Cover-More

SMART TRAVELLER SAYS:

‘If you’re going overseas, travel insurance is as important as a passport’, and in the US, even more so due to the high cost of medical services. We asked the team at Cover-More to give us the lowdown.”

“As a destination, we wouldn’t classify the US as a high risk in terms of an incident occurring whilst travelling there, however, the cost of medical expenses incurred in the US is exorbitant making it a high risk financially if you need medical treatment.

Extremely high cost medical when hospitalisation is involved, even for relatively minor medical issues

High ambulance costs

Evacuation flight costs in the upper tier of price range”

“Heart attacks/issues and injuries are the most common medical claims we see from the US. We also see quite a few claims for treatment for undeclared Existing Medical Conditions (EMC) which is regrettable as these leave the customer with an extraordinarily large bill which they are responsible for.

Secondary to this are lost / theft / damage to luggage and personal effects and unexpected costs such as additional transport and accommodation expenses.”

“As recently as 2021, we had a claim where a customer was admitted to hospital in the USA with something as simple as a persistent headache. Because of the possible range of ailments that could cause these symptoms, a variety of tests were performed by the hospital. Total costs were over $15,000 AUD. Another recent case involved a customer being treated in the

USA for an exacerbation of type 1 diabetes. Total costs were just under $14,000.00 AUD.

Where serious conditions arise which result in more than a few nights stay in a US hospital and possibly emergency surgery, we are looking at an average of around $270,000 for medical expenses in the US.”

“The largest USA claim on record is from back in 2016. The customer was hospitalised with Pneumonia. Total costs for medical and evacuation were just under 1.5 million dollars AUD. We’ve also had another US medical claim in the last 12 months which is also estimated at $1.5 million dollars.”

• Not realising they have an EMC and neglecting to declare/take out cover for it. People often don’t associate something that is an intrinsic part of their life OR something that hasn’t required active medical treatment for years with the concept of an Existing Medical Condition.

• Not purchasing additional coverage for special activities such as Snow Sports, Motorcycle/Moped Riding, Adventure or Cruise cover.

• Putting the wrong dates on their policy – if even one or two days of the trip are left off the policy and something happens in those days, cover often won’t be available.