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Annual Travel Insurance Plans

Annual Travel Insurance Plans

Old Jan 15, 2018, 7:31 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by 1Bag1World
Medjet Assist's policy will take you to any hospital anywhere, even home, and in a private air ambulance if necessary.
I am just reevaluating our coverage and want to note for others that Medjet Assist's coverage is unique, and a supplement to other types of travel insurance, because once you are hospitalized, Medjet Assist will transport you to a hospital of your specification without regard to medical necessity. That is a big plus to regular travel insurance, which of course (and quite reasonably) would take into account medical necessity. We have had Medjet Assist for five years and thankfully have not need to use it but it provides a lot of peace of mind. Think about being stuck in a foreign country (even a developed country with good care) for an extended period while recovering from some kind of serious condition or injury; this avoids that possibility.

There may be other companies that offer comparable services. I last researched this particular type of protection 5 years ago and am diving in again now that the five years has lapsed.
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Old Jan 15, 2018, 11:09 pm
  #17  
 
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For those that are interested in medical evacuation coverage, many group life insurance carriers will provide these services for eligible members. So if your employer provides you with life insurance, you may want to see if a travel assistance program is an added benefit to the coverage before purchasing coverage. It usually covers dependent children as well, so it can be great for students studying abroad.
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Old Jan 16, 2018, 8:15 am
  #18  
 
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Small world. I logged onto FT today looking for THIS exact information. Adding my thanks to all those who replied - I have some research to do. ^
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Old May 10, 2018, 3:56 pm
  #19  
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Anyone have actual experience with MedJet / Ripcord / Global Rescue?

Trying to decide between the three and they all seem to have plusses and minuses.

MedJet seems like the best but the inpatient clause has me worried. Our upcoming honeymoon includes Ubud and Bora Bora and I'm not sure if the medical facilities there qualify as hospitals or treat inpatients such that they qualify under MedJets T&Cs. If not it would make MedJet less attractive.
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Old May 25, 2018, 9:01 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by Duke787
Anyone have actual experience with MedJet / Ripcord / Global Rescue?

Trying to decide between the three and they all seem to have plusses and minuses.

MedJet seems like the best but the inpatient clause has me worried. Our upcoming honeymoon includes Ubud and Bora Bora and I'm not sure if the medical facilities there qualify as hospitals or treat inpatients such that they qualify under MedJets T&Cs. If not it would make MedJet less attractive.
I am looking at policies right now, and am interested in hearing people's opinions about Medjet / ripcord / GBR / etc...

Re: MedJet clause, it seems slightly more restrictive than in-patient : from what I understand, you have to be in a hospital with road access. This may sound like a trivial distinction, but in some parts of the world that is not always the case. Also, it needs to be near an airfield capable of accommodating an authorized aircraft (so if you're on a cruise and the nearest port-of-call doesn't have an airstrip, you're SOL).
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Old May 27, 2018, 11:21 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by Duke787
Anyone have actual experience with MedJet / Ripcord / Global Rescue?

Trying to decide between the three and they all seem to have plusses and minuses.

MedJet seems like the best but the inpatient clause has me worried. Our upcoming honeymoon includes Ubud and Bora Bora and I'm not sure if the medical facilities there qualify as hospitals or treat inpatients such that they qualify under MedJets T&Cs. If not it would make MedJet less attractive.
Originally Posted by ukinny2000
I am looking at policies right now, and am interested in hearing people's opinions about Medjet / ripcord / GBR / etc...

Re: MedJet clause, it seems slightly more restrictive than in-patient : from what I understand, you have to be in a hospital with road access. This may sound like a trivial distinction, but in some parts of the world that is not always the case. Also, it needs to be near an airfield capable of accommodating an authorized aircraft (so if you're on a cruise and the nearest port-of-call doesn't have an airstrip, you're SOL).

RE: Medjet/ Ripcord/ GR

I've been involved with repatriations by all three companies. There are significant differences, but for the most part, any of them will get you home if you become ill or injured pretty much anywhere. Do not fret about whether you're near an airstrip. The quotes provided to these companies by their air ambulance operators include ground transport to the aircraft. I've seen it done by boat and pickup truck if ambulances aren't an option.
For the most part, Medjet and GR sell themselves as "memberships" rather than traditional insurance that has a set benefit limit. Medjet typically doesn't cover your care while abroad prior to evac. GR will sell you an IMG policy alongside their membership to cover such care. Ripcord calls itself "travel insurance on steroids" and has a purchase tier that includes medical care abroad. Medjet used to be the only player in the game, and they only offered the medical transport benefit. With the emergence of hyperdynamic organizations like Global Rescue and Ripcord, they've been forced to up their game in the security and crisis response arenas.

ETA: Had a chat with the sales folks from work today. Sure enough, there are indeed a few places (mostly tiny islands) that MedJet assist won't cover evacs from, even if our guys can arrange it. Ubud and Bora Bora are common pick up spots though.

Last edited by aroundtheworld76; Jun 16, 2018 at 2:54 pm
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Old Jun 12, 2018, 1:19 am
  #22  
 
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medical advice and assistance in out of way places

I always figure that if you can afford to self-insure, you should do it rather than contribute to an insurer's profits. There are exceptions to that general approach like auto insurance, since the insurance companies have the experienced adjustors and attorneys to protect your (and their) interests against other parties. Also, you often must have coverage to get a mortgage, and insuror may be able to do better with repair/replacement costs.

I have traveled a great deal, but no experience with trip insurance because always figured I could cover myself, am leery of insurance companies, etc. Getting older now and starting to focus on other than straight $$$ replacement issues. In particular, who is going to help us with practical issues of getting out of a jam when overseas, especially if not in a "convenient" place to be in one (e.g., US, Canada, Western Europe, OZ and NZ.) So I'd like to know about providers of medical advice and assistance to those travelers in need of it. I am a retired physician, so know more than the average bear, but don't know lay of the land and providers in foreign locales; how to navigate arrangements for transfers by air or other means, evacuations, etc.

Who could provide me what I am after directly, that is without going through "intermediaries". All part of insurance packages or sometimes stand-along services that can be had on and as needed basis quickly and reliably? Who does one turn to, and how can they be checked out in advance?

[I have Medicare A, but no Medicare B because too expensive with IIRMA, and my health insurance is sufficient at home and abroad.]

Buy the coverage sought on an episodic basis or an annual or longer one? Any companies to avoid, or superior to the competition, especially in quality of services when needed?

And premium credit cards (though not too expensive fees) that are good for travel insurance of various sorts, including medical/accident coverage? Accidental death/dismemberment coverage, like AmEx's, since otherwise don't have life coverage, in part because too expensive given age and medical underwriting issues?

Thanks for any advice.
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Old Jun 16, 2018, 8:55 am
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by aroundtheworld76
RE: Medjet/ Ripcord/ GR

I've been involved with repatriations by all three companies. There are significant differences, but for the most part, any of them will get you home if you become ill or injured pretty much anywhere. Do not fret about whether you're near an airstrip. The quotes provided to these companies by their air ambulance operators include ground transport to the aircraft. I've seen it done by boat and pickup truck if ambulances aren't an option.
For the most part, Medjet and GR sell themselves as "memberships" rather than traditional insurance that has a set benefit limit. Medjet typically doesn't cover your care while abroad prior to evac. GR will sell you an IMG policy alongside their membership to cover such care. Ripcord calls itself "travel insurance on steroids" and has a purchase tier that includes medical care abroad. Medjet used to be the only player in the game, and they only offered the medical transport benefit. With the emergence of hyperdynamic organizations like Global Rescue and Ripcord, they've been forced to up their game in the security and crisis response arenas.
@aroundtheworld76 Do you have any insight on the differences between Ripcord and GR?

I'm researching insurance options for some wilderness adventure travel coming up in both the US and Africa. My shortlist includes Medjet, Ripcord, GR, and International SOS. I want evacuation from the site of injury, so that rules out Medjet. International SOS sounds like a solid company, but they seem to focus on corporate services, they're pricing for individual travelers is confusing, and I just don't think leisure adventure travelers are their core market. So that narrows it down to Ripcord and GR. I've found a bunch of critical reviews of GR on the internet - mainly stating that GR is difficult to work with when something happens. I haven't found anything about Ripcord - either good or bad. I've read that Ripcord is a newer company, so the lack of complains might be a result of their newness to the market, or it might just be better service. I'd love to hear from someone with firsthand experience of their services.

Here's a helpful article for anyone doing their own research:
https://expeditionportal.com/buyers-...tion-services/
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Old Jun 16, 2018, 3:28 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by Kay_nyc
@aroundtheworld76 Do you have any insight on the differences between Ripcord and GR?

I'm researching insurance options for some wilderness adventure travel coming up in both the US and Africa. My shortlist includes Medjet, Ripcord, GR, and International SOS. I want evacuation from the site of injury, so that rules out Medjet. International SOS sounds like a solid company, but they seem to focus on corporate services, they're pricing for individual travelers is confusing, and I just don't think leisure adventure travelers are their core market. So that narrows it down to Ripcord and GR. I've found a bunch of critical reviews of GR on the internet - mainly stating that GR is difficult to work with when something happens. I haven't found anything about Ripcord - either good or bad. I've read that Ripcord is a newer company, so the lack of complains might be a result of their newness to the market, or it might just be better service. I'd love to hear from someone with firsthand experience of their services.

Here's a helpful article for anyone doing their own research:
https://expeditionportal.com/buyers-...tion-services/


I'm afraid I don't have much to offer on the differences. I've not heard patients say a bad thing about either one. Of course, since I'm on the air ambulance side, if they're seeing me, it means that they are getting the service they paid for. I do know that GR will deploy a staffer (usually a paramedic) to the bedside to monitor care sometimes, just like Ripcord.

While I have an annual IMG policy, my work provides us all with Ripcord as well.

Interesting article. Old pictures (Airmed UK folded in 2016 and Erlanger got rid of that old Bell a decade ago), but some good information. It can be a fairly confusing world.
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Old Jun 16, 2018, 4:13 pm
  #25  
 
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I have this bookmarked: https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-b...vel-insurance/
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