COLLINS: Read the fine print before buying travel insurance
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IF YOU’RE PLANNING TO TRAVEL just about anywhere, travel insurance is a necessity. Even if you’re just going to another province, you could find yourself facing bills for some expenses. If you go to the U.S, the bills could be enormous. And being treated in other countries could be higher still.
If you do purchase travel insurance, and you should, you need to be aware that not all policies are the same. Read the fine print. Some policies require you to pay the hospital up front for the total bill, then claim reimbursement from the insurance company. For many procedures, the cost of paying up front is more than most families can cover. Some policies seem to be willing to pay some expenses directly and reimburse you for others. Some of the research I’ve done indicates that if a hospital recognizes the insurer as trustworthy, they might bill the insurer for some costs, and bill the insured for others. But it’s important to know what you’re dealing with when you purchase a policy.
Case in point. Some members of my family recently had an incident in a large American city. Their child had to be rushed to hospital by ambulance, was given a number of tests including an MRI, and held for observation before being cleared to fly home. They weren’t charged at the hospital, but a bill came in the mail for several thousand dollars, so they have to pay the money up front and then get reimbursed. It would, depending on the bill, be difficult for many families to pay those up-front costs, especially if there were follow-up medical costs upon the return home.
The cost of travel insurance is generally pretty modest, and you should definitely have it, but it can be complicated.
