We sometimes hear that it’s not easy to understand travel insurance policies or it’s not clear what happens once you file a travel insurance claim. To help navigate through the confusion, we’ve included definitions and a handy infographic below, to walk you through what is and isn’t a covered travel insurance emergency medical expense!
What is a travel medical emergency?
TuGo’s Traveller product defines an “emergency” as: An unforeseen “medical condition” (defined as any disease, illness or injury including symptoms of undiagnosed conditions), which requires immediate treatment to alleviate existing danger to life or health. An emergency no longer exists when the medical evidence indicates that you’re able to continue the trip or return to your home province
What does travel insurance cover for medical emergencies?
A real-life example why travel insurance is important
Remember, Emergency Medical Insurance covers acute, sudden and unexpected travel medical emergencies. And in Greg*’s experience, getting coverage paid off. Here’s his story…
Greg flew to LA to attend a bachelor party. Over the course of a few days, what started as a tingling sensation in his fingers and toes progressed to a numbing sensation that spread up his arms and legs. Greg was admitted to the hospital for 8 days. During that time, paralysis set in, which doctors feared would lead to respiratory failure. Greg was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which causes the body’s immune system to attack the nerves. He was then air evacuated back to Canada. Although he didn’t have a significant medical history, Greg recognized the importance of protecting his travel investment. He was later glad that he did, because the immense cost to treat this unexpected disorder, over $200,000, would’ve been financially difficult to recover from!
There you have it… what is and isn’t a covered benefit of travel medical coverage. Want to find out more about coverage? Speak to your local insurance broker or call TuGo’s Customer Service at 1-855-929-8846.
Safe travels,
Melissa
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2015, and has been updated for freshness and/or accuracy.
