MsElui

I feel rather silly asking this.

It suddenly struck me that when in the UK - when you go abroad you buy Travel insurance. But Ive not seen it (or maybe noticed) it for sale here in the US? Is that because the demand is less as fewer people go abroad and thus its more specialized, or is it because the health insurance we pay for for everyday use here would cover it?

I only ask as we have a vacation coming up and it crossed my mind that if i still need to buy it - i need to get on with it.

and if we need it - any recommendations as to where to get it?

Yorkieabroad

We've used World Nomads in the past on skiing holidays to cover the high deductible on our medical insurance. They were pretty reasonable, although I just looked at them to cover our current 5 week trip, and they were pretty pricey for a full service policy, and I decided just to go with an Amex policy that topped up the medical gap and included repatriation. I think it was about $120 for the family for 5 weeks.

For the UK I don't think we've ever bothered...I figure why insure to get repatriated here so they can take an arm and a leg on top of whatever other problems I've developed

Pulaski

Check if your existing medical insurance covers treatment overseas, I believe most policies do.

kodokan

Mine covers overseas emergency treatment and it's a cheapie Bronze high deductible plan through Obamacare, so I imagine it's pretty standard to have this included.

Yorkieabroad

Ours does cover overseas, after that nice big deductible, which is effectively what I insure. Our regular policy however does not cover repatriation, which can get eyewateringly expensive very quickly.

robin1234

I never paid for travel insurance when visiting the UK or Europe, because my and my wife's health insurance covered us worldwide. Other potential losses (lost luggage etc.,) I always felt we were prepared to take the risk. I suspect this is why travel insurance doesn't have such a high profile in the US.

Pulaski

That, and that AMEX, VISA, and MC routinely provide insurance for many travel related risks.

Giantaxe

Ditto. I've never bought travel insurance the whole time I've lived in the US. I'm a strong believer that insurance is for losses I really can't afford to bear, which means that stuff like travel delays, baggage loss etc. aren't something I'd choose to insure against. Some of that tends to be covered by whatever credit card I book with anyway. And as my health insurance covers me worldwide - even repatriation if need be - I pass on travel insurance.

MsElui

well i called the insurers (BLUE CROSS) and they say they cover worldwide and that there are 'in network' providers that we can use in the UK. They gave me a link to the website to 'find them'. It sounds like we would have to pay on the spot and then submit the claims to the insurer on our return.

my littlest just smacked her head on a wall and needed 3 staples (last time she did this it was 7 staples!!). she will be due to take them out when we are in England. I told the doc this and she gave us a sealed staple remover (in case they dont have them in the uk lol). So i have the option of removing them myself or trying to find an in network provider to do it.

Springy6

Hadn't thought about this before but wouldn't you need some kind of insurance against having to cancel a trip? We had to cancel a trip to Australia a couple of years ago because my husband had been in hospital and was no longer fit to fly. UK policies don't just cover medical treatment whilst overseas.

Pulaski

Here is one of several videos on YouTube showing how to remove staples.

/helpful

excpomea

lol, im not opening that it looks like a scrotum...

yellowroom

Whenever I travelled back to the UK from the US, I purchased additional travel insurance from US Airways along with my flight. Usually cost about $70 I think. Think it was from Allianz.

I got it for the non-medical side - flight delay, lost luggage, travel assistance etc. I may have been able to get it cheaper elsewhere, but it gave me the peace of mind I needed and i never needed to call on it.

excpomea

Can't recall ever purchasing insurance to go to the UK.
But we normally use Travel Insurance | Allianz Travel Insurance
When cruising of vacationing out of the states.
Maybe we need to re think that with the NHS charges for non residents.

Pulaski

It's a knee. ...... If your scrotum is that large I recommend you seek immediate medical attention.
That is my general view of all insurance, and why I keep bumping up my deductibles on property and vehicle insurance. I hope that one day there will be more high deductible health polices available, as a I would happily take on more risk in exchange for lower premiums.