Thinking of the unthinkable and guarding against injury

TRAGEDIES such as last year’s Indian Ocean tsunami and this year’s Hurricane Katrina have made travelers more realistic, say travel health industry experts, making them realize that illness, injury and tragedy can strike anywhere, anytime -- even on vacation. As a result, more travelers are considering insurance before leaving home.

About 30% of leisure travelers taking cruises, international vacations and other trips bought travel insurance in 2004, compared with 10% or fewer before 9/11, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Assn., a Washington, D.C.-based industry group.

Companies that sell travel health insurance are trying to make their products stand out to consumers, outdoing one another by offering plans tailored to group size, trip type, preferences for evacuation or even such extra perks as free international cellphone rentals.

That free cellphone is tempting, but you should consider the basics before buying a travel health insurance policy.

First, call your health insurance plan or health maintenance organization to ask what your policy covers when you are traveling. If you’re ill or injured on a trip, will you be covered for emergency medical attention and/or hospitalization? Even overseas? Will the company evacuate you if necessary? (Basic Medicare generally does not cover medical-care costs or evacuation overseas.) Next, consider where you will be traveling and what you will be doing. Also consider your age, your overall health and your propensity for accidents.

“You want to look at the risk of the destination and the activities you will undertake,” says Tim Daniel, chief operating officer of International SOS Assistance, www.internationalsos.com. The answers will help you determine whether you need a basic travel health insurance policy or a policy with medical evacuation. Such evacuations occur more often than travelers might think, industry experts say. In 2004, International SOS handled about 12,000 medical evacuations and what it calls “medical repatriations,” bringing someone home after having moved him or her from a location to a medical facility.

Health or medical-evacuation policies are sold for a specific trip or by memberships on an annual or per-trip basis. Some companies offer combination plans, as does Travel Guard, (800) 826-1300, www.travelguard.com. Its new MedEvac plan includes insurance and evacuation home or to the nearest medical facility of the traveler’s choice, says Dan McGinnity, a company spokesman. Such policies start at $185 annually or $69 and up per trip.

“Our first concern is to make sure you are medically stable,” he says. Depending on the severity of your condition, you might need to be stabilized at a hospital at your location first, he says, before being transferred to the hospital of your choice.

Although the plan is limited to $25,000 for medical expenses associated with illness or injury occurring on the trip, there’s no limit on medical transport costs.

Like some other travel plans, Travel Guard’s MedEvac plan provides medical assistance 24 hours a day, including referrals to doctors, replacement of prescriptions and other services.

The medical assistance is more important to travelers in uncertain times, McGinnity says. “People want to know they will have someone to help with medical emergencies and details such as rebooking a flight.”

Deciding on the amount of coverage you’ll need is tricky. Evacuation policies, for example, typically carry high coverage levels. Some companies include $500,000 or more in evacuation coverage, but it may be more than you need.

“The most complex evacuation would [typically] be $100,000 to $200,000,” says Daniel of International SOS. “The vast majority are under $100,000. Still, there can be exceptions.”

Coverages for medical expenses vary widely too. Typically, the older you are, the higher the cost of the policy. Under Travel Guard’s international policy for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, travelers ages 40 to 49 will pay $64 for a month of coverage of up to $50,000, with a $250 deductible. If you are 18 to 29, the cost is $34 a month for the same coverage. Annual membership plans with fringe benefits, such as free cellphone rentals overseas, are becoming more common and benefit frequent travelers.

MedjetAssist, (800) 5-ASSIST (527-7478), medjetassist.com, offers a basic annual membership for $205 and up, says spokesman Roy Berger, which includes medical transport to the traveler’s hometown hospital from anywhere. There are no limits. For $99 more, travelers can enroll in the Plus program, which includes the phone rental for each trip. (Travelers pay for air time and a $20 shipping charge.) Other Plus perks:

* Online access to your medical records. You can enter your medical-record information online before departure. “If something happens and you need medical care in a foreign hospital,” Berger says, “they can access your records.”

* Global intelligence and security information. “Call up any city and you get an update on security, what to watch out for,” Berger says.

* Wiring of money to pay medical costs, up to $50,000, in exchange for a repayment guarantee. If you’re overseas and need $20,000 to pay medical bills, the company will send it after you sign a guarantee saying you will repay the money in 14 days, Berger says.

Policies geared to types of trips are another trend. In September, Travel Guard expects to launch Tee Tour and Travel, a package for travelers who play golf, spokesman McGinnity says. Besides health coverage, the companies arrange for shipment of golf clubs ahead of your trip. Travel Guard has such policies for skiers and hunters too.

Kathleen Doheny can be reached at kathleendoheny@earthlink.net.