International health insurance, travel insurance or credit card insurance: how do they differ?
When you travel, you need medical assistance - here's how to get it! |
Is it true that our credit card includes insurance? What cover does it offer? If I go on a trip abroad and I want to have health care, which option should I take out? We answer your questions in this post!
1 International health insurance
It is designed to people who are going to live abroad for a prolonged period of time. It is usually contracted for one year. It covers both emergency treatment and day-to-day medical care in any country within its area of coverage. In addition, it allows you to choose a doctor or hospital.
The coverage offered by this insurance depends on the company, but generally includes:
- Stay in hospital.
- Medical check-ups routine.
- Coverage for pre-existing conditions.
- Coverage for chronic diseases.
- Election of medical providers.
This insurance usually works on a cash on delivery basis. In other words, you have to pay the money up front and then they pay it to you. If you are in countries like the United States or Australia, where medical care is very expensive (a day in the ICU can cost 5000 $) you have to take this into account. In addition, depending on the company, the price of medical insurance may increase if you are over 65 years old.
Responsible travel means securing medical cover. |
2 Credit card insurance
It is not a legend: most credit cards include travel insurance. However, it is important to find out what cover is included to make sure it is sufficient. Broadly speaking, the insurance included in credit cards:
- Only services purchased with the card are covered.. For example, if you have only paid for the hostel with your card and you have an incident with the bus, it will not be covered.
- They only provide service for travel outside your country.
- They usually offer 24-hour medical assistance, but they have a fairly low spending limit18,000 euros compared to 2,500,000 euros for other insurances. The same applies to other services: accommodation and meals for relatives if you are hospitalised, although the financial amounts are considerably lower.
- They also protect you against baggage-related incidents (loss, theft, damage, etc.), although with a lower budget than travel insurance. The same goes for transport (they can compensate you for example for delays or missed connections, but with a low budget).
Important! Not all credit card-linked travel insurance policies allow for cancelling or interrupting the journey without losing the money. Moreover, they only let you do this if the causes are very serious (death, accident, serious illness, etc.).
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Before you leave, check the conditions of your insurance, and then: travel with peace of mind! |
3 Travel insurance
Travel insurance is designed for people who travel and spend time on the road. short stays abroad. They usually cover the following services:
- Health careThe services not offered by international health insurance, such as repatriation of sick or deceased persons, are also available. If you have travel insurance and have any health problems, you can contact the insurer 24 hours a day and they will take care of all the paperwork for you.. They will tell you which health centre to go to and will cover the costs either immediately or cash on delivery. However, this insurance does not offer long-term treatment. The service ends when you return to your home country.
- Loss or deterioration of the luggage.
- Incidents with the transport.
- Cancellations.
Weather changes, food... you may need medical assistance, so don't travel without insurance! |
And... which is the best for a solidarity trip?
From Tumaini we ask all people who are going to make a solidarity trip to take out travel insurancewhich is the type of benefit specifically designed to cover your needs for short periods of time. And if the insurance is offered by a socially responsible company, so much the better!
In addition to your travel insurance, at Tumaini we can arrange a Civil Liability and Accident Insurancewhich covers you if you have any incident while you are volunteering. It is similar to the insurance that companies pay to their employees, but specialised in volunteering.
If you travel with us, we will give you more details and advice 😉 Travel safely. Travel with solidarity.Travel with Tumaini!