reclusive46

Yeah I'd try and get that increased. 100k might not cover everything if something should happen.

nmh1204

$100,000 isn't enough to be honest. When I was in America, I was in hopsital for 4 hours and got charged over $4,000. Imagine if you have an operation or need to stay longer, you need a lot more. Ask your provider what amounts they cover, if they don't cover enough, go to another one. Most travel policies here have medical coverage upwards of Ł2M. If you need to be flown home, that could cost upwards of Ł25,000 on top of treatment.

mmff

That is a very optimistic figure.

nmh1204

was just a guess really. I had a quick google, and to repatriate a body costs can be as high as Ł17,000.

wolf72

Most insurances being offered have "unlimited" costs for emergency evacuation, which is what you are referring to in the event of a medical emergency that requires a customer who needs further medical treatment at home to be evacuated by private medical jet home. The travel insurance i have covers this for sure as do most international travel insurances now days.

But agreed, the USD$100,000 provided for medical expenses may not be sufficient, esp. if surgery and extended stay in hospital plus care and other costs are taken into account.

My current int. travel insurance is fixed so i have requested to purchase a secondary one to increase the amount of coverage for medical and other expenses. Yes, will cost me more but, if something does happen (fingers crossed nothing will), then it may be essential.

nmh1204

Never heard of that. Whenever I've purchased travel insurance, the amount of cover for medical expenses including repatriation is usually Ł5m as standard, or more for the premium policies, but there's always a limit.

wolf72

I guess they put "unlimited" to make the policy look "good" maybe. Anyways, with any medical evacuation with an international insurance policy, the insurance company organizes the evacuation and you don't have to worry about anything.

We had to evacuate a fella who had fallen off a cliff and had internal bleeding, fractured skull and injuries to his head by air on a 1 hour flight to Singapore recently and it was almost USD$100k but the insurance organized everything.

emma69

One more thing to consider, there is normally something in the small print about having to contact the insurance before you seek treatment (except if you are medically unable, e.g. unconscious) or they can refuse to pay the bill.

LondonElite

Any insurance worth having will agree to pay within its limits if you've been treated as a case of medical emergency.

emma69

Agree, but my policy, for example, says if I was capable of calling and do not, then I am liable for the first 20% of the bill (and says if you are incapable, that is ok). So if you broke your arm, for example, you can call them, in a coma, you cannot. It doesn't apply as much to UK, as most people would end up in the NHS A&E department and all charges would be the same, but in some countries there are different tiers and costs of care. Thus if you went to one that they didn't have an agreement with instead of one they did, it would cost them more money, which is where the 20% comes in. The US is the leading example of this, where hospitals next door to each other, same treatment could cost vastly different amounts.

LondonElite

Agree. In Germany, I doubt the OP will run into anything near as expensive as some of the numbers being thrown around here. If it is a catastrophic incident he'd most likely be transported home and treated there.