Travel Insurance For The Medical Tourist

When thinking about medical tourism and of going abroad for any sort of medical service, we rarely think of getting ourselves insured for the road. Usually, just normal insurances are made, regular traveler’s insurances, protecting valuables, paying for bills if food poisoning or a stabbing happens, but nothing that actually touches on the subject of travel.

Availability

The first problem that the medical tourist amy encounter is one of availability. Although several companies have offered medical tourist insurance specifically,with some very nice conditions, none of them were very popular and most companies did not offer any at all. The only three companies who provide medical tourism insurance specifically are Seven Corners, Custom Assurance and Sure INsurance Services; as you can see, none of them are big companies like BUPA and CIGNA, who have collectively decided to not even touch the issue.

Why The Reluctance?

The reluctance to offer such insurance is because this industry,despite having massive online presence, and despite international regulatory bodies being more and more frequently involved in the business of medical tourism companies, still has a bad name as a shady and unreliable sort of industry. Because of this, most companies see themselves as taking too great a risk by providing an insurance that they will most likely actually have to spend cash on.

The other reason that smaller companies who have to take risks do not offer this type of medical insurance is because there is too little demand for it. Medical tourists,already a tiny (but steadily growing) fraction of the population very seldomly demand insurance.   

Specifics

The specific areas that are covered by this type of insurance offer protection against medical malpractice and against medical negligence as well. If for instance, an infection occurred because of lack of hygiene or because of negligence to prescribe the proper types of medication or to give proper post operative instructions, the company would then pay for reparations and any medical interventions that are necessary to right the infection and or damage caused by the medical treatment performed while in the host country.

Protective Methods

The only alternative to these types of interventions is what is referred to as a medical complications insurance. They are usually offered at exorbitant rates, but do provide protection against problems that may occur in the medical treatment facilities. That is your best bet, unless you go to one of the above mentioned insurance companies that offers medical travel insurance to it’s clients.

images: 1.