Health Insurance recommendations

[mlhhome]

After considerable review of this forum, I believe it is important to obtain health insurance for my Camino. I appreciate your health insurance company recommendation.

Thanks

Mike

 

[grayland]

I think you would have to advise which country you are from.

 

[mlhhome]

I think you would have to advise which country you are from.

My mistake..... I am from United States.

Thanks for your reply

Mike

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The optional travel insurance offered with your ticket is often the best and cheapest. For a stand-alone policy, I have found the AAA insurance (subcontractor) to be comprehensive and reasonably priced. I have never had to use it, so I do not know about its customer service!

 

[jiggy]

Hi,
I'm planning on using World Nomads. It is for emergencies only but my husband broke his leg on a motorbike trip to Mexico 2 years ago and we had World Nomad Insurance. They covered all our travel expenses, hotel and Mexican medical bills. Male sure you get medical help within 100 miles of where your accident etc happens. They are very reasonably priced.
Buen Camino
Jigs

 

[grayland]

We have used Travel Guard for many years. Never had to use it, so like Falcon, have no knowledge of service if needed. However, there are a lot of comments on the internet from people who have used it.
I do not worry about the actual "trip" insurance that covers tickets, etc. I am just after the medical and medical evac coverage.

 

[dougfitz]

When travelling, I buy travel insurance, not a specialist health insurance product. I haven't seen any travel insurance that doesn't have a medical component. However, I am careful to check that the cover includes the range of activities I am going to undertake. When I was looking at the different products before doing the Camino Frances, there were several where the terms and conditions either excluded activities like the Camino, or were ambiguous about what level of coverage was provided.

Regards,

 

[DesertRain]

I used Medex: http://www.frontiermedex.com/.

For my experience with them, see my previous post under http://www.caminodesantiago.me/board/medical-issues-on-the-pilgrimage/topic6068.html

 

[merrellj]

If you are British, first recommendation is to ensure you take your E111 European Health Insurance Card with you to qualify you for local treatment in Spain.

Secondly, as DougF rightly says, make sure you have valid travel insurance.

One of the most popular, competitively priced UK online providers is insureandgo at: www.insureandgo.com

 

[malcolmrobert]

From experienced Canadian Pilgrims, which insuror did you use? Which one gave your the best coverage at a reasonable price. Most importantly, which company gave you the best service when you made a claim. And, just as important, which company gave you poor service and you would never use again or recommend to others.

 

[jpflavin1]

Mike:

I suggest you check with your current provider as to the coverage you already have. I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and they covered everything medical including Medivac under my existing policy. They provided me with a letter to carry and European contact number in Brussels.

Joe

 

[renegadepilgrim]

As a travel blogger, this question comes up a lot in the long term travel world...World Nomads is hands down the most recommended provider. The other website I would check out is Square Mouth. They offer a chance to compare different providers and they only feature those who are reputable.

 

[mlhhome]

As a travel blogger, this question comes up a lot in the long term travel world...World Nomads is hands down the most recommended provider. The other website I would check out is Square Mouth. They offer a chance to compare different providers and they only feature those who are reputable.

Thanks to all....Square Mouth it is....

Mike

 

[Sansthing]

I´ve always used World Nomads as their rates are reasonable but I´ve never (fortunately) had to test their customer service. It doesn´t matter which country you live in, you can get your cover over the internet. Unfortunately their age limit is 66 years, so no good for senior pilgrims.
Sandra :arrow:

 

[Atlas Traveler]

I checked the Better Business Burea for a couple different travel insurance companies. Here are the links to their profiles

Travel Guard - http://www.bbb.org/wisconsin/Business-R ... complaints

Insurance Services of America - http://www.bbb.org/central-northern-wes ... z-2001507/

Insure My Trip - http://www.bbb.org/boston/Business-Revi ... complaints

Square Mouth - http://www.bbb.org/west-florida/busines ... complaints

World Nomads - http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-revi ... complaints

I hope this helps!

 

[peregrina2000]

Based on some other threads, I decided to buy travel insurance for the first time for this year's camino (and was hoping I wouldn't need it as I was sliding down a mountain through heavy growth looking for the Camino in the picos). Desert Rain had recommended medex. I checked with the office at my university that deals with stuff like this and found they also recommend medex for traveling faculty and staff. So that's what I went with. And I know people in their mid 70s who use it, so age doesn't seem to be the same problem it is with World Nomads.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[vagabondette]

Based on some other threads, I decided to buy travel insurance for the first time for this year's camino (and was hoping I wouldn't need it as I was sliding down a mountain through heavy growth looking for the Camino in the picos). Desert Rain had recommended medex. I checked with the office at my university that deals with stuff like this and found they also recommend medex for traveling faculty and staff. So that's what I went with. And I know people in their mid 70s who use it, so age doesn't seem to be the same problem it is with World Nomads.

Buen camino, Laurie

I'm generally not one to get travel insurance. In fact I've not had any insurance since 2005. However, some of the stuff I'm going to be doing after my camino and some of the places I'll be going are a little concerning so I've started looking into insurance companies.

I would not recommend looking at BBB reviews as they're pretty worthless. Instead, search for the internet the company name and "review" and you'll get a wide variety of sources. I looked at Medex but they had, by far, some of the worst reviews I found about travel insurance. Apparently they're fine unless you actually need to use them. :shock: Here's a sample: http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/fr ... insurance/.

I found Insure My Trip to be helpful for comparing prices and then I did review searches for the companies from there. I've not decided yet, but I'm only getting medical/evac coverage, not trip cancellation so it'll only be about $150 for the 4 months.

 

[Plumber1000]

I'm insured through my bank. No wonder though the robbing bastards take £70 a month for fees. Oh I get mobile phone insurance to how cool

 

[jdyhfnr]

If you have an American Express card, medical travel insurance is available thru them.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for that link, vagabondette. Those comments are extremely negative. Please let us know when you find a company with more customer satisfaction! I'm going to see if I can find someone at my univ. who has had to use the coverage, and will let you know if I find anyone.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Merryecho]

Anyone have experience with kaiser coverage overseas?

 

[backpack45scb]

Anyone have experience with kaiser coverage overseas?

We've had a couple of emergency room level incidents, one in Montreal, Canada and one in France. In both cases we had to pay the fees and then file a claim with Kaiser. If you need extended care, Kaiser wants you to get home as soon as you can travel. The charges were quite modest by US standards. By the time we included the kaiser co-pay requirements, it was not worth filing a claim on the France incident. Kaiser did pay all the Montreal fees, but it took about 6 months and required some additional documentation from Montreal. Kaiser doesn't speak French, so couldn't communicate with Montreal hospital on their own, to get the documentation they wanted.

 

[peregrina2000]

The insurance industry, gotta love it.

I forwarded vagabondette's link on to a colleague who has paid for (and thankfully never used) medex for years, and he was shocked. He promptly began to explore other options and quickly became extremely frustrated. One small example:

One provider lists among benefits: "arrange for medical evacuation to home country" and "arrange for repatriation of remains to home country."

My friend asked: Does "arrange for" mean "pay for" or does it mean "call around to find someone to do it and send the client the bill?" The response: for medical evacuation, it means the latter; for human remains, it means the former. So, they will pay for your body to be returned, but will only find someone to bring you home if you are alive. Of course, that's what a live person said on the phone, which is not going to do you any good if the small print on the policy says otherwise.

So I'm hoping that someone will find a reputable company that delivers high quality service, but maybe that's a pipe dream.

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Atlas Traveler]

There is a lot of good advice. First I learned I need to make a list of possible risks that could happen and then contact my current insurance company and find out how it covers me while in France i.e. how do they pay a claim, arrange air ambulance, etc... Second I need to find a reputable travel insurance company. From everyone's experience, I should look up insuremytrips.com, worldnomads,com, medicalex.com, http://www.insurancefortrip.com on http://www.BBB.org and see who has complaints filed and who has good reviews. Third, I realized that I need to speak to an insurance agent and ask him or her to describe the plan benefits and instructions on how to use the insurance in France. Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[Comenius]

In checking the World Nomads site it appears as if they specifically only cover hiking, walking up to 6000m: http://www.worldnomads.com/travel-insur ... rance.aspx

Definitely not a good fit if they mean distance as opposed to elevation!

 

[jordysray]

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[poogeyejr]

My goto travel medical insurance is Blue Cross in Canada. I have also used Manulife. Both companies were responsive when I called with a medical problem.

 

[AmmieM]

The never ending question - insure or not?
I have a global travel insurance policy which covers 365 days a year, anywhere in the world. It covers medical, money, luggage, flights etc. costs about the same as some policies which are for 4 weeks.
Available from Allianz, which is a French based company. From my experience they have been great and very supportive when you really need help and are a long way from home.

 

[Olivares]

First, let me just say you are in the right frame of mind in getting health insurance. Much like previous poster, I selected Blue Cross/Blue Shield BECAUSE they had international coverage (one of the few USA providers that does so). In addition, I never travel without travel insurance; I have use Allianz and Berkeley many times. I found myself where I had to place claims and both companies were very good and reasonable to work with.

I find that the airlines charge very high for the insurance. Shop around; buy it separately. I recommend the website: http://www.insuremytrip.com

They have a good comparison tool on their website.

 

[Tia Valeria]

We have just received our new credenciales from CSJ (UK). Included is a note which has a warning, in bold, not to rely on just our EHIC health cards because they do not cover repatriation.
We have an annual health (travel) insurance which covers both treatment in an emergency and repatriation if needed. Different lengths of stay are available from 30 days upwards.