The Importance of Vacation Insurance for Expatriates

Some expats who live abroad will be covered by their employer expat health plans or by the local government health system. Unfortunately, such plans probably will not include medical treatment or evacuation coverage when traveling outside their new home country. Everyone knows that medical emergencies can occur while traveling and are almost always unexpected events.

Any medical event when traveling can cause a great deal of stress for individuals and families abroad, but significant medical expenses that can also seriously impact an expat’s finances. Evacuation costs when traveling abroad can also be quite large. Especially if you are traveling to a country with limited medical assistance and facilities.

Travel Medical for Expat Vacations

Silhouette of family with luggage standing near window in airport

If the expatriate living abroad needs emergency travel medical insurance coverage outside their new home country. We can offer a single or multi-trip travel medical insurance plan for most expats living abroad. These travel medical plans will not cover pre-existing medical conditions and are only meant for emergencies while you are outside your country of residence or country of citizenship, depending on the insurer you choose. We offer two main travel medical insurance plans for expatriates living abroad:

IMG Patriot Travel Medical –

A great single trip travel medical insurance plan for people traveling outside their country of citizenship. It can even be purchased if you are already traveling or living abroad. It will not generally cover you traveling back to your country of citizenship unless you purchase their Home Country Rider. This travel insurance plan can be quoted and purchased online. All the plan details can be viewed when you are getting a quote.

BUPA Global Travel –

A more deluxe travel medical insurance policy that can provide single or multi-trip travel medical insurance coverage for many expatriates living abroad. It covers you outside your country of residence. So it can be ideal for expats who may travel back to their country of citizenship. It has a zero deductible and is a very comprehensive policy. You can also obtain a quote and purchase online. This plan does have some non-medical related vacation insurance coverage as an option. It can cover trip cancellation and interruption expenses on a single or multi-trip basis. The multi-trip plan covers annual travel for trips up to 1 month per trip as per their plan terms and conditions.

The Bottom Line

If you are an expat living abroad and going on a short or long term vacation. It is a good idea to obtain a travel medical plan to cover you when you travel for business or pleasure. There are very limited options for expats who want vacation plans that cover baggage, trip cancellation and interruption. So if you want this coverage, you will probably have to search for it locally. Some travel medical insurance plans will have some limited non-medical related coverage in their policies. Really, your main risk that can bankrupt any expat is uninsured medical and evacuation expenses. A lost bag or cancelled trip will be costly and upsetting, but shouldn’t seriously impact your finances.

Global Medical Insurance is a Better Solution for Expats who Travel

If you are living abroad, in our opinion there is a better solution than obtaining travel medical coverage for short or long trips. The best option for most expatriates is to obtain a comprehensive global medical insurance plan that will cover you and your family worldwide, which will mean you won’t require travel medical or evacuation insurance for trips as you care covered locally and globally. You should make sure that the global health plan covers you globally including your country of citizenship and also includes an evacuation rider.

Some expat health plans will exclude seeking medical treatment in the USA, but will still cover a limited number of days for emergency care when in the United States. A great policy that we offer to expatriates is the Cigna Global Health Options plan. You can obtain a quote for this international health plan via our website.