment-related aspects. With travel insurance for medical procedures abroad, travelers can focus on enjoying their trip without worrying about the risk, unforeseen expenses or other travel problems.
A great advantage of medical travel insurance with medical cover is that a patient can add companions to the insurance. So, when a woman goes from the UK to Turkey for liposuction and takes her husband there, they can get only one policy. In this case, a woman is covered for travel and medical issues as well as unforeseen expenses related to the planned treatment, and the husband gets the same coverage excluding some of the aspects related to the planned treatment of his wife. It is a great holiday risk travel insurance solution because when e.g. a woman needs to stay longer after the surgery, the cost of flights and hotel for both of them are covered. It would not be possible when they get separate insurance policies by different providers.
To ensure the maximum peace of mind, we advise you to find the best travel medical insurance with the whole range of covered aspects and satisfying sums of coverage for each of them.
We advise you to find the best travel medical insurance with a whole range of covered aspects and satisfying sums of coverage for each of them.
Reason 5 – Best Medical Travel Insurance is Cost-Effective
Finally, medical travel insurance is cost-effective. The cost of medical treatment abroad can be significantly higher than in the home country, and without medical travel insurance, travelers may have to pay out of pocket. Medical travel insurance provides coverage at a fraction of the cost of medical treatment abroad, ensuring that travelers do not have to face significant financial burden.
Regarding planned medical treatment, as we already mentioned, the cost of lost deposit may be very high, also hotel stay extension or booking new flights can exceed people’s budget for the trip. With medical travel and health insurance, these problems just disappear.
In general, private international medical insurance for travel abroad seems more expensive than a usual travel insurance. However, it covers more aspects important for medical tourists, so no wonder the cost is higher. Anyway, it is still possible to find cheap medical travel insurance or cheap travel insurance for medical conditions. The main indication is to check what exactly is covered, what are covered sums for each problem and what is the cost of insurance. In case of medical travel insurance compared here, it turns out that the cost of the best medical travel insurance is relatively low having in mind what we are covered for.
As we have already mentioned, there are not many insurance products dedicated to medical tourists, but the ones that are offered can be named cheap health travel insurance. For example, there’s Clinic Hunter insurance covering almost all medical trip aspects mentioned in this article, which costs only 12,50 EUR per day. Having in mind the possible expenses abroad if something goes wrong, the cost is definitely worth paying. In fact, it is very difficult to find such cheap travel insurance to Turkey or any other country for medical tourists.
Clinic Hunter insurance covers the majority of medical trip aspects mentioned in this article, which costs only 12,50 EUR per day.
Conclusion
In conclusion, holiday medical insurance is essential for anyone traveling abroad to get medical treatment in a private clinic. It provides coverage for medical emergencies, protects from trip cancellation, provides assistance in a foreign country, offers peace of mind, and is cost-effective. Therefore, it is recommended that travelers purchase this health travel insurance before embarking on their medical trip.
If you plan to get treatment abroad, we recommend checking Clinic Hunter insurance quotes. It is a worldwide insurance dedicated to people traveling for any treatment to another country. It is one of the most popular and best medical travel insurance products available on the European market. This insurance was created by Clinic Hunter in cooperation with AXA Partners, so it may be also known as axa insurance for medical trips. Just calculate your insurance, check the terms and conditions and protect yourself for your medical trip abroad!
