Some people think of travel insurance as just an added expense or luxury. But not having it can end up costing you even more. Even small, unexpected medical emergencies away from home can lead to thousands of dollars in medical bills. Here are a few examples that will hopefully make you think twice about not buying travel insurance.
According to BCAA and its travel insurance underwriters –respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia, asthma and bronchitis are the most common medical claims.
The average cost you’d have to pay out of pocket if you left home with no insurance is more than $2700 for treatment on this.
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Stomach problems are also common. Illnesses such as food poisoning, ulcers or gallstones can run you up to $2100 in medical care.
Even just a skin, blood or ear infection can cost close to $700.
Heart attacks a whopping $17 000 if you don’t have insurance. And that’s just the average. Claims can reach as high as $300 000 for something like a quadruple bypass.
One of the biggest problems is that many people think they have enough protection through their credit card or employer plan, but those can often have limits.
There’s a chance those plans don’t protect your spouse or children, or apply to trips 30 days or longer. Some may also cap coverage at $100 000 of medical expenses.
Help ensure you are covered properly by checking if your insurance allows access to a network or health providers, including top tier hospitals.
Incidental expenses such as phone charges or renting wheel chairs or crutches. And transportation back to Canada or transportation for someone to be at your bedside. It’s really not something most of us want to think about when we’re heading out on vacation but again it’s a case of better to be safe than sorry.
Twitter @clairenewell
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