The travel industry has taken a negative turn due to COVID-19, and many travelers found out the hard way that they were not only risking their health but their money too. However, even without the current pandemic, travelers need to make sure they are reading the fine print on their travel insurance policies. Most plans offer some amount of healthcare coverage in case of emergency. But policies vary by company and may even have conditions about how they handle illness caused by a pandemic.
Medical Coverage for Travel
Squaremouth spokesperson Kasara Barto advises that “most travel insurance plans contain exclusions for known or ‘foreseen events’.” Some locations have known risks associated with them
High Travel Risks
Those at the most risk of inefficient medical coverage are foreign travelers visiting the United States, as the cost of health care is the highest of any country. Travelers entering the U.S. may not anticipate these expenses as most countries will treat foreigners are little to no cost. Foreign embassies have now taken it upon themselves to help their citizens to understand the insurance policies they use to travel or for living in the States. Some insurers in the U.S. and other countries have ceased sales altogether due to the risks associated with coronavirus. While others are choosing to expand their benefits and be more flexible for travelers who wish to cancel their vacations (and, therefore, policies) due to the outbreak. This is a completely new situation for all insurance companies and many are still figuring out how to handle it without losing business. While people should continue to hold off on major travel, it is still of the utmost importance that everyone is covered while traveling in case of an emergency.
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