Some travel simply can’t be planned in advance. Last-minute travel could be needed due to an emergency, a sudden job opportunity, or a last-minute, too-good-to-pass-up discount. While it’s ideal to arrange travel medical insurance within 14 days of making your first trip payment or deposit, it is still possible to get last-minute travel medical insurance. Your options may be more limited, but you can generally still get a policy if you haven’t left on your trip.
At SentinelMED, we always recommend that travelers purchase travel insurance, and specifically policies that include travel medical insurance. With decades of experience in aeromedicine and long-distance medical transport, we’ve seen first-hand how travel medical insurance has helped people who are sick or injured get timely and appropriate care and transport.
What kind of insurance is available for last-minute trips?
Last-minute travelers may have difficulty purchasing a standalone travel insurance policy if you are days or even a few weeks away from the start of your trip. However, you may still be able to purchase last-minute travel medical insurance.
What’s the difference? Travel insurance typically provides reimbursement if you must cancel your trip, lose your luggage, or have your flights canceled or delayed. Travel medical insurance reimburses medical expenses for unscheduled medical care while traveling. That could include a trip to the doctor or hospital after an injury, diagnostic testing and lab work, or a medical transport or evacuation.
While travel insurance policies may include travel medical insurance, not all do, and coverage levels can vary. In general, more expensive policies provide higher levels of coverage for medical expenses.
If the deadline to purchase travel insurance has passed, you can likely still purchase travel medical insurance.
Why do you need travel medical insurance?
Simply being in an unfamiliar environment puts you at higher risk for an accident or injury. In general, tourists are more likely to experience a fatal accident than the residents of the country they are visiting, especially if they travel in a motor vehicle. They are also at higher risk of drowning or a fatal fall.
Few of us want to think about such statistics when planning a trip. However, these statistics indicate the importance of considering medical travel insurance, even for last-minute trips.
What about coverage through your health insurance or credit card company?
Many U.S.-based health insurance companies, as well as Medicare, do not provide coverage or reimbursement for care in other countries. Before traveling, make sure you understand the coverage available to you through any other health insurance policies you have.
You may also have some travel insurance coverage through your credit card company – if you used it to pay for travel expenses. However, most coverage provided by credit card companies reimburses for canceled or delayed flights, not for the level of reimbursement you’d need after a serious accident or injury while traveling.
If you’re still on the fence, ask yourself this question – if the worst happens, would it cause a financial hardship for yourself or your family? If the answer is yes, consider purchasing travel medical insurance.
When to purchase annual travel medical insurance
If you’re generally healthy and make multiple last-minute trips a year, annual travel insurance can be less expensive than purchasing multiple single-trip policies. However, some annual travel medical insurance policies have exclusions for pre-existing conditions, so be sure to review and compare any coverage limitations carefully.
More About SentinelMED
SentinelMED works closely with individuals and travel insurance companies to provide medical transport, evacuation, and repatriation transport services to people of all ages who become sick or injured while traveling. Our team provides full-service care, coordinating with travel insurance companies and hospital case managers to arrange door-to-door medical transportation and to provide medical escorts to meet patients' care needs.
SentinelMED’s medical professionals understand the complexity of delivering exceptional care to patients who need assistance during travel. Please contact us to learn more about the services that SentinelMED offers or its staff.
