What Is Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance?

If you’re a frequent traveler, travel insurance is a well-known option for protection in the case of unexpected incidents like trip delays, lost baggage or sickness. However, many travel insurance policies don’t necessarily cover medical treatment and transportation costs. 

Here is a detailed look at what emergency medical evacuation insurance includes and excludes and how you can get one before your next trip.

Understanding Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance in Travel Insurance Plans

Emergency medical evacuation insurance is also known as “Medevac” or “repatriation insurance.” You can get this as a separate policy or included in your travel insurance plan or travel medical insurance. Medical evacuation doesn’t always come as a standard feature with travel insurance policies.

The exact terms and conditions of each Medevac policy differ, but it broadly covers transportation costs required to reach adequate medical care. This evacuation can be via a land or air ambulance, which can be costly.

Some emergency medical evacuation insurance might cover the costs of returning to your home if the medical team and insurance company approve. This includes changing flights or making new travel arrangements to reach home sooner. 

How Does Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance Work?

If you experience a medical emergency during a trip, you or your buddy should contact the local emergency authorities. Your second call should be to your insurance company’s assistance team. 

The assistance team members vary from insurance provider to provider, but a comprehensive team includes professional emergency room physicians and interpreters.

Typically, the team consults a physician to evaluate your condition and discuss treatment options. After a thorough assessment, they should help to arrange transportation and provide a guarantee to pay for transport to a healthcare facility. Insurance companies use the term adequate medical facility, so you may not necessarily be transported to a facility of your choice.

What Does Medical Evacuation Insurance Cover?

Medical evacuation insurance generally covers the following:

• Transportation to medical care: The policy covers all transportation costs from the place of the incident to an adequate medical facility. The evacuation can be via air or land.
• Transportation to your home country: If your attending physician approves, your medical evacuation insurance may cover the costs of transporting you back to your home country.  
• Transportation of your acquaintance: Some medical evacuation insurance providers also cover the transportation costs of a friend or family member who visits you in the hospital. This is only applicable when you stay in the hospital for at least seven days. However, this feature can vary widely among policies. 
• Medical team’s expenses: When traveling back home, your Medevac often covers the expenses of your medical team, including nurses, physicians and other staff. The insurance will also cover the costs associated with your care, such as hotel rent, their return home and food.
• Reimbursements for travel companions: The insurance can also reimburse the costs of transportation, lodging and meals for travel companions who stay with you during the treatment. 
• Transportation of children to the home: If you were traveling with your children and met with an accident, your Medevac may cover the transportation costs to send them back home. However, most policies may require you to stay at the hospital for the minimum period — seven days. 
• Transportation of remains: In case of your or your travel companion’s death during the trip, the insurance may cover the costs of transporting the remains to the home. It may also include cremation, embalming and other similar expenses.

What is Not Covered?

Your medical evacuation insurance doesn’t cover transportation not approved by your physician or the insurance provider.

Like inclusions, the exclusions from emergency medical evacuation insurance vary from provider to provider. However, most policies exclude coverage for:

• Any pre-existing health condition that led to the sickness or injury during the trip
• Mental or psychological disorder
• Pregnancy or childbirth costs
• The costs of medical services at the healthcare facility after evacuation
• Injuries from adventure sports or high-risk activities, such as skydiving, mountain biking, etc.
• Intentional harm or attempted suicide

You may be able to buy specific policies to cover some of these conditions, like adventure travel insurance that includes medevac for high-risk trips. 

When Do You Need Medical Evacuation Insurance?

Suppose you get sick or have an accident in a remote location and nearby hospitals don’t have adequate facilities or resources to treat you. In that case, you will need emergency medical evacuation insurance. 

Under the policy, your insurance company can make all the arrangements to transport you from the injury site to a medical care facility. It could be either in the same country or back home. 

With medical evacuation insurance, you can save considerable transportation costs, which can be pretty high in a foreign country. 

Medical Evacuation vs. Travel Medical Insurance

If you often travel, especially to remote locations, having medical evacuation and travel medical insurance can save you thousands of dollars in case of an incident. 

Medical evacuation coverage may already be included in your travel insurance plan, so check the policy details to confirm. If it’s not in a travel insurance policy, it might be included in the travel medical insurance you buy to extend your health coverage overseas.  

Either way, planning to have some type of coverage that will cover medical transportation costs gives you one less thing to worry about. 

How Much Does Medical Evacuation Insurance Cost?

Emergency medical evacuation insurance costs vary from location to location, depending on transportation availability, personnel expenses and costs like fuel and gas. These can increase when traveling to distant areas.

Estimates for transport within North America are around $25,000. If you need to travel back to the U.S. from abroad, the estimated cost of Medevac can range from tens of thousands of dollars to over $200,000. 

However, the cost of a travel health plan generally depends on:

• Age: Your travel insurance will be more expensive depending on your age. The older you are, the higher the cost.
• Trip length: Longer trips involve higher travel insurance costs. 
• Destination: The farther the destination is, the more costly your insurance can get. 
• Your chosen maximum coverage and deductibles: Many travel insurance providers offer additional benefits and deductibles when purchasing the policy. Make sure to select the right maximum coverage and deductibles at that time.

How Much Medical Evacuation Insurance Do You Need?

Most travel insurance providers offer $100,000 to $1 million in medical evacuation coverage.

Although the starting point is usually around $100,000, if you’re traveling to a remote location, you might want higher coverage for better protection. 

How to Get a Policy

You can get a medical evacuation policy as part of your travel insurance or travel medical insurance plan. However, you can also get the policy separately.

The steps to get emergency evacuation insurance are similar to purchasing any other insurance plan.

• Decide your coverage needs: First, decide how much medical evacuation coverage and benefits do you need. Do you travel with a companion? If so, you should also consider their evacuation needs.
• Check emergency medical evacuation insurance providers: Now, search for highly-rated emergency medical evacuation insurance providers online. Make a list of the best options and narrow them down.
• Compare quotes: Get quotes from different providers through their websites or visit an online insurance marketplace for a detailed comparison.
• Purchase travel insurance: Once you have found the right provider, contact them, discuss your coverage needs, decide on terms and conditions and purchase a policy.

Compare the Best Medical Evacuation Policies From Benzinga’s Top Providers

Benzinga's top insurance providers offer robust coverage for emergency medical evacuation. Here is a detailed comparison of their various coverage options.

Secure Your Next Trip with Medical Evacuation Insurance

Most domestic health insurance plans offer limited or no global coverage. Similarly, Medicare — a federal health insurance for the elderly — doesn’t work abroad. 

Emergency medical evacuation insurance covers the transportation costs to reach a healthcare facility in case of an injury or sickness. Many comprehensive travel insurance policies come with emergency medical evacuation, but you can also purchase it separately. 

Before purchasing a travel policy, make sure it includes medical evacuation coverage. You can go for $100,000 to $500,000 as a minimum evacuation coverage. 

Remember, your emergency medical evacuation insurance won’t typically cover pre-existing health conditions, mental or psychological disorders and pregnancy or childbirth costs.

Frequently Asked Questions