This is a very tricky question, but one that we get all the time from our customers. Of course, each individual’s case is different and therefore needs a separate answer, but here are some guidelines that we try to give my clients.
Buy as much visitors insurance as you can afford. Unfortunately, health care costs in the US can be extremely high. A hospital stay for a basic fracture requiring surgery could cost you easily $60,000. If you are traveling to Europe and need insurance, you can probably get away with a much lower coverage. Schengen visas require 30,000 Euros coverage which is about $50,000, so this is a reasonable amount to get when traveling outside the US. Within the US, it is recommended to have about $500,000 maximum coverage and more as the client feels able.
You must balance the cost of the premium with the potential cost of medical care. Of course, health insurance is something we hope we won’t need to use. Hopefully, most trips are safe and the traveler can stay healthy for the duration. However, you have to figure out what your “worst case” scenario for costs could be and choose a level that you are comfortable with. For example, you may want to choose a high deductible $500 to $2,500 on a comprehensive policy and cover a bad accident or illness. This means that while you pay up to the deductible amount, any high expenses for catastrophic situations are better covered in these plans. An alternative option is when you may feel more comfortable purchasing a fixed policy which saves you in monthly premium payments, but may NOT fully cover a bad accident or illness. In that case, a fixed plan will likely cover some, but not all costs leaving you to pay the rest out of your pocket.
Finally, if what you are most worried about is losing the investment you have made in your travel (cruise, hotel reservations, etc), then you might consider purchasing travel insurance which allows you to insure a set value for your trip and also carries with it health insurance coverage. These policies are designed to make sure you are able to get money back from your investment in case you are injured and can’t continue your trip, a travel companion is ill, or even if you miss a connection and need to meet your cruise ship at the next port. If you think this insurance may be right for you, then we urge you to consider purchasing in right away since you can only get some benefits if the insurance is purchased within a week or so of your initial deposit on the trip.
Please feel free to call us with any questions you may have. We look forward to helping you find the insurance at the level that is right for you!