vtcarter6

My in-laws are coming over for a visit of nearly a month soon and will be using the standard travel insurance provided by their (French) bank. I've asked them to check the fine print, but is there any known history on this forum of this type of insurance NOT covering healthcare costs in the US?

When we were living in the UK we used to take out insurance through a provider that I think was named Columbus whenever we came to the US for visits.

scrubbedexpat099

There is no standard European travel insurance or pretty much any other insurance. Some countries share similar products, some are widely different.

You are going to be pushing it finding anybody here who has had any dealings with French travel insurance.

GeoffM

Only thing I would say is that quite often there would be products that specifically excluded the US, and ones that specifically included the US (obviously more expensive).

petitefrancaise

Helloooo!
Your parents should check if their cover through their carte bancaireis good enough for the USA We had Barclays premier and worldwide travel insurance with that was really good.

Otherwise companies like Axa sell travel insurance...it's not expensive but it must be done before they leave home for their trip and it must be done in their home country. https://www.axa.fr/assurance-voyage/...-en-ligne.html

Oh yes, you get some cover with house insurance I think but it's time limited (?3 months' out of France) and also you should check medical coverage for the USA. I seem to remember that it wasn't great.

kodokan

We took a trip to the US when we still lived in Switzerland. Our Swiss health insurance DID cover us in the US, but would have only paid out up to the cost of an equivalent medical procedure carried out in Switzerland. That wasn't a big issue for Switzerland where the cost of everything is super high anyway, but might be something to check for a policy from a country with a far cheaper cost of living.

Pulaski

Most travel insurance assumes you will be patched up and ship yourself home if reasonably possible. Only conditions such as a heart attack or stroke would lead to extensive treatment.

sir_eccles

By coincidence, my parents are visiting from the UK. They say they have AXA through Marks and Spencer. Worked well for them last year when they picked up strep off their grandson. Paid out of pocket for an urgent care visit and antibiotics. Handed in the receipts when they got home and got most of it back.

scrubbedexpat099

AXA UK is the GRE that was.

kodokan

Which is much better than I would do, with my native-born US insurance and its $6k deductible!

Sailorchief

A lot of Insurance co's have a time limit set on your visit - Staysure is one which doesn't have a small time - about 3 or 4 months I think.

audio

C/C normal cover is around 155,000 euros for 90 days. Sounds good to Europeans but 155K won’t go far. I used a similar cover a few years back, had a torn retina and the insurers wanted me to return to France for treatment rather than pay for US surgery which was not that expensive. Fortunately the doc told the insurers I was not to travel.
Rule #1 please read the small print.

petitefrancaise

They probably don't have credit cards because it's not the norm in France to have one. Our BNP CB (carte bancaire = debit system for France, and only France) coverage was abysmal but the Barclays Premier account was much better - we had to use it when we went skiing in Andorra and it was excellent. All paid up front by them.

TBH though I think I would get a dedicated travel policy for the USA. Travel insurance is not that expensive and if the worst happens, then a good company (?AXA) will have all the services in place to deal with it.

Please warn your parents that their CB won't work here in the US. Not in the cash machines and not at the shops.

petitefrancaise

meant to edit and forgot!

You can use the CB for cash but the withdrawal limits are tiny. Your parents in law can ask for a temporary increase in the limit for their stay - they will have to sign paperwork beforehand.

CB in the shops was unreliable so I didn't bother.

They need to use the CB to pay for something flights?hire car to get the coverage on CB. Even if they end up reimbursing you, it's basically free travel insurance.