Happier Abroad Forum Community

One gentleman sent me this article about travel insurance:

"5 Reasons You Shouldn't Travel Without Travel Insurance

When you make plans for your next adventure, one of the things you have to decide is whether to purchase travel insurance. Travel insurance pays you if your plans are disrupted because of unexpected events. Here are five reasons you should get travel insurance for your next vacation:

You might need it
Even if you think it's not going to happen to you, one in six Americans report disrupted travel plans because of a medical problem or natural disaster. That means that if you purchase travel insurance, there's a good chance you're going to use it. It's a good way to protect your investment and make sure that you ultimately get to take that vacation even if you have to reschedule.

Medical expenses add up quickly
Traveling to another country can often come with exposure to new foods, adventures and even illnesses. That means it's unfortunately common to get sick or hurt while on vacation. Overseas medical bills can really add up, and health insurance doesn't always cover medical costs incurred abroad. In addition, you might not have time to comparison shop among medical service providers if you face an emergency overseas. Unexpected medical bills on a trip overseas can even cause bankruptcy.

Travel insurance can help you avoid this possibility. Insurance can cover emergency and catastrophic medical costs until you can return home for follow-up care. While no one wants to get sick or hurt on vacation, planning for this eventuality can ultimately save your wallet.

It makes cancelling a little less frustrating
After long weeks of work and a tiring routine, you're ready to get away. Then, a natural disaster occurs, and you can't make the trip. That's frustrating enough without being out all of the money that you paid for the trip. When you have travel insurance, at least you get your money back. You can start thinking about when you can reschedule the trip rather than dwelling on losing your investment.

It gives you peace of mind
If you don't have travel insurance, a problem with your trip can be a double whammy. Not only do you have to deal with the medical issue, natural disaster or political unrest, but you also have to think about how to deal with the problem in light of the fact that you didn't insure your trip. Travel insurance can help you make the best choices as things occur.

For example, many policies allow you to cancel if a terrorist attack occurs at your destination shortly before the trip. Without travel insurance, you might feel pressured to take the trip even though you don't feel it's safe. Similarly, without travel insurance, you might try to skip the doctor and end up with a more serious illness or injury. Travel insurance lets you make smart decisions while you have peace of mind about the cost.

It's often more cost effective than other insurance
If your trip includes a car rental look for a comprehensive travel insurance package with the cheapest car insurance comes in a comprehensive travel insurance package. For example, in Europe, a car rental can come with insurance administrative fees of up to fifty Euro on top of the cost of the insurance itself. You might be able to purchase similar insurance as part of your travel insurance and save yourself a bundle. This can make travel insurance even more affordable, because you may be able to avoid purchasing insurance directly from travel providers.

There are lots of reasons to purchase travel insurance. While no two travelers are exactly the same, this insurance can give any traveler peace of mind. Ultimately, travel insurance can make your trip more fun."

What is your experience?

Isn't this the typical American way of "living in fear"? Most travelers I know don't need anything like this.

How expensive is it? Is it easy to get reimbursed? Any links to good plans?

@Winston
Your questions are very reasonable. It's complicated. The question is what is really included and excluded in a travel insurance.

Travel insurance is getting seriously expensive with your age. Many travel insurance companies offer coverage only limited up to 64 or 70 years old. Others refuse overseas travel insurance if you are 75+, very few do it up to 99 years but charge a lot more. Others have a lot of restrictions what and how much they will pay and what they anyway totally refuse to insure etc. etc. Others are limited only to certain countries or even to one country only (like insurances for Thailand), many refuse to include USA or will charge you the double fee for the policy, some refuse insurance if the trip abroad takes longer than 15 days etc.

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In my situation,

1 -
For destination Thailand/Philippines/Cambodia/Malaysia, the Japanese National Insurance will pay about 60 percent of medical fees if something happens overseas. However forms are a bit complicated and it takes 3 months to receive the money.
I used it one time when I had to stay in Thailand in a private hospital because of a very strong tropical fever for 6 days.

2 -
My credit card also includes a travel insurance, but only if the air ticket to/return and all medical fees overseas are paid by this creditcard, up to max. 2 months overseas stay and up to max. approx. USD 9.500.- per trip.
I used it for Thailand one time for an internal bleeding in my knee after falling down in the street and hitting a hard surface and also one time for an eye-operation. - I received the full refund after back in Japan within one week.

@Winston

Winston: How expensive is this?

USD 885,- for 3 months. Age: 67

A full-cover insurance, including covid-19 is not cheap at all, and this offer below is valid only for Thailand and other cheaper destinations.

I can show you a quotation given to me from a German private insurance broker (Bangkok Branch office) for Thailand (Oct. 5th, 2020)

all rates in EURO valid 3 months

Maximum cover per person 200,000 per period (approx. USD 235.000,-)

Geographical Coverage Worldwide excl. zone 1 & zone 2 countries

Coverage Duration 91 day(s)

Hospitalisation Yes

Outpatient treatment by a doctor/specialist Yes

Prescribed medicines Yes

Deductible 0

Medical evacuation/repatriation Yes

Pre-existing coverage No

Baggage - theft, loss or damage 1,600 with sublimits

Theft of passport and/or cash No

Baggage delay up to 200

Total Premium in EURO (67) EURO 745

Thats very expensive. As long as you are careful and don't do anything foolish why do u need it? If anything comes up why not just pay out of your pocket? Frugal people always know how to keep expenses low unless theres a health crisis.

What about expat health insurance? In most countries you can just pay the doctors fee directly right? Its not that much. At least not in Asia.

Yohan what would happen if an American needed hospital services in Japan? Would the cost be high?

In Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko" it showed an American tourist getting into an accident in London. He was taken to the ER and only had to pay 10 or 20 dollars for the treatment. Why is that? Does the UK or EU cover u if youre a traveler or tourist and have an accident? How does that work? Any conditions? Does everyone qualify?

Travel insurance, like most types so insurance policies, is a rip off. Insurance is a BUSINESS and as such, they profit off of ways to wiggle out of paying claims where they can.

Any competent actuary will tell you that the insurance business model depends on convincing dupes of the need to buy insurance that they will very likely never need. The company profits from the law of averages. But even where you DO need insurance after some incident, insurance companies pay their attorneys to figure out ways to NOT pay your claims according to the policy's small print.

Winston wrote: ↑

November 6th, 2020, 8:30 pm

What about expat health insurance? In most countries you can just pay the doctors fee directly right? Its not that much. At least not in Asia.

Yohan what would happen if an American needed hospital services in Japan? Would the cost be high?

I gave you already a quote for an expat health insurance for 3 months, see above - it's expensive. It depends on your age...

The question is if the country in Asia lets you in without insurance (Covid-19 insurance obligatory for Thailand), and if you consider long-term, lets you in without any insurance cover for the time of your visa, 3 months or one year.

Covid-19 insurance, obligatory if you travel now to Thailand...(up to 74 years old), link below

https://info.lumahealth.com/thailand-pass

Cheap health care in Thailand and pay cash... depends what you need, it can cost you a fortune, for example after a serious traffic accident.....

If you need only some standard medication, you can just buy it in a pharmacy, no prescription required, and if you need a medical doctor only for consultation and some prescription from the hospital or minor surgery, it will not cost you much.

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USA is exceptional expensive - everything overpriced. This is not the case in Japan.
I have never seen something similar in any other country I visited for medical advice. USA is a terrible place for affordable medical care except if you are very rich. A total rip-off.

Japan is strictly regulated by the Japanese National Insurance, which is considered to be one of the best in the world - doctors, hospitals, medicine, presciption only pharmacies, dental work, elderly care etc. and every Japanese national who has an address in Japan is covered.
Covered are also all foreigners holding a visa for at least 1 year.

Almost all hospitals etc. are members of the Japanese National Insurance. You can contact any medical facility everywhere in Japan.
Medical fees are no problem, just minimal payments for doctor visits, medicine, hospital treatment, even dentist etc.
Insurance even covers about 60 percent in case you have a medical problem abroad.

However the monthly premium for the obligatory insurance is not cheap at all, calculated on your income. It is valid from birth to death.

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Only foreign diplomats and foreign tourists in Japan are NOT covered. There are some private clinics for rich people, cosmetic surgery etc. which do not accept and do not co-operate with the Japanese National Insurance, they can charge what they want, you better ask before you use them.

A huge group of US-military related servicemen and their families are covered by the US military within their bases in Japan.

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If you are a foreigner, not covered by Japanese National Insurance, you still can visit any insurance doctor who is not privately operating however you have to pay 100 percent of the medical bill, while insured people pay only 30, 20, 10, 5 percent....

Every medical related facility has a computer online program connected to the national insurance, has to enter what they are doing with the patient and the computer will print out the receipt what the patient has to pay.

For example, I had an eye operation and I was checking out just for information how much it might cost in USA.
Estimates were between USD 1500 up to USD 2500,-

In Thailand I paid in the most expensive private hospital in Pattaya USD 350,- , excellent service, and my Japanese creditcard insurance paid it back after my return to Japan.

Unfortunately two years later I had the same surgery again in the other eye in Japan using my national health insurance, my eye doctor has very good facilities.

I paid only approx. USD 60,-, this means a foreigner will have to pay USD 200,- (100%) and some additional consultation fee and medicine, totally about USD 250,- or so....as there is a first time consultation fee for newcomer.

I pay for docotr visit for my regular prescription including medicine for one month for high blood pressure and cholesterol about USD 20,- (I think a foreigner without insurance will be charged around USD 100,- as there is a higher fee for the first time as patient.

Japanese insurance will NOT pay anything for birth (but will pay for all checks before giving birth) - it will not pay for abortion - not for cosmetic surgeries.
It will pay for dentist, but not for some materials like special crown and bridges ...
No payment for covid-19 if you out of yourself insist for testing without any symptoms.

Every year, basic health checkup is free, dental check is also free, vaccination for influence is free, for pneumonia every 5 years and for camera-check for stomach cancer is a cheap fee only to pay...

Also elderly care is included if you fail due to age.

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Plenty of medical doctors, hospitals etc. around here in Japan, only short waiting time... I am very satisfied, better than in Europe.

However Europe was also not that bad, and for EU-residents general medical care is free....but there was always some waiting time, a bit crowded...but nothing to pay at all.

With the EU insurance card, it is possible to visit any hospital in EU-zone, and not only in your EU country where your address is registered. Nothing to worry, if you spend your vacation anywhere within EU area.

Any more question?