The principal concern of people travelling to another country is health facilities abroad. People worry – and rightly so – about the quality and accessibility of hospitals, medical specialists etc. In a survey conducted in the United States, more than 65% of respondents mentioned this as their main concern, as the chart below illustrates:
Indeed, when you travel abroad, you should be well prepared, not just regarding preparing for sightseeing, getting tickets, cash and credit cards ready, but also with regard to your health and sufficient health insurance cover.
For most people travelling abroad is a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, however, every day thousands of human tragedies involving the death, injury or hospitalisation of travelers abroad occur. In cases where victims are not covered by travel insurance, such personal tragedies are further compounded by a long-term financial burden. Hospitalisation, medical evacuations, or even the return of the deceased's remains to your home country, can be very expensive. Daily hospitalisation costs in Southeast Asia for example regularly exceed US$ 800, in certain countries of Europe, Japan and the United States it can be a multiple of that figure per day. The cost of medical evacuations from the United States to Europe or Asia regularly range from US$ 75,000 to US$ 95,000 and sometimes up to US$ 300,000. Travellers who are not covered by health insurance are personally liable for covering incurred medical and associated costs. As a result, sometimes families have been forced to sell off assets, including their life pension or family homes, to bring loved ones back to their home country for treatment.
Your current local or international health insurance policy may or may not cover you sufficiently, but you should check this before you travel. If you do not have sufficient cover, the best immediate solution is usually to buy travel insurance, which you can conveniently buy online. In the medium and longer term, you may want to consider to take out an international private health insurance plan that covers you regardless of where you are.
Travel Health Information Links
WHO Travel Health Information
MD Travel Health
Travel Health Online
U.S. Department of State Travel Information
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Travel Advice
Buy Travel Insurance Online
On this page, IHI-Portal.com provides an easy way to efficiently and economically purchase private travel health insurance. Through a link to IHI Medical Travel Insurance you can buy online and save 5% on the normal premiums.
Medical Travel Insurance Plans
You can choose a travel insurance which covers one single trip - IHI Single Trip - or you can choose to be covered all year round on all your trips abroad, for up to 1 month per trip, with IHI Annual Travel. More information is available in the product guide.
Benefits
- Unlimited cover per person per trip
- 100% cover for emergency treatment and medical evacuation
- No deductible and no co-insurance
- Free choice of doctors and hospitals
- 24-hour Emergency Service
- Direct payment of all hospital bills all over the world
- Free cover of children under the age of two
- Worldwide cover during all types of travel: leisure, study and business
- No restrictions on hazardous sports or occupations (except professional motorsports)
International Health Insurance danmark a/s (IHI) offers the best medical travel insurance available anywhere and has more than 275,000 private and corporate clients in more than 190 countries.