Going to be leaving the coverage of my employer a couple weeks prior to leaving for my South American sojourn mid October, and was curious if anyone out there had some suggestions for health insurance while on the road internationally. Looking for some reasonable coverage, including the option of international medical transfer/evacuation, should some terrible situation dictate it. Thanks for any help or direction, I'm starting blind in this research.
Hi, We are currently on a RTW tour and have bought insurance from a UK company called "Go walkabout". it was very reasonable at about 750GBP for the two of us.. we did a lot of searching and qoutes ranged from 2000 right down to 750. Make sure you explicitly tell them you are travelling on a motorbike on a daily basis, it will be your main form of transport and state the size of the engine as most of them will ensure you, but caveat in the small print that you can only ride upto 125cc. On that note, be sure to read all of the small print... and get any queries or clarifications you ask them in writing BEFORE YOU BUY! Another company you could try is called "World Nomad" they came recommended to us, but we ended up going with Go walkabout as it was a little bit cheaper for us. Good luck
I've been researching Insurance the past few weeks and have found the following: Good FAQ: http://hasbrouck.org/articles/insurance.html IMG Global is a good comprehensive insurance coverage: http://www.imglobal.com/img-insurance/travel-medical-insurance/patriot-travel-medical-insurance.aspx World Nomads also gets good reviews too: http://www.worldnomads.com/ I'm going with IMG for my Central/South America ride. It was fairly cheaper than World Nomads with the same coverage
I made a claim through World Nomads in 2005 from Colorado. From the first phone call up until they received the Dr's letter, they were far from helpful. They were questioning everything I said, not volunteering anything, and being generally difficult. Once they received the letter, they completely turned around. The claim was approved, they offered anything I wanted (almost), and the people I was dealing with we're quite friendly.
SOS International - $435 for 12 month worldwide coverage: google them, they have different plans available depending what you want, as i'm on a RTW they seemed the best
IMG / Patriot International have already been mentioned, and I've used them before with great satisfaction. Just noted that you're leaving employer's insurance; IMG counts as "credible coverage" so that if you're returning to a job with insurance, you will have a continuous period of real health insurance. That means you can't be denied coverage on your next ins as a "pre existing condition". (PP-ACA is phasing that out, but it's not in place yet). It's my understanding that some travelers' insurance is not "credible coverage" so be sure to 2x check. Good luck.
Brilliant! Thank you all so much for the advice, that's a great start. Both IMG and World Nomads seem to be good options. This is a great site for anyone else in a similar situation as myself: http://hasbrouck.org/articles/insurance.html That's one less thing to fret about while I scramble to prepare for this trip...
we have always had great luck with these guys. Apparently the owner is an ADV guy himself. Nice people, actual real human beings. http://www.pibalinsuranceoregon.com/specialty-risk-insurance/travelersinsurance Travel time!
