A cell phone network that works great at home may not offer the kind of coverage you’re used to when you travel. In the same way, insurance that meets your needs in your hometown may not fit the bill when you are on the road or across the ocean.
For this reason, most mission groups provide or require supplemental insurance for their mission trip team members. Often this is included in your fundraising budget. It is also a good idea when you are traveling alone. Good policies are not expensive or hard to get, especially if you work with a specialist. It may help to know, though, the kinds of insurance that are available and what you’re likely to need.
Travel medical insurance.
Travel medical insurance plans are the most common types of insurance and should include at least the first three items below:
Medical care for illnesses and injuries.
Most who go on mission trips are already covered under some type of health insurance, but this may not provide good coverage for your treatment, medication, or hospitalization in another country (from what they call “out of network” care providers). Supplemental health insurance gives trip organizers the peace of mind that everyone has adequate coverage and simplifies the process of getting medical advice, finding clinics or hospitals and filing claims if you get sick or hurt on the trip.
Emergency evacuation coverage.
What if you are so sick or hurt that you need to be evacuated home or to a city with better medical facilities? Medical evacuation insurance picks up those expenses and can cover the cost of someone traveling with you. Emergency evacuation insurance may also cover the expense of getting you out if you must leave due to political or civil unrest.
Repatriation of remains.
In case you die overseas, this insurance will cover the expense of bringing your body back to your home country. It’s not something we like to think about, but if you don’t have this and the worst happens, it could cost your family or sending group a great deal of money and trouble.
Trip cancellation insurance.
Businesspeople and other travelers sometimes buy trip cancellation insurance in case a conference, meeting or flight is canceled. If your trip gets canceled or you are sick and cannot go, you might be glad to have trip cancellation insurance. Such policies may also cover costs incurred due to flight delays and missed connections or loss or damage of your luggage.
Trip cancellation insurance is different from a travel medical insurance policy in cost and when it can be purchased and is often called “cancel for any reason” insurance. While travel medical insurance policies typically cost a few dollars per day regardless of the age of the participant, this coverage is usually a percentage of non-refundable costs and gets more expensive as the participant gets older.
Consequently, cancellation insurance usually costs a few hundred dollars per person. Additionally, while travel medical insurance policies can be purchased up until the day before you leave, trip cancellation insurance often must be purchased within a certain number of days of signing up for a trip or the initial payment for the trip.
Travel assistance service.
Some travel insurance policies even include a hotline for assistance 24 hours a day, for medical emergencies, lost items such as passports and luggage, destination information and advice and even purchasing tickets for travel and events. This kind of help may be more than you need or want to pay for but could come in handy if you are on a tight schedule, on your first trip to that location, or don’t have people who can help you on the ground.
Coverage for dangerous activities or destinations.
If you’re traveling with a sports team or your trip includes an extreme activity such as zip-lining or hang-gliding (or even something like riding a motorcycle), make sure your medical insurance policy will cover you in the event of an injury during that activity.
Depending on where you are going, you may want to look for war and terrorism coverage, kidnap and ransom coverage and international property insurance. You may even be offered supplemental life insurance.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions before purchasing.
Although you can buy many kinds of insurance off the internet, the most efficient and affordable way to get the coverage you really need is to work with an insurance provider or broker. Insurance brochures are full of legal language and technical terms that can be confusing and intimidating.
Call the insurance agent and ask questions. Look for the heart of a teacher and not a salesman. Run some scenarios by them and make sure that you understand what the insurance covers and what it won’t. This will help you sleep better at night!
This will also allow you to test out the insurance company’s customer service. When you’re in an emergency, you’ll want an agent that is available and responsive and ready to help. Many insurance products are similar in coverage and cost, so customer service can be the differentiating factor.
Expect fairly low prices.
Most short-term policies should cost about $3.00 – $4.00 per day depending on the age of participants. And rather than expecting co-pays on each expense, the policy should pick up 100% after you meet the deductible — that’s the initial amount you agree to pay before insurance kicks in.
In addition to the pricing, you’ll want to check the amount of the deductible and the length of continuing care coverage upon return. It is not unreasonable to expect a $0 deductible even though that is unusual for domestic health insurance plans. Many policies will only cover the cost of continuing care for six months but consider looking for one that provides benefits for a full year upon your return. This continuing care coverage could benefit you by covering surgeries and physical therapy following an injury on a trip or prolonged treatments for serious illness.
While comparing different travel assistance policy providers, include MissionArmor from MissionWorks. This is a travel medical insurance policy established in cooperation with MissionSafe and based on feedback from MissionWorks members about what’s most important to them.
For other resources recommended by our ministry partners, see Team Leaders.
by MissionGuide staff.